Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Infernal Partnerships wasn't the sort of place that Samir Zidane had ever imagined setting foot in. Back when it had still been calling itself Infernal Procurements, the contracts it had dealt in had smacked too much of slavery for his comfort. That had changed when the business was bought out by Oliver Mericott, the son of a big name in the business world; with the name change to Infernal Partnerships, they'd done away with forced contracts, insisting that the demons who were summoned had to agree to whatever the client wanted them to do. It was a change that Samir approved of, in a theoretical sort of sense, but the fact remained that Infernal Partnerships' client base was more well-off than his social circle, and that he had never really considered what he'd even summon a demon for.

Along with the name change and change in philosophy, though, Infernal Partnerships had brought in philanthropy and public works, evidently at Oliver Mericott's insistence, and there were a number of grants available for "interested parties". Samir and his lab partner Amaya had applied a few months ago, on a whim more than out of any real expectation of getting a response, and Samir had promptly forgotten about it until he'd been called and asked if he could come in for a meeting.

He'd expected to meet with some public relations manager or bursar. But when he'd arrived, he'd been ushered into an elegant office, given a glass of chilled water, and introduced to Oliver Mericott himself.

Samir had seen him on TV, of course. He was several years younger than Samir himself, in his late twenties by Samir's guess, and carried himself with the surety of a man who'd grown up with everything he'd ever needed. He was dressed in a well-made, well-fitting suit and was the picture of corporate responsibility - although, as Samir shook his hand, he spotted the edge of a dark love-bite peeking out from beneath Oliver's collar, far enough back on his neck that whoever had given it to him must have been standing behind him.

"It's good to meet you," Oliver said, giving Samir a smile as they sat down at the desk. "I was intrigued by your proposal. Can you explain it to me in more layman's terms?"

Samir paused while he collected his thoughts, and then said, "The basic theory is that if we can isolate whatever it is in incubus or succubus sexual fluids that causes an aphrodisiac effect, we could synthesize it to counter the anorgasmic effects of some medications, especially if the mechanism has no effect on other aspects of brain chemistry. Naturally, getting access to the necessary fluids has presented an ethical problem in the past. None of the people working in my lab are particularly magically-skilled, and we weren't sure of the protocol of requesting a demon rather than binding one."

"But how there are options," Oliver said, nodding. "You never considered trying to bind one, regardless?"

Samir frowned. "Of course not. Even if the demon wouldn't be part of the medical trial we'd have to run eventually, informed consent is a cornerstone of medical research."

Oliver smiled. "I thought I'd like you. So your proposal is to sign a contract with an incubus to harvest their semen?"

"That would be the basic idea," Samir agreed. "We'd discuss the method, of course; there are various options."

"Well, it's an incubus." Oliver steepled his fingers, looking at Samir. "The most obvious method is some sort of sex. My partner Val can help you figure that part out."

'Val?"

Oliver smiled again and pressed a button on his intercom, murmuring, "Val, love, can you come in? We could use your perspective."

The man who came into the office was clearly an incubus, making no bones about the fact. He was tall and slender, elegantly handsome with an aquiline nose, dark hair, and glassy horns curling back over his hair. As he approached the desk and leaned down to shake Samir's hand, Samir spotted the spade-tipped tail waving idly behind him.

"Valentine," the demon said, his tone friendly. "You're the scientist who wants to treat sexual dysfunction with incubus come, yes?"

Samir felt his cheeks heat, absurdly glad that the blush wouldn't show as much on his dark skin, and said, "I suppose that's the blunt way of putting it."

"Well, I can think of several who'd be interested, but we should chat first," Valentine said, leaning on the edge of the desk. "Sex demons have particular needs, and your proposal doesn't actually mention anything about them."

Samir blinked, and then realisation hit. "Oh, you mean sex? Well, if it would be appropriate and appreciated, then that's fine, that can be arranged. I wouldn't want him to be - is it hungry, when you don't get enough sex energy?"

Valentine laughed. "It's a similar feeling. I'm glad to know you're amenable. I know this is a medical venture for you, but can I make a suggestion? Incubi are sexual beings; try to lean into that. He'll enjoy it more if you can get into the game of it."

Samir was quiet again, thinking that over, trying to work out the meaning behind it, and said, "I may need some direction in that regard, but as long as it's all agreed on and we get the material we need for our research, I can be flexible."

"The candidate I'm thinking of will have a better time if you make it into a medical fetish sort of thing," Valentine said, kindly ignoring the way Samir choked on nothing. "He enjoys being dominated. I can come by your facility and make some suggestions."

"You're certain this is appropriate," Samir said, a little suspiciously. It sounded a little outlandish to him.

Valentine chuckled and said gently, "We like sex, Dr Zidane. The more he enjoys it, the more material you'll get for your research. You can go over all the details with him, but things will go quicker if I make some modifications for you."

Samir hesitated, and then nodded. "All right. I'd welcome the suggestions."

Several hours later, Samir was still not quite sure this was all quite de rigeur. It was certainly not standard procedure for a research project. But then, they'd never done research with an incubus before, and he wanted the incubus to have everything he needed. So when Valentine made several suggestions and provided more items and furniture than Samir had ever considered, he tried to keep an open mind about it. If it turned out that they weren't needed, then they could just not use them. He'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

After Valentine left, Samir spent longer than he wanted to admit on the Internet, finding reputable websites to research the things they'd discussed. He'd be the one that the incubus would be dealing with the most, after all; he wanted to do a good job.

The next morning, he returned to Infernal Partnerships to sign the contract. Amaya, who was better at the legal side of things than Samir was, had looked over it and approved it, although she'd raised her eyebrows at the more sexual notations, saying merely that she was glad they didn't have to justify it to any higher-ups. Owning their research facility had its benefits.

When Samir entered the office this time, Valentine was waiting for him, along with someone Samir assumed was the incubus who was going to sign the contract with him. Like Valentine, this incubus wasn't going to any lengths to hide the signs of his demonic nature; he had an elegant tail with a delicately-tufted tip, long, glossy horns curling back and down in a wide spiral like ram horns, and slightly pointed canine teeth. He had dusky skin several shades lighter than Samir's, curly dark hair that brushed his shoulders, and a comfortable, looked-after sort of body, slightly soft around the stomach. It was a more approachable sort of attractive than Valentine's elegant handsomeness, and Samir couldn't help appreciating it.

The incubus introduced himself as Canto, and his low, musical voice made the name make perfect sense. They both read over the contract again and signed, and then Samir was alone with him in the car on the way back.

After a few minutes of not-quite-awkward silence, Samir cleared his throat and said, "Valentine explained some of your needs, but we should discuss them ourselves, I think."

"Of course." Canto had a nice voice, Samir decided. "You know we require sex energy, as sex demons. We don't get it from our own orgasms, and I'll be able to provide you with more semen if I've got plenty of energy. It doesn't have to be outright sex; just being around humans who're experiencing sexual pleasure is enough. I'm happy with sex, but I'm also pretty happy with any other setup."

"About that." Samir hesitated, feeling himself blush again, and was glad that he was driving, giving him the excuse to keep his eyes on the road. "Valentine said you like being dominated?"

Canto laughed. "You could say that. It's not true of all incubi, but I do enjoy submission, quite a bit. It's why I was intrigued by your proposal. Sure, I could just jerk off into a cup for you, but it could be so much more interesting than that."

"I want you to enjoy yourself," Samir insisted. "Valentine helped set up an area of the research facility that we can use so there won't be any interruptions you don't want. He said something about a medical fetish. I've done some research, but I'd like to hear what you'd like."

"Ah." Canto sounded a little self-conscious now. "Well... I have to admit, it's a fantasy of mine. Being used by a somewhat unscrupulous doctor who doesn't quite see me as a person."

Samir frowned. "Isn't that the sort of thing Infernal Partnerships changed its methodology to prevent?"

"That's why it's a fantasy." Canto still sounded self-conscious. "I'll know it's not real and that you are actually ethical about your practices. Giving up control is nice sometimes."

"I suppose I can see that," Samir conceded. "We'll have to make sure you always have a way to tell me to stop, but Valentine did set me up with some things that I think we can use for that fantasy."

He didn't like how self-conscious Canto sounded about it all. Just because Samir didn't understand it entirely didn't mean it was wrong to have those fantasies. He made a mental note to do some more research during his down time, and concentrated on getting them back to the facility, asking safer questions about what sort of food and lodgings Canto would prefer.

They'd set up a corner of the facility that was designed for researchers who were working on delicate, time-sensitive projects; as well as the laboratory and a couple of testing rooms, there were a few suites a corridor away, with bedrooms, small kitchens, full bathrooms, and small sitting rooms. Samir had set one up for himself - he'd need to be on hand, especially if Canto wanted this to be as full-on as he seemed to - and he'd set one up as a guest suite for Canto, prior to talking to Valentine. Some alterations could be made, if necessary.

"Do you want to get started today?" Canto asked, as they walked into the laboratory. "I'm pretty well-fed at the moment; I've got plenty of energy if you want to give things a go, see how it feels for you."

"All right," Samir agreed. "Just so you know, I haven't... dominated... anyone before, so I'm sorry if it's not what you're used to. I've done a lot of research, and I'll do my best."

"I know." Canto smiled, and Samir felt himself blushing again. "Valentine has a good feel about you, and it means a lot that you're willing to try."

"Wait here and strip down," Samir instructed, trying not to feel ridiculous. He didn't wait to see if Canto obeyed; he went quickly to his office, where his rarely-used lab coat hung, and tugged it on. It was the look of the thing as much as the actions, Valentine had said, and he certainly didn't mind wearing the lab coat if it helped Canto's immersion in the fantasy. He grabbed a Dictaphone as well, tucking it into his breast pocket, and returned to the laboratory, where Canto had obeyed and was standing naked, looking a little on edge, his tail lashing nervously.

Samir went over to him immediately, reaching out to take one of his hands, and asked quietly, "Are you all right?"

Canto let out a little laugh. "Just nerves. Normal for the first time I'm with someone. You know what you want to do?"

"I have a few ideas," Samir said, squeezing Canto's hand lightly. "I'm not going to acknowledge you for a lot of it, since you're going to be a subject. If you ask me to stop, though, I will. All right?"

Canto's breath had hitched when Samir said he wasn't going to acknowledge him, and he nodded. "Very all right."

"Good."

Samir led him into the first testing room, where one of the pieces of furniture Valentine had made waited - a peculiarly-designed reclining chair with straps and posable, movable struts for the legs, giving someone access to the person bound in it. Canto's breath hitched again when he saw it, and Samir squeezed his hand again, helping him into the chair. Valentine had designed it with a notch for an incubus's tail, so it could be looped around and bound by Canto's hip to keep it out of the way, and Samir stroked Canto's tail absently, curious about the velvety texture towards the tufted tip, as he carefully fastened the strap around it.

The restraints were carefully lined to keep them from abrading the skin, and Samir was careful with them as he fastened them around Canto's wrists, ankles, knees, and chest. With the incubus completely naked, it was easy to see that just being bound like this was already starting to make him aroused, and that helped settle Samir's nerves about the whole setup.

Once Canto was firmly bound in the chair, Samir bent down to kiss his forehead and murmured, "Ready?"

With Canto's nod as permission, Samir took a step back, settling his body language into the professional, chilly demeanour he imagined a doctor with the lack of scruples required to treat a sentient being this way without permission would require. He gave Canto a long look over, noting with a raised eyebrow the way the incubus squirmed at the scrutiny, and thumbed his Dictaphone on, murmuring, "Subject is restrained and appears to be in good health for the experiment. Commencing phase one now."

Taking a pair of latex gloves from the box, he slipped them on and went over to the chair, standing at Canto's hip and reaching down to start stroking his cock, keeping the movements firm and steady and almost clinical. Canto whimpered softly, biting his lip, and Samir felt a surge of arousal at the sound that surprised him. Sure, Canto was attractive, exactly the sort of physical appearance that Samir appreciated, but he hadn't expected to be so turned on by this situation. He'd never considered domination something that he was interested in before.

His arousal seemed to affect Canto; it only took a few more strokes for Canto's cock to be completely hard. Samir smiled to himself as he let go, eliciting another whimper from the incubus, and said to the Dictaphone, "Subject is ready for phase two."

The next piece of equipment was one Valentine had created specifically for Samir and Canto's purposes. It was surprisingly compact; Samir would have expected something bigger for what it did. He took the contraption from the bench it had been waiting on and nudged Canto's legs apart, kneeling between them to set up the machine.

This part of the fetish, he could understand. He needed incubus semen for his research, and one of the simplest ways of extracting various fluids from subjects was milking. It was a kink he'd been able to research online, and Valentine had refined the machinery to be sterile and suitable for the sort of research Samir was doing. He checked that the vials were in place in the body of the machine, and then began to hook the whole thing up.

Canto let out a low moan as Samir guided his cock into the vacuum tube. The fit was almost perfect - Samir suspected Valentine might have had a more intimate knowledge of what Canto's cock was like than he'd initially thought - leaving no room for relief from stimulation once the machine was switched on. He secured the tube with straps around Canto's hips, taking the opportunity to roll Canto's balls in his palm as he checked the fit of the tube, grinning at the whimper that particular move earned him.

With the tube in place and the vials ready to receive their payload and seal to keep it sterile, Samir couldn't delay any longer, as much as this put him slightly on edge. Canto seemed to be enjoying it; he certainly wasn't taking the opportunity to ask Samir to stop. So, deciding that with no indication he should do otherwise, Samir pressed the button that would start the milking machine.

Canto let out a low wail as the machine started, his hips rocking up as much as the straps would let him. Samir straightened up and watched him for a few moments, uncomfortably aware of his own increasing arousal, and then thumbed the Dictaphone on again, saying clinically, "Subject appears to be ideal for phase two. Response is promising."

He left Canto to the machine's mercy, then, taking up a position that let Canto see that he was still there while not being able to quite see what he was doing. He lounged in a comfortable chair and gave in to his urges, reaching into his trousers and wrapping his hand around his cock, rock-hard by now from the sounds Canto was making as the milking machine mercilessly worked his cock.

He'd never thought about dominance and submission before, but now, knowing he was in control of Canto's pleasure was almost more than he could bear. It only took him a few minutes to come, biting back a moan.

He should have realised that Canto would know he'd been jerking off. As he came, he heard Canto let out a loud cry, and the machine made the little beeping sound that he'd asked Valentine to program in when one of the vials filled, to help with the medical fetish setting.

Hurriedly cleaning himself up and fixing his trousers, he went back over to the chair, where the machine hadn't stopped its suction. Canto was panting now, the muscles in his thighs flexing as the machine, heedless of post-orgasm sensitivity or refractory periods, kept massaging and sucking his cock.

Samir bent down to detach the filled vial, holding it up to inspect it, and murmured to the Dictaphone, "First sample appears promising, pending tests. This session of phase two will require four more samples."

"Four?" Canto gasped, his hips jerking into the suction of the tube. Samir ignored him, finding the remote for the machine and increasing the suction and the strokes, grinning as Canto whimpered again. Returning to his comfortable chair, he kept an eye on the incubus, finding his hand going to his already-hardening cock again.

Canto really did have a lovely voice, even lovelier raised in arousal as the milking machine dragged one orgasm after another from him. Samir wasn't sure whether all incubi had such sort refractory periods or if it was something unique to Canto, or if the fact that Samir was so aroused from watching him was giving him extra energy and a shorter refractory period. Whatever it was, it took a much shorter time for Canto to come again, crying out as he writhed in the straps.

Samir kept up a clinical commentary, and each time he called Canto the subject, the incubus made a quiet sound that went right to Samir's cock. After the third time, Samir remarked, almost idly, "Subject may be a candidate for phase three. Prepare necessary equipment for tomorrow," and Canto's breath caught in his throat, his hips jerked, and he came again almost immediately.

He'd said five in total, and he didn't want to disappoint Canto by backing down. He picked up the remote again, slowing the strokes and suction of the tube, giving them both time to build up again - not that the slowness was real kindness when it came to the milking machine. Canto's cries turned into moans now, though, and his breathing settled a little, although Samir could still see him trembling a little. Five was definitely going to be enough for the day.

He was as slow with himself as the machine was with Canto, feeling that was only fair; as the suction tube worked the incubus's cock, the pace almost tauntingly slow and drawing breathless whimpers from Canto's throat, Samir palmed himself slowly, refusing to give himself release until Canto reached his. From what he'd said, and what Valentine had said, the build-up of Samir's sexual energy would do Canto as much good as his orgasm would.

Minutes of tortuously slow stimulation passed, and Canto whimpered, "Please. Please."

It was difficult to ignore him, but that was the game. Samir palmed the head of his cock and said nothing, letting the - feel? taste? - of his sexual energy do the talking for him. Canto whined, his hips rocking into the suction tube, and he craned his head around as much as he could, obviously trying to catch Samir's eye, but still not asking for him to stop.

"Please," he gasped, rocking into the tube again. "Please, let me--"

Samir took pity on him, saying, ostensibly to the Dictaphone, "Note: subject gets mouthy. Look into remedies."

At that, Canto let out a gasp, his hips rocking up sharply and his breath becoming rough and stuttered. It didn't seem to be quite enough, so Samir remarked, "I seem to recall a selection of gags in the resource room. Check those for suitability. Possibly something that keeps subject quiet whilst still allowing sustenance."

Canto let out another quiet cry, and as Samir came, the machine let out a satisfied-sounding beep as the last vial filled. Samir quickly shut off the machine and cleaned himself up, letting Canto have a few minutes to come down before he approached.

The incubus was still trembling a little, still breathing hard, but there was a reassuringly satisfied smile on his face as Samir approached. He whimpered a little when Samir unhooked the milking machine, setting it aside to be cleaned later, and began to carefully wipe Canto down with a warm, damp cloth. He left him tied up, figuring it might be nice to have that security while he was cleaned up, and eventually, Canto's breathing settled down, although he still had a sleepy-eyed look to him that told Samir he was still floating a little. That was all right; he deserved to feel good, after that afternoon of work.

Samir bent down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead as he finished undoing the straps, murmuring, "Come on. You deserve some rest."

"More tomorrow?" Canto asked, letting Samir help him to his feet. He listed a little on his feet, leaning into Samir, who found that he didn't mind the contact. He kept his arm firm around Canto, supporting him as he led the way to the guest suite, only hesitating, and more out of startlement, when Canto mumbled, "You were good. Really good."

Samir kissed Canto's forehead again, setting him down on the bed in the guest suite, and said, "We'd like as many samples as possible, so we can definitely do more tomorrow. Get a few hours of rest and we can talk about what else you'd like over dinner, all right?"

Canto nodded, and Samir pulled the blankets up, giving him a light pat on the shoulder. He had some work to do in the next few hours while Canto rested, but he was looking forward to working with the incubus some more - and, despite all his expectations when he'd submitted the proposal, not just for the research opportunities.

Chapter Text

Canto slept for a few hours; enough time for Samir to hand off the samples to an eager Amaya and her research team and to drive out to a nearby Ethiopian restaurant to pick up a meal to suit the preferences Canto had divulged in the car ride to the facility. When he knocked on the door to Canto's suite in the evening, the incubus answered the door wearing a pair of comfortable-looking pyjama pants and finger-combing his curly hair. He smiled at Samir, saying, "Good evening. I hope I haven't kept you waiting for anything."

"Of course not," Samir said, a little startled. "Your comfort is important, and you needed to rest." He paused for a moment, and then, his curiosity piqued, "Those pyjamas - did you make those?"

Canto nodded. "It's easier for us to spin clothes out of the ether," he explained. "Especially when people want us to take on different forms."

"Well, let me know if there's any clothing we should provide you," Samir said, setting the takeout on the table. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind talking about how you'd like things to proceed while we eat."

"Of course not."

Canto gave him another bright smile and gathered plates, glasses and silverware, helping Samir set out the meal; that occupied them for several minutes, until they were both sitting at the table.

"You wanted to discuss more of the proceedings?" Canto asked as he ate. "For what it's worth, today was absolutely fine. Nothing happened I wasn't all right with. I would've said so."

"I know you would have," Samir assured him. "I was wondering whether you wanted to keep things at the level they were at today or go a bit further. Valentine showed me a whole lot of sex toy sort of things. A lot more than I ever thought I'd set eyes on, I have to admit."

Canto laughed softly. "Valentine is like that," he agreed. "Very helpful, often in ways you don't expect. I mean, it depends on what you're comfortable with, doesn't it? What are you asking about?"

Samir felt his cheeks burning again. "Well, he left the sort of thing I'd use to simulate sex with you. That's not strictly necessary for the procedure, but..."

Canto laughed again. "But it'd be enjoyable. Sure, if you want to incorporate some of that tomorrow, go ahead. If you want to add in a little bit of pain, that'd be nice. Nothing extreme, but a pinch, a smack, that's nice."

Samir nodded, making mental notes. "I might change up the game a little bit, then. The doctor who was with you today wouldn't be supervising a phase that included that sort of thing. But I think I can come up with someone who'll be more than capable."

Canto let out a little sigh and said, "That sounds nice. I'll look forward to it."

"Don't enjoy it too much," Samir cautioned, his tone teasing. It was meant to be a joke. But Canto flushed a little and bit his lip as he glanced down at the table, and Samir tilted his head, watching him. "Canto?"

"It's all right." The incubus looked up, giving Samir a self-conscious smile. "I'm a lot more receptive in this situation, and you're throwing a bit of unconscious dominance, that's all. It's not a problem."

Taking that in, and the way Canto had emphasised that particular word, Samir raised his eyebrows and said quietly, "If it's not a problem, it won't be a problem to not enjoy the thought too much, will it?"

He hoped he wasn't pushing too far. He wanted Canto to be comfortable, and as much as he normally wouldn't leap right into kink with someone he'd just met that day, sex demons were different, and the whole purpose of this contract was about sex, in a way. Besides, Canto seemed to be enjoying it, if the way he flushed darker and caught his breath was anything to go by.

"No," Canto said, his voice throaty. "No, it won't be a problem."

After that, conversation turned lighter. Samir pointed out that the weekend was coming up; they weren't going to be conducting the procedure on Saturday or Sunday, since even an incubus deserved days off, he said teasingly, so they should arrange to do something nice for the weekend. Canto seemed surprised at the notion of time off, but agreed that going out might be nice, and Samir made a mental note to arrange something.

When he left Canto's suite after dinner, he leaned in to give the incubus a light, almost friendly kiss, and murmured, "Remember. Don't enjoy yourself too much. You'll need plenty of energy for tomorrow."

He got up a couple of hours before he expected Canto in the lab. There were more things to set up this time, another character to get into. This time, as well as his lab coat and the Dictaphone, he slipped on a pair of his reading glasses and collected his braids back with a rubber band. Little alterations, but they'd make the change in character more obvious.

When Canto arrived, Samir greeted him with a light kiss and said, "Good morning. Did you sleep all right?"

"I was distracted," Canto admitted. "But not too distracted. I'm looking forward to today's session."

Samir chuckled, a burst of warmth spreading through him. "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Come on, let's get you set up and then the doctor can come in."

He led Canto over to the chair again, tying his tail out of the way, pulling the straps firmly around his ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, and waist and checking each to make sure they'd be comfortable enough. Once Canto was settled, Samir, repeating the motion of the day before, kissed his forehead and murmured, "Ready?"

Canto nodded, and Samir went over to the bench to pull on a pair of gloves, taking the moment to inhale slowly and settle into the character he'd come up with. As he turned, he gave Canto a bright, cold smile and thumbed on the Dictaphone, saying, "Asset received from downstairs. At first glance, it looks like a perfect specimen for the altered output phase of the experiment. Commencing setup now."

Going over to the chair, he looked down at Canto, smiling as he noted the incubus was already starting to get hard just from the bindings and what Samir had been saying. He reached down with a gloved hand to trail one finger down Canto's cock, murmuring, "The report about yesterday's output was promising, but I think we can do better. Downstairs are so short-sighted about their extraction methods."

Drawing a stool and a wheeled table over and moving the legs of the chair further apart to spread Canto's legs, he perched on the stool between them and reached for the tray on the table. It contained a few containers of lubricant, helpfully supplied - and their various effects explained - by Valentine, several different-sized dildo attachments, and a small assortment of cock rings. Opening one of the jars of lube, he coated his gloved fingers liberally and traced them over Canto's rim, smiling when the incubus let out a shaky sound that hovered halfway between a sigh and a whimper.

"Simple milking is one thing," he said, his tone conversational as he carefully worked two fingers into Canto, twisting and scissoring them. "But my theory is that you creatures produce better when you're being bred. It's true for cows; why shouldn't it be true of you?"

He'd been a bit concerned about using that sort of language, but from Canto's response, a low whimper, bit back, and his cock hardening further, the degradation hit some sort of mark. Samir withdrew his fingers, recoated them, and worked in three this time, crooking them to rub over Canto's prostate. Whimpers were very nice, but he wanted to hear more of the louder sounds he'd got the day before.

Canto cried out, his legs flexing in their bonds, and Samir withdrew his fingers, changing his gloves and saying, his tone cruelly teasing. "We can't have you spilling before you're hooked up. No use wasting good product."

He spent a few moments deliberating over the dildo attachments, eventually selecting the second-smallest one; if it felt like Canto wanted one of the bigger ones later, he could always swap them out, but he figured it was better to start small and work up than the other way around. He applied a generous amount of lube to the tip and began to press it in slowly, pausing whenever it seemed like he might risk pushing Canto too close to the edge.

Once the dildo was firmly seated, he moved to the cock rings. Valentine had explained that he could create rings that would actually prevent someone from coming at all, but that was counter to the purpose of the contract; these ones were more standard, designed to prolong and enhance orgasm, and they wouldn't interfere with the vacuum tube. He went for one of the simpler ones, buckling the supple leather strap around the base of Canto's cock and balls, grinning at the whimper Canto let out as Samir buckled the leather firmly.

There were two machines to set up this time, and once again, Samir silently thanked Valentine for his assistance, as embarrassing as it had been to need it. The first one was simple enough; it was a piston arm that the dildo attachment screwed into, with a touch of magic that Valentine had promised would help keep things comfortable. Samir set it up but didn't turn it on yet - he hadn't been speaking idly when he'd said he had to stop touching Canto or he'd come too soon. The incubus's cock was hard as rock against his stomach, and the muscles in his thighs were trembling lightly.

The same as the day before, the milking machine was easy enough to set up. Samir slid the vacuum tube over Canto's cock and wrapped the straps around his hips, pulling them firm. He moved the stool and the rolling table out of the way, and then, standing by Canto's hip and looking down at him, murmured, "Let's see how you do today, then, shall we?"

He started the milking machine first, at a low, slow speed. As Canto let out a low moan, his hips rocking abortively in their bindings, Samir started the fucking machine, keeping that at a low level for now as well. This time, instead of sitting just in view, he pulled a chair over to Canto's side, sitting down and almost absently slipping a hand into his pants, wrapping it around his cock as he watched the machines pull Canto apart at the seams.

After the first time Canto came, Samir said, a little breathless from his own arousal, "Well, that's a full three minutes faster to first orgasm than yesterday. Let's see what else we can improve."

He reached over to run his free hand over Canto's chest, rubbing his fingertips over Canto's nipples. The incubus was whimpering softly as the machines kept working mercilessly, and when Samir pinched a nipple between his fingertips, Canto let out a breathless yelp and his hips jerked as he came again, the sound and the knowledge that he'd done that enough to make Samir come as well.

He turned the machines up after that, keeping their speeds irregular to each other. As Canto's voice rose and fell in alternating desperation and relief, Samir added sparks of pain to the stimulation with little pinches to his nipples here and there, making sure to keep the touches unpredictable. He kept up a running commentary, remarking on the change in refractory periods, in quantity, in anticipated quality, and every time he spoke, Canto's breath caught and his arousal spiked again. Every time Samir came, too, Canto's eyelids fluttered and he drew in a deep breath, looking more and more overwhelmed each time.

When the milking machine beeped the fifth time, notifying Samir of a fifth filled vial, he turned off both machines, although he left them hooked up, and he removed the filled vials, setting them in a specimen refrigerator. He took the opportunity to clean himself up a bit and fetch some juice for Canto, who was looking less spaced-out than he had the night before.

"Here," Samir said, putting a straw in the juice and helping Canto drink. "Do you want me to untie you? Do you need a break for the rest of the day?"

"Oh, no," Canto assured him, taking a sip of the juice. "You've given me plenty of energy and I'm feeling fine. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be good to go again."

Samir sat by the chair, holding the juice for Canto, and let him drink in silence. After a few minutes, though, he said quietly, "I couldn't help noticing - you go pretty non-vocal right from the start. Is that part of the fantasy for you?"

Canto shrugged as much as his bindings would let him. "I suppose. Does it bother you?"

"It doesn't bother me." Samir frowned, trying to work out what did bother him; something did. "You suppose? So you're not sure?"

"I mean, I guess if I'm not asking for anything, I'm not being selfish," Canto mumbled eventually, his dusky cheeks flushing darker.

Samir frowned again, absently brushing his fingers through Canto's curly hair, and, after a few minutes' silent thought, he said slowly, "Can we try something else this afternoon? Still all of this, but... us. Not the characters. Will you let me try that?"

Canto hesitated. "You wouldn't mind?"

"If it doesn't work, we'll go back to the characters," Samir promised, kissing the curve of one of Canto's horns. "And we can still do characters other times. But I don't like the idea of you feeling like you're being selfish for asking for things you want, so... I have some ideas, if you'll trust me."

"I trust you." Canto let out a shaky laugh. "It might be crazy of me, but I do. You've been so good so far."

"Finish your juice," Samir instructed gently. "And anything you want me to stop, I'll stop."

Once Canto had finished the juice, Samir adjusted the chair, reclining the back so that Canto was lying almost flat. He picked up the remote controls for both machines, still hooked up, and settled his chair near Canto's head, starting to gently brush his fingers through Canto's hair.

"That feels nice," Canto murmured, lifting his head a little so that Samir could collect his hair from under his head and finger-comb it delicately. As Samir kept running his fingers through Canto's hair, the incubus relaxed more and more until he seemed practically ready to fall asleep, and then Samir started up the milking machine at the lowest possible setting.

Canto moaned softly, undulating on the chair as much as the straps would let him. Samir leaned down to kiss his forehead and murmured, "You get more when I think you need it. Do you trust me to know when you need it?"

Canto nodded breathlessly, and Samir said, his tone gentle but implacable, "Words, please, Canto."

His breath catching in his throat, Canto nodded, whispering, "Yes, I trust you."

"Good boy." Samir kissed Canto's forehead again, almost idly thumbing the control for the fucking machine, starting it up at a slow, leisurely setting. Canto made a sound that ran right through Samir, and he removed one hand from Canto's hair to palm himself through his trousers, murmuring, "Do you need orgasm energy, or is me being aroused giving you enough?"

"You give me so much," Canto gasped, turning his head into Samir's hand. Acquiescing to the silent request, Samir kept petting his hair, giving him that contact to help ground him. He kept both machines at a low level for now; this particular session wasn't about getting the highest quantity in the shortest time. It was about making the incubus feel good.

"You can ask me for things," Samir said, after the second time Canto came. "If you want more, you can ask. I'll be the one making the final decision about what you get, but you can always ask. I'll never get mad. Do you understand?"

Canto nodded, saying throatily, "Yes. I understand. Please, just keep touching me like this."

An odd little bit of warmth burst in Samir's chest, and he traced his fingers gently over Canto's horns, saying softly, "You're not used to gentleness, are you?"

"I like a bit of pain," Canto protested, biting his lip on another whimper. "But this is nice. It's a nice change."

"You can have pain and gentleness at the same time," Samir pointed out. He traced his fingertips down the side of Canto's face, smiling as the incubus turned his head to kiss Samir's palm, and rubbed them over Canto's nipple, pinching hard enough to make Canto whine softly. Repeating the movement, he said, "You need someone to look after you. I can do that."

Canto caught a sharp breath at those words, and the milking machine let out another cheerful beep as he came. Samir smiled, that odd little burst of warmth happening again, and leaned down to kiss Canto gently, pinching his nipple again.

"You're nice and sensitive here," he remarked, tracing around the nipple he'd been pinching. "It's giving me some ideas. I'll need to talk to Valentine about them, though. I don't want to hurt you, and I want to surprise you."

Canto managed a smile, the muscles in his thighs quivering as his hips tried to rock up through another orgasm, and said shakily, "That sounds fun."

"I hope so." Samir kissed him again, turning both machines up a notch. "Someone's made you feel like you don't deserve the things you want. I'm hoping to change that."

Chapter Text

“You want to know about incubus milk production .” Valentine's voice was amused. “Are you sure you didn't mean to contract a succubus?”

Samir could feel himself blushing. They were in the laboratory, early in the morning. He'd said good night to Canto the night before and sent a quick email to Valentine, asking if he could ask the other incubus advice on a few things; he hadn't expected such a swift response, or a personal visit. Standing in the laboratory, with the chair and the machinery in full view, felt somehow indecent, even though Valentine was the one who had made them for Samir in the first place.

“It's for the medical kink thing we're doing,” he explained, his cheeks burning. “I thought he might like to be a - well, a cow.” He winced at how tawdry that sounded, but Valentine nodded, and Samir soldiered on. “I can say whatever I need to, but it occurred to me that, well, lactation can be induced in males with the right drugs and stimulus. I don't want to do anything with drugs, but I wanted to know if I should go all out with a machine or if clamps are a better option.”

Valentine's smile had been sincere but sardonic, before. Now it turned warm, and he said quietly, “We need more like you. How do you feel about the idea of it being real?”

Samir swallowed and considered the question. He'd never given it a thought before, but then, there were a lot of things he was doing with Canto that he hadn't thought about before, and his feelings on them ranged from “I don't mind, since he likes it” to wondering why he hadn't tried something sooner.

“I think,” he said slowly, “As long as it was something he liked, that would be - good.”

Not just fine . Fine was things that didn't necessarily do much for him, but that he enjoyed because Canto enjoyed them. Good, though - that was different. That was for the things that sent a bolt of arousal through him just to think about. And the idea of binding the curly-haired incubus to a milking machine and wringing him dry of everything was definitely one of those.

“Well.” Valentine chuckled. “We're shapechangers, we sex demons, and our magic is pretty heavily tied to our empathy. If it's something you want, if he wants it badly enough, he'll lactate just fine for you. I can't say I know how useful the product will be - demons don't breed the way you born creatures do - but then, you're the scientist. Maybe you can look into it.”

“I don't want it to be just because I want it,” Samir said, concerned. “Would it happen if I wanted it but he didn't?”

Valentine's smile warmed again and he said, almost to himself, “Where do you get off being so sweet? No, under a contract or in a relationship, your desires would have an influence, but if he didn't want something, it wouldn't happen. Only bindings can make a sex demon's body react without their consent.”

That brought up another question, one that Samir hadn't been sure how to broach with Canto. Valentine was here now; he might as well be hanged for the sheep as for the lamb.

“I know this is a willing contract,” he said slowly. “And he seems happy with it. But some of the things he's said - back before, when things were - wrong. Was he hurt?”

“ Oh .” Valentine moved without seeming to know he was doing it; before either of them realised what was happening, he was cupping Samir's face, his own expression fond and a little sad. “We need more like you. No, dear heart, Canto has never been unwillingly bound. He's young, as we go. He's had some bad experiences, but they were with selfish partners, not enslavement. Rest easy on that score.”

Samir swallowed again; this close to an incubus as powerful as Valentine, the raw sexual energy was palpable, and he could feel a warmth that had nothing to do with sex emanating from him. Valentine rubbed Samir's cheekbone gently with one thumb and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, seemingly only then to realise what he was doing. He released Samir and took a step back, clearing his throat.

“I'm sorry,” he said, sounding rueful. “We're still getting used to people who care as deeply as you do.”

“It's all right. Do you need a minute?” Samir asked, uncertain. He'd known sex demons were empathic; he hadn't expected a reaction like that to what he considered basic decency. Val nodded, turning away to collect himself, and Samir considered their conversation.

Canto had said enough that Samir could piece it together. He'd been made to feel as though what he wanted wasn't important, but not during the sort of unwilling bindings that had been so tragically common before. That was good, but it was also bad in a different way; being made to feel that way by someone who was supposed to care about you could be soul-crushing.

Well, Samir would just have to impress upon the incubus how important his desires really were.

When Valentine seemed to have collected himself, he came back to Samir's side and said, “I can add some new gear for you, if you'd like. If you let me know what you're thinking of.”

The house call was a relief now. Samir smiled and said, “I'll tell you my ideas and you can let me know if you've got any suggestions.”

By the time the work day started and Samir headed to Canto's suite to collect him for the day, Valentine had added several new pieces of equipment to Samir's arsenal, and Samir was having a little trouble with how turned on he already was, just thinking about the possibilities. When Canto opened the door to his suite, he drew in a sharp breath, his gaze almost unconsciously drawn to Samir's groin, and his voice was a little unsteady as he asked, “Did something happen this morning?”

“I had a talk with Valentine,” Samir said, chuckling at the way Canto's eyes widened, his expression turning both curious and aroused. Leaning in to kiss him softly, Samir asked, “Are you ready to get started?”

“Yes.” Canto's voice shook, just a little. “More than ready.”

Samir led the way to the laboratory, considering how he wanted to proceed. As they crossed the threshold, he turned to kiss Canto more firmly, murmuring, “I can explain what I want to do, or I can surprise you. You can always ask me to stop.” He grinned then, sliding his hand down Canto's back to grip his ass. “You can always ask me for more. You might end up getting more than you bargained for, but you'll always be safe.”

“I know,” Canto said, his breathing catching in his throat. “I trust you. Don't explain first.”

Samir nodded and guided Canto over to the chair. Even after only two days, this had become an important part of the routine. Their games didn’t start until Canto was securely buckled in, bound from chest to ankles, and Samir took his time about it, pulling each strap firm with exquisite care, making sure there were no points of pinched skin or uncomfortable pressure. He bound Canto's tail last, running fond fingertips over the velvety skin, and then straightened up and murmured, “Ready?”

It wasn't a necessary question, really; just the process of being bound to the chair had been enough to have Canto half-hard already. At the same time, it was the most necessary question in the world. When Canto nodded, Samir gave him one last kiss and went over to the bench where his lab coat, a clipboard, and the Dictaphone waited.

When he turned back, he was the scientist again, and he could see how the slightest change in bearing made Canto catch his breath, tensing up in anticipation.

“Subject received,” he said out loud, returning to the chair and looking down at the incubus, giving him a long, detached once-over. “I had my doubts, but this one appears promising, from other departments’ reports. Requests from acquisitions received and acknowledged. They won't interfere with today's exploratory work.”

Every word earned a shiver from Canto, and Samir smiled to himself, setting the clipboard down and drawing over the wheeled table. A tray sat on it, high enough and at just the right angle that Canto wouldn't be able to make out its contents clearly, but could still see just enough to anticipate . Taking a bottle of lube from the tray, Samir slicked up his gloved hand and took hold of Canto's cock, stroking slowly until the incubus was properly hard.

“There we go,” he said, tone still clinical. “Responsiveness is promising. Attaching gear from acquisitions now.”

Gear from acquisitions was, of course, the cock milking machine. He fitted the tube over Canto's cock, using the lubricant to ease it down firmly, and buckled the straps around Canto's hips to keep it in place. He left the machine off, for now; it would collect anything from Canto's cock, whether it was precome or a proper ejaculation, and that was important for Samir's work, but it wasn't the primary aim just now.

“R&D noted that this particular subject is uncommonly responsive to being bred,” he noted, drawing over the fucking machine, watching as Canto caught another sharp breath and squirmed in the chair. He poured out more lube from the bottle and reached between the incubus legs to start carefully stretching him, musing, “The subject appears to have retained virginal tightness despite the exertions reported by R&D. Unexpected, but not wholly surprising. We can adjust if that continues.”

Canto whimpered, his cock twitching in the tube, and Samir gave every appearance of ignoring him, working his fingers slowly in and out until he felt Canto was ready for more. Of course, his arousal would be obvious to the incubus, but that was half the point, wasn't it? He’d last longer, give more come for Samir’s team, if he was getting plenty of sex energy from Samir’s arousal.

He didn't feel like being quick this morning. Canto knew he had something planned, and the anticipation was clearly affecting him as much as the direct stimulation was; Samir had only got up to two fingers when Canto shuddered beneath him, the combination of anticipation, Samir's own arousal, and the merciless movements of Samir's fingers sending him over the edge.

Samir made a quiet tsk and kept right on stretching him, saying, “Subject really is uncommonly sensitive to being bred. Promising.”

Once he'd worked up to three fingers, twisting them inside Canto and dragging out soft, needy moans with every movement, he reviewed the selection of dildos on the tray. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said Canto was still tight, despite being worked over pretty thoroughly the day before; he wasn’t sure if it was some sort of natural healing mechanism that all sex demons had, if he was just imagining it, or if it was some intentional shapechanging Canto had done. Regardless, he didn’t want to hurt Canto; he selected one from the middle of the range, holding it up in a pretense of examining it more closely, giving Canto the chance to ask for a different size if he wanted to. One day he would know Canto's body well enough to know what he could take, but today, he needed input.

As if to himself, he tilted the dildo one way and said, “Bigger? Or smaller,” tilting it the other way. Canto’s breath caught when he said bigger , and Samir bit back a smirk; he put the dildo back on the tray and picked up one a few sizes larger, tapping it thoughtfully and musing, “Bigger. If the subject reacts so well to being bred, it’ll take bigger easily.”

Canto whined softly, his cock starting to fill again, and Samir gave his thigh a light slap, barely enough to sting. He lubed up the dildo liberally and nudged the tip against Canto’s entrance, catching his breath as Canto tried to press back against it but was brought up short by the leather strap around his waist. Slowly, inch by inch, he pressed the dildo into the incubus until it was fully seated.

Valentine had modified these particular toys, once he and Samir had had their discussion. Samir picked up a thick plastic syringe from the tray. It contained a viscous white fluid - just lubricant, Valentine had assured him, although a lubricant that would affect Canto the same way incubus semen usually affected humans, inducing even stronger arousal with each orgasm. Samir didn’t know what it was made of aside from the usual silicone-based lube that he’d been using the whole time, but he suspected there was magic involved. There usually was with sex demons.

There was a plug in the base of the dildo, and the inside was hollowed. Samir let Canto follow the syringe with his gaze, his breath speeding up a little, until he moved back between Canto’s legs, taking the plug out of the base of the dildo and inserting the blunted end of the syringe. Depressing the plunger, he filled the hollow with the thick white lube, saying, “Donor product inserted. We’ll see if this cow breeds true with the right incentive.”

Canto let out a low moan, shuddering, and the milking machine let out a warning beep as he came again; without the suction, twice was enough to fill what little space remained in the tube. Samir laughed, smacking Canto’s thigh again, and replaced the plug in the dildo.

“Eager little slut, aren’t you,” he remarked, fitting the piston arm of the fucking machine to the base of the dildo. He left that machine off, but turned on the milker, letting the suction siphon Canto’s come into the test tubes he’d prepared the machine with. Taking out the first filled one, he held it up as if to examine it, glancing down at the incubus and saying, “We’ll see how much you produce today, but acquisitions expects at least five before lunch.”

Canto shivered, and Samir set the test tube aside, letting the milking machine suck him slowly for now. Given how strongly he’d been reacting so far, better to have the machine ready to collect his come while Samir finished setting him up.

“Now,” he said, idly stroking his fingertips over Canto’s nipple, earning a soft moan as the incubus tried to arch up into the touch. “My department’s turn.”

The milker Valentine had made for him was small but industrial-looking, and as he moved it to sit beside the chair, Canto’s gaze fixed on it, a look of eager apprehension crossing his face. Samir rubbed a nipple between his fingertips and said, “You cows are such good producers when your ass is getting pounded, and bigger quantities of come isn’t even that evolutionarily important. There's not that much more sperm in a bigger load. I’m going to see if we can’t convince you to be more useful.”

Canto let out a soft moan as Samir pinched his nipple, working it up into a stiff peak, and then attached the first of the milker’s suction cups. He paid the same attention to the other nipple, ignoring the way Canto shivered and tried to press up against Samir’s hand, the strap around his chest holding him still. Once both cups were attached, Samir pressed a button on the machine and it hummed into life, drawing Canto’s nipples into the mouths of the cups and sucking relentlessly.

“I almost forgot,” he said, fake-solicitousness entering his tone. “You need to be bred to properly produce, don’t you?”

Canto trembled, anticipation chasing arousal across his face, and Samir started up the fucking machine. He kept everything at a low level for now; they could work up to more, once he had a good idea of how Canto responded.

How Canto responded was intoxicating . Samir had decided, the very first night, that the incubus had a beautiful voice; it was even more beautiful now, gasping out needy, breathless cries as Samir used the machines to pull him apart at the seams. Like before, words seemed to escape early on, but now that they’d talked about why, Samir didn’t mind, especially during a roleplay scene. The scientist wouldn’t care what his subject had to say, so there was no need to make Canto find the words for what he wanted. Samir would just have to figure it out based on Canto’s physical tells, and luckily for them both, the incubus was nothing if not eloquent with his body.

After Canto came a third time, Samir turned up the intensity of the fucking machine, saying clinically, “Output has increased; time between arousal peaks has decreased, both significantly from the reports from yesterday. How far can we take that, I wonder? Could these creatures be kept constantly aroused? How long could we hold them at that peak? It bears investigating.”

Canto let out a loud moan at that, and Samir couldn’t help it; he came without touching himself, just from the way the incubus looked and sounded, bound so helplessly and tormented past the peak of pleasure again and again. As Samir came, Canto did as well, filling a test tube for the fourth time and writhing in the chair, gasping, “Please - please -”

Samir had said Canto could ask for more, or for less, and he’d meant it. He also knew that Canto knew that words were important, and the right ones would stop the scene the moment he said them. Begging wasn’t that; begging was a part of the game. Samir ignored it, cleaning himself up impatiently and getting to his feet to check the machines’ output.

The cock milker had collected plenty for their research, but the more, the better; Amira and the rest of the techs would find a use for it all in their tests. The other milker remained empty, and Samir took Canto’s chin in one hand, forcing the incubus to look at him. Despite the game and the coldness of his words, he kept his voice and his touch warm; Canto needed to know that this wasn’t a threat, but rather a reminder that nothing was going to happen that he didn’t want.

“No production from the milk glands,” he noted. “A shame; I really did think my theory had merit. Still, acquisitions and R&D can still use this one if it turns out to be useless for milk production. I’ll give it until lunch to show progress.”

It made sense, after all, that a shapechange on that level might take a bit of time, and he didn’t want to punish Canto for not doing it dangerously fast. He was also giving Canto an out; if it turned out Samir had misread the signs and Canto wasn’t interested in this sort of milking, he could just keep himself from changing and Samir would return them to the previous scenarios that Canto had enjoyed. He broke character long enough to stroke Canto’s face gently, hoping to reassure him, and then increased the machines’ intensity again, returning to his seat by the chair and saying coldly, “Three hours to convince me you can be a good cow.”

He left it at that, setting his clipboard and dictaphone down and settling comfortably in the chair, slipping his hand into his pants to grip himself and stroke slowly. Canto would get more energy from Samir’s arousal, would be able to produce more of the come they actually needed, and Samir would give him a break at lunch time, regardless of whether this particular scenario got continued or not. Until then, Samir was perfectly happy to let the machines drag him over the edge as many times as they needed to.

Canto’s magic, even unconsciously used, definitely helped Samir’s own refractory period; under normal circumstances, he was fairly sure he wouldn’t have been able to get repeatedly hard as often as he did that morning. He deliberately kept himself from coming, drawing his hand back and giving himself a few minutes to come down right before hitting that peak; Canto had said that the energy of arousal was just as good as the energy from an orgasm, and Samir wanted to keep his attention on his work. After Canto came a sixth time, shuddering in his bonds and letting out frantic, wordless little cries, Samir thumbed a separate button on the fucking machine’s control, murmuring, “Even if you’re not useful for milking, you could still be a good breeder. Let’s fill that ass properly.”

Valentine had explained the mechanism of the new toys, very thoroughly. As Samir pressed the button, he knew the dildo fucking Canto had started vibrating and releasing the thick lube Samir had filled it with, simulating a load of come flooding Canto’s ass. Canto cried out sharply, trying to rock his hips back into the fucking, and Samir saw the moment he realised that the fluid was more than just lube; he imagined that the magic in it was much more obvious to an incubus than it had been to him. Canto’s eyes widened and his hips jerked spasmodically, the cock milker letting out two cheerful little beeps in a row as Canto came twice in extremely rapid succession.

Samir watched, enthralled, as the flexible, transparent tubing running from the suction cups over Canto’s nipples began to fill with a thin white fluid, that machine letting out the low alert that collection had, finally, begun.

“Well, look at that,” he said, squeezing his own balls to firmly remind himself not to come yet. He wanted Canto to feel exactly how hot he was. Withdrawing his hand from his pants, he went back over to the trays and pulled on a fresh pair of gloves, picking up another syringe filled with the doctored lube. He left the milkers both in place and mercilessly sucking at Canto’s nipples and cock, but he stopped the fucking machine, detaching it from the dildo in Canto’s ass and pushing it to the side for a moment.

“If stuffing you with come is what it takes to get you to produce properly, we’ve got plenty of donor semen left over,” he said, unplugging the dildo’s internal chamber and filling it with the second dose of lube. Canto whimpered, his hips rocking in the restraining straps, already hard again. Samir rubbed his thumb over Canto’s rim, stretched around the dildo, and said, “We’ll keep this one for the rest of the morning, to get a baseline reading. I think you can take more.”

He replaced the plug and fitted the fucking machine back to the dildo, starting it up at a high intensity this time. Canto wailed, biting his lip hard as he came yet again, and Samir gave his thigh a light slap before settling back into the chair.

“Ninety minutes,” he noted, glancing at the clock. “Not a lot of time to show good production, but now that we know you can do it, I can get a proper evaluation in the afternoon.”

It was a little odd, watching what certainly looked like milk getting sucked from unmistakeably male nipples. Samir had done a little research, but most of what he’d found had involved teats or breast play; it seemed nobody had considered whether incubi, the traditionally male-presenting sex demons, could even produce milk, much less be milked for it. Samir found, watching Canto whimper in his bonds as both milkers filled, that he didn’t at all mind being a pioneer in this particular field.

Half an hour before his designated break time, he had the dildo release its second load of lube into Canto’s ass. That should get him good and ready to finish by the time they took a break, he figured, and the residual effects would keep him ready to keep going afterwards, but not uncomfortably hard while he took a break. He didn’t want to control Canto’s body outside of these sessions, after all.

Or did he? He remembered telling the incubus not to enjoy himself too much, and how Canto had seemed to like that. Putting that to one side to think about later, he lowered the intensity of the machines back down to the lowest level; he wanted this last half hour to let Canto come down to a reasonable level of arousal so that he could actually rest during their break, rather than being too keyed up from hard and fast fucking. He preferred to build up to frenzy, rather than throw the incubus in at the deep end; it seemed reasonable that bringing him back out should be an equally careful process.

By the time the break time ticked around, Samir had come three times since morning, and Canto had filled twelve test tubes. As he shuddered through his last orgasm and went limp in the chair, Samir turned the machines off, leaving them in place for now to let Canto catch his breath as Samir dealt with the output.

The semen, as always, went into a cooler to be handed off to the research team. Samir decanted the results of the nipple milker into specimen jars, resisting the urge to taste it; until they’d done some basic tests, he knew better than to put a strange fluid in his mouth, even though he was pretty sure sex demons didn’t produce anything that was actively dangerous to humans. As much as he was enjoying this on a personal level, he was still a scientist.

The collected fluids dealt with, Samir went to Canto’s side and brushed a hand through his hair, putting the scene away for the moment. He detached the suction cups and the cock milker, earning a soft whimper from Canto as his red, swollen nipples were freed and his cock lay limp and spent against his thigh. Samir left the vibrator in Canto’s ass but detached the fucking machine; he’d clean him up properly soon, but until then, the dildo would help keep the lube inside him.

Grabbing a warm, damp cloth, he began to gently wipe down Canto’s limbs and torso, sponging away the sweat and the small amounts of fluid that had managed to escape the collection devices. Canto shivered at his touch, but made a soft, sleepy, contented sound, turning his head to catch Samir’s fingers in a clumsy kiss.

“Hey,” Samir murmured, cupping Canto’s face and rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone. “Back with me?”

“Mmm.” Canto leaned into Samir’s caress, giving him a tired smile. “That was a hell of a surprise. Good surprise. I’m sorry I went non-verbal again.”

“Shh.” Samir kissed his forehead softly, running his hand over Canto’s chest to rub lightly over one swollen nipple. Canto whimpered softly, but didn’t try to pull away, so Samir left his hand there, rubbing just enough to remind Canto of the soreness, not to actively hurt or arouse. Kissing the incubus again, Samir murmured, “You have nothing to apologise for. Going non-verbal works for you, and as long as I know you’ll speak up if you need to, I don’t mind at all. I want you to feel good, and to do what feels good for you. You don’t have to talk just to talk.”

“I’m trying to remember. It’s hard,” Canto admitted. “But fuck, Samir, that was something else. I didn’t realise being with a scientist was going to be so creative .”

Samir smiled, kissing him again. “You’re easy to be creative for. You liked it, then? I mean, it’s pretty obvious at least part of you liked it,” he teased, rubbing Canto’s nipple again and smirking at the low whine that slipped from Canto’s throat. “But you don’t have to play along with all of it if it’s not what you’d like.”

“I know.” Canto shivered again, unconsciously pressing up against Samir’s hand. “But I wanted it. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t.”

“Valentine said that,” Samir admitted, relieved to hear it from Canto. “Said a lot of things, actually. I’m glad you liked it.”

“I really did,” Canto said, laughing softly. “I could tell you did, too. That’s really nice, you know? Feeling how turned on you get from doing things to me.”

“You’re beautiful when I’m pulling you apart.” Samir kissed him yet again; the gentler contact was soothing for them both, after a session like that morning’s. “You’re gorgeous all the time, but the way you just let go like that, letting me make you feel good - it’s a head rush.” He laughed, rubbing Canto’s nipple and biting his lip gently. “A rush somewhere else, too. I’m glad you trust me to take control like that. Especially with how people have treated you before.”

Canto sighed, flushing for a moment. Samir didn’t like that embarrassed blush, not when it was caused by thinking the sort of things he knew Canto must be thinking; he pressed his thumb against Canto’s nipple, giving him a spark of sharper pain to help draw him back to the present, and said firmly, “I know you’re still having trouble with it, but I want to do what you want. You make that easy, because what you want is usually what I want, but you need to get it into that pretty little head of yours that you deserve to feel good, all right? I’ll milk you mindless every day if that’s what it ends up taking.”

The declaration got a startled little laugh from Canto, and he said softly, “I know. It’ll take some time to feel it, but I do know. And it wasn’t as bad as all that, you know? Mostly they were just selfish. They didn’t care the way you do. It’s easier for empathic demons to get mixed up in their heads, so after a few times, I guess I started thinking that since they believed it so strongly, it must be true.”

“That’s bad enough,” Samir grumbled. “If you’re going to be having sex with someone, you owe it to them to do what they like as well as what you like. They didn’t deserve you. But I know it’s not your fault, and I’m not upset with you about it. Upset that it happened, sure, but never with you. You do believe that?”

“Yeah.” Canto offered him a tentative smile. “I do believe you. I trust you. Valentine wouldn’t have set us up if he didn’t think it would work out.” He laughed again then, merry and a little shaky. “I’m not sure he knew how well it would work out, but I’m glad he suggested you for me.”

“I think he might have had more of an idea than we know,” Samir said wryly. “He seems tricky that way.”

Canto seemed to have settled from the morning’s work, although Samir still had no intention of making him do anything more for at least an hour. He started brushing his fingers lightly through Canto’s hair and said, “Do you want me to untie you, or do you want to rest here for a bit? I’ll get you something to drink and some food in a few minutes, but you can stay here like this if you’d like to. You don’t have to, though. This is your break; you get to spend it how you want to, not how I want you to.”

“About that.” Canto hesitated for a moment, but when Samir gave him an encouraging caress, he continued. “The other night, when you told me not to enjoy myself so much - I wouldn’t mind doing some more of that sort of thing, outside of the lab.” His tongue flicked out to lick his lower lip, and he shivered again, although Samir kept his touches gentle and non-sexual, still stroking his hair and cupping his face. “Maybe not sex outside of these sessions, since that’s a pretty important part of your research project, but - if you wanted to tell me what to do, tell me I’m not allowed to touch myself, that could be fun.”

“Valentine definitely knows more than we thought,” Samir said, letting out a startled chuckle. “He’s given me some rings and toys that would help with that sort of thing. If you’d like to give it a try, we can. You’ll always be able to take anything off or stop the minute you want to, but I’ll tell you what I want you to do.”

“When do you want to try?” Canto asked, a note of eagerness slipping into his voice. Samir caressed his face again, leaning down to kiss him properly, and made an executive decision.

“You gave us a lot to work with this morning,” he said, rolling Canto’s nipple lightly between his fingers. “My team is going to need a bit of time to analyse everything. And I think you’ve earned an afternoon off. Would you like to go see a show?”

“That sounds nice,” Canto said, sounding a little unsure. Samir chuckled; despite having been the one to suggest it, Canto clearly hadn’t realised what Samir was really offering.

“We should give these a bit of a rest,” he murmured, kissing Canto and pressing both thumbs against Canto’s nipples until the incubus whined into the kiss. “And I’ll want to replace that dildo with a proper plug to keep you nice and full. Valentine said that that particular lube should keep you good and hot for a few hours, at least. I’ll wrap that gorgeous cock of yours in one of his magic rings that’ll keep you from coming before I say you can, and we’ll go and watch something fun.” He chuckled, rubbing Canto’s nipples again. “At least, I’ll definitely have fun, whatever we end up watching. You might be a bit distracted.”

Canto whimpered and asked, “Do you want to use a cage?”

Samir considered it, then shook his head. “I don’t think so. I want to be able to touch you properly, knowing you won’t come until I say you can. I want you to get hard and know that even if you disobey me and touch yourself, it won’t help. It’ll just make you more aroused until I let you finish.” He pulled back just enough to watch Canto’s pupils dilate and his breathing speed up, letting their lips brush together as he spoke. “I will let you come, after you’ve been good and held on for me. But you won’t know when. You’ll just have to wait, stuffed full and hard, until I tell you you can come. Does that sound like fun?”

Canto swallowed thickly, unable to respond until Samir took pity on him and stopped playing with his nipples. Managing to catch his breath, he whispered, “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.”

“In that case.” Samir straightened up, giving Canto a warm, if mischievous, smile. “I won’t grab food for you now, then. Let’s get you dressed up and we’ll go have lunch and a show, and you can show me just how well-behaved you can be.”

Chapter Text

Samir toyed with his water glass, watching Canto across the table. They were at one of Samir’s favourite lunch restaurants, although he’d taken pity on the incubus and requested a private table in one of the small rooms that the restaurant had for intimate meals. They weren’t often used at lunch time, but the staff had been perfectly happy to put Samir and Canto in one of them; Samir was one of their favourite customers, they’d told him ages ago.

He’d let Canto rest for a little bit, back in the lab, while he’d made a few phone calls to arrange their afternoon. Amira had collected the samples, delighted at the opportunity to analyse incubus milk, and had given Samir a knowing glance as she told them to have a good afternoon off. He’d spent longer than was probably strictly necessary washing Canto with warm water, until the incubus was loose-limbed and relaxed; that taken care of, Samir had removed the dildo and replaced it with a plug before any of the bespelled lube could escape. The plug was shorter, because Samir wanted Canto to be able to walk comfortably - well, comfortably enough - with it in, but angled at the tip so that an injudicious movement would rub it against Canto’s prostate, and held in place with straps around Canto’s hips and thighs. Valentine had been clear about the potency of the lubricant, and Samir figured they still had a couple of hours of it working its arousal magic.

The cock ring had come next. Valentine had left him several options, each with a different magical effect, and Samir had chosen one that would let arousal build without ever quite being able to crest. He had no intention of denying Canto release, eventually , but he wanted him right on that edge until Samir was ready for him to come. The ring was a fairly simple one, smooth strips of leather that buckled firmly but not painfully around the base of Canto’s cock, another strap separating his balls in an arrangement that would probably get a little uncomfortable the longer it was worn, but not painfully so. Samir wasn’t interested in pain - at least, not much pain - this afternoon. They could experiment with that later, if Canto wanted to.

He’d had Canto dress in mundane clothing, rather than the stuff the demons could spin out of energy; he’d wanted to see how the effort of bending and stretching to dress affected the demon. Canto had been hard again by the time he’d finished dressing, and Samir had rewarded him with a gentle kiss.

They’d driven to the restaurant, and Canto had been holding it together fairly well, Samir mused. The vibrations of the car through the plug must have been difficult to ignore, but he’d kept it together while they waited for their room to be ready and their meal to arrive. He’d even managed to maintain a semblance of normalcy while they ate, chatting almost idly about the progress of the research project, about the rest of the team, about some of Canto’s friends back in the infernal realm. But as time had ticked on, Canto had become gradually more flushed, and as the waitress left the room after dropping off their dessert, Samir gave him a wicked smile.

“You look distracted,” he noted. Canto gave him a look that was equal parts aroused and exasperated, and Samir chuckled. “It’s a good look on you. Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“I am distracted,” Canto admitted, biting his lip. “It’s not too bad yet. I haven’t come down since we left the lab.”

“Mmm.” Samir picked up his dessert spoon, idly dipping it into the bowl in front of him. “And you won’t. Try the gelato.”

As Canto obeyed, taking his own spoon and trying a mouthful of the rosewater-flavoured dessert, Samir took a pair of small remotes out of his pocket and set them deliberately on the table. He hadn’t been explicit about this part to Canto, before, when they’d been planning, but it wasn’t a necessary part of the afternoon; if Canto didn’t like what he was about to do, Samir would stop and they’d go back to what had been explicitly outlined.

Canto’s breath caught in his throat as he noticed the remotes, and his voice cracked just a little as he asked, “What - what are those?”

“Those are connected to those lovely little toys you’re wearing,” Samir explained. He tapped one remote, saying, “This one is that plug in your ass. We couldn’t make a plug that would be comfortable to wear but still have that hollow for Valentine’s magical lube, so he put a spell on it instead. Just a touch of sex magic, so if I start feeling like you’re not paying attention, you get a dose of arousal. And there are a few little surprises in there for you, if I decide you need a bit more help.”

He pushed that remote aside, tapping the second. “This one, of course, is around your cock. It lets me give you some nice vibrations to keep you focused. How does that sound?”

Canto swallowed, his eyes going dark with arousal, and said, “That sounds good. They won’t be too loud?”

A reasonable question. Samir wanted to show him off, but not in any way that was going to involve other people without their consent. He wanted people to be aware that he owned a thing of beauty, but not that he was actively playing with him. That sort of voyeurism was best done in specific situations, he figured, like the clubs he was vaguely aware existed; he had no interest in strangers knowing Canto was on the precipice of coming.

“Valentine made sure they’d be silent,” he assured the incubus. “They’re mostly magic, not technological. The remotes are really to give us a visual indicator; he offered to set up some sort of magical link so I could trigger them by thinking, but…” He smiled, watching as Canto shivered. “I liked the idea of you seeing the change coming and not being able to do anything about it. I think you like that idea, too.”

“I do.” Canto’s hand curled around the edge of the table, and he bit his lip. “I really do. Thank you.”

“Well, you’re a good boy,” Samir said warmly. “You deserve the things you like. And you like being a needy little slut, don’t you?”

He wasn’t sure about the name. Canto had enjoyed degradation before, but that had been during their scenarios; Samir wasn’t certain that the same guidelines would apply to this sort of situation. He watched as Canto swallowed, shifting in his chair, and eventually nodded.

“Words, Canto,” he said softly. Whether it was yes or no , he needed Canto to say either way.

“Yes,” Canto whispered, a blush suffusing his cheeks. “I like it.”

Samir tapped the plug’s remote idly, not pressing the button just yet. Just reminding Canto that it was there. “You like what?”

Another swallow, another moment of squirming. “I like being your needy slut.”

Yours . Warmth flooded Samir’s chest, entirely unrelated to arousal, but it was joined by concern. He might not be the experienced dominant he was pretending to be, but he’d been in enough relationships to know how fast things were moving along.

He’d promised Canto a specific afternoon. They could talk about that yours afterwards.

He tapped the remote again. “Do you want this? You want me to play with your ass from all the way over here?”

“ Yes .” The word hissed out through clenched teeth, as Canto’s hand tightened around the edge of the table again. “I want everything you want to give me.”

Samir smiled, pressing the button on the remote. Valentine had linked it to his will - with the range of things that they’d decided the plug should be able to do, it required either a complex remote or a touch of magic, and Samir had liked the idea of Canto knowing something was going to happen, but not what - and he decided, as he tapped, to trip the phantom prep spell. Between the lube, the plug, and the morning’s session, Canto didn’t need anything like preparation, especially since Samir wasn’t planning on fucking him any time soon, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t feel good as magical fingers worked at him, rubbing over his prostate and stretching him without moving the plug so much as an inch.

Canto whimpered, his eyes slipping closed, and Samir murmured, “Good boy. Finish your dessert and we’ll go watch something nice.”

He was already watching something nice. He idly ate his gelato, watching as Canto struggled to control himself long enough to do likewise. With the silence of the toys and the table between them, the only signs that anything untoward might be happening were the flush in Canto’s cheeks and the way his breath caught in his throat every time the spell hit the sweet spot inside him.

Eventually, he’d eaten enough to satisfy Samir, who took pity on him and released the plug’s spell - for now. As Canto took in a deeper, shuddering breath, trying to focus, Samir got to his feet and said, “I’m going to take care of our bill. You just catch your breath. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Leaving a sub during a session was bad form, he knew that much. Canto wasn’t in a dangerous situation, but Samir wanted him to feel safe, not just to be safe. He took as little time as possible settling the bill, asking the manager to send a couple of take-home containers of the gelato to the research facility, a service the restaurant had started offering a few years ago. The techs would appreciate it, and he wanted to have some set aside for later; he had the feeling that Canto hadn’t been able to quite appreciate it for what it was, as distracted as he’d been.

When he returned to their private room, Canto had managed to calm himself enough that his breathing was back to normal; the only sign of his arousal was the flush still colouring his cheeks and the darkness of his eyes, dilated wide with lust.

Samir had left both the remotes on the table, curious as to whether Canto would be tempted to try to use them. They hadn’t been touched when he got back, and he tucked them into his jacket pocket, going over to the incubus and giving his hair a light kiss of approval. He wouldn’t have minded if Canto had given in to the temptation, but he was pleased that he hadn’t, and he murmured, “You’re such a good boy. Do you think you can get up?”

Canto nodded, whispering, “Yes, Samir. Stay with me?”

Samir kissed his hair again. “Of course. I’ll never leave you for very long when you’re like this, I promise.”

He helped Canto get to his feet, holding onto his arm as the incubus swayed slightly as the change in position shifted the plug inside him. After a moment, Canto gave him a nod, and Samir led the way back to the car.

As soon as the car door closed behind him, Canto safely settled in the passenger seat, Samir engaged the locks and turned to face the incubus. Canto was sitting lax in the seat, his eyes closed as he struggled to control his breathing, hands resting in lightly-balled fists on his thighs. Samir could see how hard he was through the slacks he’d directed Canto to wear; they were loose enough that Canto’s arousal shouldn’t be obvious while they were walking, but sitting pulled the fabric tighter over his lap, outlining his cock, although not enough that Samir could make out the cock ring.

That was all right; he could take a look whenever he wanted, after all. He reached over to undo Canto’s pants, slipping his hand inside to stroke down the length of Canto’s cock, smiling at the whimper that Canto let out. The incubus kept his hands still on his thighs, but he couldn’t seem to help rocking his hips up into Samir’s hand, even knowing that any touch Samir gave him would only lead to more arousal until Samir was ready to let him come.

“You’re being so good,” Samir praised, rubbing his thumb over the head of Canto’s cock. The spells in the ring weren’t going to let him come, but they didn’t do anything about the precome leaking from his cock, making him slick and easy to stroke. Samir kissed the side of Canto’s throat and palmed his cock again, murmuring against his throat, “You’re so beautiful when you’re needy. Do you like this? Being forced to wait until I’m ready to let you go?”

“Y-yes.” Canto whined, holding himself still with obvious effort. His hands flexed on his thighs, but he didn’t move them, letting Samir keep stroking his cock until it strained against the leather straps binding it. “I l-love being at your mercy. I know you’ll let me come when I’ve e-earned it.”

“Not earned it,” Samir corrected, kissing Canto’s throat again. “It’s not about earning or deserving. You always deserve to feel good. It’s about what’s going to make you feel good. I’m never going to tell you that you haven’t earned it or that you don’t deserve to come. I might make you hold off for a little while, because you’re so beautiful when you’re wanting, but I’ll always let you finish. Do you believe me?”

Canto nodded, biting back another whine. Seeming to remember that Samir wanted him to answer questions vocally, even if he wasn’t fussed about Canto talking otherwise, he gasped, “Yes. Yes. I believe you. I trust you.”

“Good.”

Samir gave him one last kiss, one last stroke, and then tucked him back into his pants, doing up the fly and patting his cock lightly through the fabric. Canto whimpered but remained still, and Samir leaned across him to pull the seatbelt into place, using it to lightly keep his arms pinned.

“You’re doing so well,” he said, noting how Canto flushed in an entirely different way every time he was praised. Well, that was simple; it was easy to praise someone as eager to please as Canto was. “We’re going to go watch a play, all right? A nice, private box, so you can squirm as much as you need to and nobody else will see. How does that sound?”

Canto nodded, whimpering as Samir started the car and the vibrations travelled up through the seat. Swallowing convulsively, he said, “That - that sounds good. Being out in public is - this is fine, it’s good, but I don’t - I don’t want other people to know .”

“They won’t,” Samir promised. “It’s not polite, for one. If you want to get shown off sometime, there are places we can do that, but I won’t make you go further than we are today. Anyone who looks at us will see someone beautiful, but that’s all.”

“I’m not-” Canto cut himself off, biting his lip, and Samir frowned. That didn’t sound like the sort of I’m not that was about how aroused he was or how much he could handle; it had sounded like a denial.

“You’re not what?” he asked, keeping his voice gentle. Canto already believed that his desires weren’t important. What else had those selfish lovers said to him?

Canto was quiet for several long moments, but Samir didn’t push him. Eventually, he whispered, “I’m not beautiful. I know I’m not, Samir, it’s okay. I can shift if I want to be.”

“Did someone tell you that?”

It was a struggle to keep his voice even, with the anger rising at the notion that someone had told Canto he wasn’t beautiful. Sure, nobody was attracted to every physical type, but there was no excuse for having sex with someone if you didn’t think they were beautiful and telling them that .

Canto shrugged a little. “Maybe. But they didn’t have to. I’m - look at Valentine. He’s beautiful. I’m - soft.”

Samir sighed. “Canto, Valentine is beautiful. I don’t want to sleep with him.” He paused, considering whether blunter truth would be helpful, and decided it probably would; sex demons were all emotion, and Canto would have been able to tell, when they’d first met, that Valentine’s presence had aroused Samir. He amended, “I don’t want to sleep with him without his natural sexual heat pushing me that way. He’s nice, and yes, he’s very good-looking, but he’s not what I consider beautiful for me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You know how you make me feel,” Samir pointed out. “When I tell you that you’re beautiful, I mean it. You’re soft - that’s okay. That’s good , as long as it’s what you’re comfortable with. I love your body. I like how I can see your thigh shake when I smack it. I like that I can dig my fingers into your ass without feeling like I’m grabbing a statue. Muscles are nice, but they’re not what I’m into. If you don’t want to shift into a form that can cut glass with its abs and bounce coins off its ass, that’s more than fine with me.”

“But-”

“You’re sitting next to me with a plug in your ass and a ring around your cock, and it has nothing to do with the contract or the project,” Samir said. “If I wasn’t insanely attracted to you, I’d still treat you the same during work, because that’s just the right thing to do, and I’d still be keeping you company afterwards if that was what you wanted, but I wouldn’t be interested in doing this with you.” He paused, then clarified, “Well, I probably would just because you’re such a sweetheart, but believe me, it’s definitely at least partly because of how you look. I’m not so altruistic that I don’t listen to my cock when it tells me it’s into someone.”

He glanced over at Canto, and then pulled the car to the side of the road, putting it into park. There were tears collecting in the corners of the incubus’s eyes, and Samir suddenly wanted to be holding him.

It was a little awkward, in the front of the car, but he unbuckled the seatbelts and moved Canto enough that he could slide into the passenger seat with him, shifting the incubus into his lap. He stroked a hand up into Canto’s hair and murmured, “Talk to me, Canto. Tell me what’s going through that head.”

“You mean it,” Canto whispered, the tears spilling over. “I can tell . My mind wants to say that you’re just being nice, you’re playing along with me because you want to get your project done, but I can feel you . You can’t lie to an incubus’s empathy.”

“I’m going to take us home,” Samir said, kissing Canto’s temple. “I don’t think we should stay out today.”

“No, I want - I want to be good for you.”

“You will be,” Samir promised, kissing him again. “But I think you need some quiet time right now. I can take the spells off if you want me to. We’ll still do this, but another time, when you’re feeling more settled.”

“No.” Canto shook his head, tears still trickling down his cheeks. “Don’t take them off. I want - I think you’re right, we should go home, but I want-”

“What do you want, love?” Samir brushed his thumb lightly over Canto’s cheek, smoothing the tears away. “Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

Canto swallowed, keeping his eyes closed. “I want you to come to bed with me. What we do in the lab, it’s wonderful , and this afternoon was - it was great, until I - until just now, but I want to be with you in bed.”

“You’re saying be with you ,” Samir said gently. “Do you mean sex, or do you want me to hold you and let you come and stay with you while you sleep?”

A hiccupped little sound broke from Canto’s lips, perilously close to a sob, and he nodded. “That. Please.”

“Of course.” Samir gave him one last kiss and reluctantly returned to the driver seat. “You just relax, all right? I’ll take us home and take you to bed, and I’ll make you feel as good as I can.”

The drive back to the facility was quick, thankfully, and nobody was in the corridors between the parking garage and the suites, nobody to see the tears on Canto’s face and ask awkward questions. Samir led Canto to the suite he’d been staying in since the project started. It wasn’t quite the same as taking someone to the more permanent home he had set up in the city, but he spent nights at the facility often enough that the suite he’d long since claimed as his home away from home still felt like a home, not a temporary accommodation. He had decorations up, photographs of friends and family, a bookshelf filled with his favourite books and a computer set up. He could show Canto around later; for now, he led the incubus through the combined kitchen and sitting room and into the bedroom, where the bed was a comfortable king mattress and sheets Samir had been using for a long time. They were clean - he was meticulous about laundry, especially in the facility - but he figured, even knowing what little he did about sex demons, they should still feel like him.

He undressed Canto quickly but carefully and helped him lie down, settling beside him and wrapping an arm around his waist. He rubbed his hand over Canto’s stomach and murmured, “What do you want, love? You didn’t want the spells off before; do you want me to let you come now? I won’t leave once you’re done, I promise. I’ll be right here.”

Canto nodded, whispering, “Please. However you’d like. Just stay.”

Samir kissed his throat and reached down to carefully slip the cock ring off, letting the spells end. Canto was still hard, leaking a steady stream of precome that pooled in his navel, and as Samir reached for the plug’s harness, he shook his head, saying softly, “Leave it. Unless you want to do something else, I’d - I’d like to sleep with it in.”

“All right.” Samir kissed Canto’s throat again and wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking in long, firm movements. “You can come whenever you need to. I want you to.”

Canto shivered beneath him, tilting his head back to give Samir more room at his throat and rocking his hips into Samir’s hand. Samir kept kissing him, using his free hand to brush through Canto’s hair, an absurdly gentle counterpoint to the hand on his cock, and didn’t stop stroking until Canto cried out, an orgasm rushing through him that seemed no less intense for all its gentleness.

“Good boy,” Samir whispered, kissing the incubus’s throat once more. “You relax and let me clean you up, all right?”

Canto lifted a hand to rest on Samir’s for a moment, and there was a soft swirl of magic, coloured the same warm honey tint of his eyes; when it faded, a soft, slightly damp cloth remained, and Canto pressed it into Samir’s hand.

Taking the hint - Canto didn’t want him to leave, even for the short amount of time it would take to fetch a washcloth from the bathroom - Samir used the conjured cloth to carefully clean up the incubus, careful not to touch him so much that he’d get overstimulated or start getting hard again. Once that was done, he set the cloth aside and pulled the blankets up to cover them both, settling in and pressing a soft kiss to Canto’s shoulder.

“Better?” he asked softly, rubbing his hand over Canto’s stomach. Canto nodded, but there was still something - not tension, exactly, but something unsaid, and after a few minutes of silence, Samir prompted gently, “Canto? What’s going on in your head?”

“You called me love .”

Samir sighed. “It’s soon, I know. I’d wondered if we should talk about that. Amira always says I wear my heart on my sleeve, but even I don’t usually fall this fast.”

Canto laughed softly. “Samir, I’m an incubus. We’re all about feelings. We fall in love fast and we get attached, and with the right person, they fall pretty fast too. It’s not soulmates or anything like that, but we build emotional connections fast. It’s why Valentine’s so careful about who gets paired with who. Not every pairing is going to end up a - a relationship , but we always care . Some people aren’t looking for that. I know you weren’t.”

“Hey.” Samir cupped Canto’s face, turning his head so that he was looking at Samir. “I might not have been looking for it, but I’m okay with it happening, as long as you are. You’re the sort of person I would have been friends with even if there was no research project or sex magic involved. You’re a sweetheart, and you’re intelligent and interesting. I like all of that.” He leaned in to kiss Canto properly, although he kept it mild; he didn’t want to work either of them up just now. “And on the relationship side of things - I’ve never done the dominant stuff before, but I like it. Maybe I just hadn’t realised it yet; maybe it’s you. Either way, if it’s what you like, I like doing it with you.”

“So we can see how it goes?” Canto asked, and the hope in his voice made Samir want to wrap him in a blanket and hide him from anyone who would dare to make him feel anything but good things. Instead, he pulled back enough to kiss Canto’s nose, hoping that the bit of levity would help. It seemed to; Canto let out a soft, startled little laugh and relaxed in Samir’s arms.

“We can see how it goes,” Samir promised. “It’s seriously against regulations to fall for your test subject, but I don’t mind.”

“That sounds nice,” Canto said, and finally, all the tension left his body. He relaxed back against Samir and made a soft, contented sound as Samir kissed his shoulder once more.

“Get some rest,” Samir murmured. “I’ll be right here, and we can talk some more when you wake up.”

Chapter Text

Samir let Canto sleep himself out. He wasn't tired himself - he'd worked off a fair bit of energy that morning, but lunch had made up for it - but he stayed in bed with Canto, holding the incubus against his chest and idly, slowly rubbing his hand over Canto’s stomach, more to give him contact even while he was sleeping than for any other reason. Incubi were all emotion, even more than other demons, Canto had said; Samir figured he'd have a more restful sleep, with sweeter dreams, being held by someone who loved him.

Love. Samir's experience with relationships wasn't vast, but he hadn't been a hermit either; he knew the difference between the limerence of an early relationship or an infatuation and the connection that could develop into a strong, healthy relationship. He'd had more than a few crushes that he'd been sure were love but had resolved after a little while; he'd also had two relationships that, while they'd eventually ended - Yuli had had a job offer overseas that neither of them had wanted her to turn down, and Samir and David had just realised that they wanted different things, Samir focused on his career and David longing to start a family - had been good and healthy while they'd lasted. The way he'd felt about Yuli and David had been different than the crushes, as intense as they'd been, and that was how he was starting to feel about Canto.

It complicated things, because love always did, but Samir didn’t mind.

He scrolled on his phone for a bit, taking care of some emails he'd let sit for longer than he'd intended. There was also a new one from Infernal Partnerships, setting up an appointment for the next day. Samir had forgotten that the contract mandated regular, in-person check-ins with both the contract holder and the demon in question, but he hadn't objected to it at all. It was a layer of the safety mechanisms they'd put in place to make sure no demon was contracted and then spirited away somewhere. Samir had let their magic specialist set his essence into a tracking spell, so that if he did try to disappear with his contracted demon, he could be traced,  and talking with Canto in person would let them see that he wasn't in any distress. It had all made perfect sense when they'd outlined it, and Samir had been happy to agree.

It did mean Infernal Partnerships was going to become aware of his less than professional interest in Canto, but Samir didn't mind that either. He got the feeling that that sort of thing happened more often than he'd realised, and they would say something if they were worried. It was reassuring, really.

Besides, he mused, he could do with talking to Valentine about the whole dominating business. He certainly didn't mind it - as he'd told Canto, he hadn't explored it before because none of his partners had been interested before, but his interest now was definitely more than just not minding playing along with a partner's preferences - but it was still a new concept, and he wanted to be sure he was doing it right. Canto was putting a lot of trust in him, and he wanted to be worthy of it.

Canto woke a few hours into the evening, in time for a late dinner. Samir smiled down at him as he stirred, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, and murmured, “Welcome back, love. How are you feeling?”

“Mm.” Canto pressed back against Samir just a little, like a cat seeking out affection. “I slept really well. We have trouble sleeping in your world sometimes, because humans are so loud with their feelings, but it was easy with you. All I felt was safe and loved.”

“Humans are loud?” Samir asked, slinging his arm around Canto's middle again and idly rubbing his hip. “I sort of got the impression that your home is made of emotions. That's quieter?”

“The difference between always hearing some sort of music just on the edge of your hearing, and passing someone with music blasting from their phone,” Canto explained. “The Soulshadow is always there , but we're used to it. We come here and humans are just… loud. It's not a bad thing in itself, but it can make it hard to sleep, especially in a crowded building or a city.”

Samir winced at the comparison; he hated when people had loud media on their phone in public places. The explanation made sense, though, and he mused, “I guess, not being nearly so empathic, we never developed mental shields to make our emotions quieter.”

“That's what we think,” Canto agreed. “It's easier for us to speak to humans telepathically, too. Your magic is more, um, earthy than ours. We're about feelings and individuals, so our magic is about feelings and the body. Human magic is more about the world . Elemental and translocation, that sort of thing.”

“I suppose that's why human healers are so uncommon. It's not what comes naturally to most of us.”

Canto made a soft humming sound. “There's a theory in the Soulshadow that humans who are particularly good with healing magic have some demon in their lineage,” he said. “It's not a very big theory because we don't breed the same way you do, so we're not sure how it would have happened, but it's magic; it doesn't have to make biological sense.”

“About that. Valentine mentioned it too, while we were talking about today's session,” Samir said, blushing a little. The things he'd discussed with Valentine, someone with absolutely no personal stake in his relationship, still embarrassed him a little; he wasn't used to being so explicit with someone he wasn't involved with. “He wasn't sure what the actual qualities of demon milk would be, since he said you don't breed the same way, and I realised I don't actually know anything about demon reproduction. Would you mind talking about it with me?”

“Not at all.” Canto settled comfortably in Samir's arms, making a quiet, contented sound. “We don't actually reproduce at all, in any real biological sense. Demons don't get pregnant. I'm pretty sure our being male and female is purely an internal thing; we look the way we look because it's how we feel, on a very basic level. Of course, most of us can shapechange, but we start out with our resting form, and that rarely changes.”

“So are there a finite number of demons?” Samir asked, a little concerned about the idea. If it was the case, then losing even a single demon was a huge tragedy for their kind. He felt a surge of relief when Canto shook his head.

“We don't breed, but we do repopulate,” he said. “We're embodiments of human feelings. When there's a particularly strong surge, it… coalesces, I suppose, in the Soulshadow, and a demon Becomes.” He hesitated, obviously trying to find the right words to explain it. “Humans have a concept of an afterlife, right? Well, demons have the Nothing.”

It sounded lonely, but Samir waited for clarification. He didn’t want to cast judgement before knowing more.

“It's kind of a before and afterlife.” Canto considered. “Maybe a holding space? Whatever you want to call it, it's a quiet place where demon souls can rest before they know what they're meant to be, or if they don’t resonate with their emotion anymore. It's the Nothing because there's no emotion there, no choices, just… quiet. We don't have strong memories of it or anything, but when we first Become, we know that we came from there and that it's there to go back to if life is ever too loud.”

Put like that, it did sound peaceful. Canto had said something else, though, that had sounded significant. Samir idly kissed his shoulder and asked, “When you Become?”

“Mm. We feel a surge of emotion and follow it out of the Nothing,” Canto explained. “It's why a demon is never unsure about themselves the way humans are about things like career or just if they're meant to be different; we know that we're meant to be what we are, because we wouldn't exist otherwise. If I wasn't meant to be an incubus, I wouldn't have followed desire out of the Nothing. I'd have followed inspiration and become a muse, or comfort to become a caretaker. We might go through episodes of not liking what we do so much, but we always know that it's what we're meant to be.”

“That sounds nice,” Samir said wistfully. He'd certainly gone through more than one period of doubting everything about himself; the idea of knowing, with absolute certainty, that you were exactly what you were supposed to be was an appealing one.

“It is,” Canto agreed. “It has its downsides, though. If a demon is made to act counter to their nature, they get twisted up inside. That or injury is usually why a demon would choose to dissipate, to go back to the Nothing so the soul can heal and follow a new emotion later to Become again. Some older demons change enough, just from experiencing life, that they want to dissipate and Become something new, too, but that’s a very peaceful end. The ones who are left behind mourn the friend that we’ll miss while celebrating that the soul is going to have a new experience when it’s ready.”

There were worse cycles of existence, and Canto’s description reminded Samir of some Buddhist beliefs. He nodded and asked, “And when you do manifest - Become - it isn't as a child?”

“No, and since we started communicating properly with humans, that's something that makes some of us a little sad,” Canto admitted. “I've never been that interested in kids myself, but I know caretakers and hearth demons who'd love to raise children. But no, when we Become, we're functional adults.”

“Does that mean a newborn demon is the same as an adult?” That felt odd. “How old are you ?”

Canto laughed. “I've been around for a few decades,” he assured Samir. “You're not cradle-robbing. And no, usually when a demon first Becomes, they get taken in by other demons of their clade and protected until they've had more experience of the world. More like… a high school student. Independent enough to do a lot of things, but they still get guidance until they're sure of themselves.”

“That makes sense. And I'm glad you're not that young,” Samir admitted. “I'm far too old to be involved with the equivalent of a teenager.”

“So that's why Valentine wasn't sure about the milk,” Canto said. “We don't suckle young, so we don't naturally produce milk the way earthside mammals do. I guess we probably could make it have nutritional value if we thought about it, but…” He shrugged. “Before things got better between humans and demons, we weren't really thinking about that sort of thing.”

“I've got a few thoughts, but they need more… thinking,” Samir said, trailing off a little. He did have some thoughts about the whole thing, especially Canto’s remark about demons who would like to raise children, but they needed to germinate some more before they became useful. Most of his work was like that; he started with an idea, like I wonder if we could synthesise demon come , and he had to work on them to make them more than just an idle what if.

Putting it aside for now, he kissed Canto’s shoulder. “How do you feel about dinner? And how are you feeling with the plug? You've had it in a while, now.”

Canto chuckled, shifting to rub his ass against Samir's groin, and said, “I could eat. I feel fine about the plug. It's hard to hurt us when we're not bound. My natural shapechanging is accounting for it, so I'm not sore.”

“Is that right?” Samir reached down to press lightly against the base of the plug, making Canto squirm a little. “I'll have to bear that in mind. Are you up for much tonight, or do you want a break after today?”

“I'm a sex demon and you're throwing a ton of desire,” Canto pointed out, grinning wickedly. “I'm up for anything you like. But should we save it for your project?”

“We have the day off tomorrow,” Samir said. “The check-in is due. Besides, you give me plenty to work with. I can spare a bit of your come if you want to play after hours. Let me get that out of you and we'll have dinner and see what we feel like doing afterwards.”

“It might be nice to do a sort of lower-key version of what you'd planned for this afternoon,” Canto suggested. “We can stay in and watch something, and you can make me wait for it.” He hesitated for a moment, turning his head to kiss Samir. “I really do appreciate how much thought you put into all this, you know? Some people don't realise how much doms do for their subs. It's more work than they think.”

“It's not work with you,” Samir said. “It's effort , but I like putting effort into my relationships. It's not fair to either of us otherwise.”

Canto let out a soft, contented sigh. “You're so nice . Would you mind doing a bit of work tomorrow, after our check-in?”

“What did you have in mind?” Samir asked, intrigued. Canto knew that he was happy to play their games outside of the lab, now; what did he want that included work?

“Well, I was thinking. One of your scenarios, you talked about increasing production. I can do that, if I really concentrate,” Canto said, a charming blush rising in his cheeks. “If you wouldn't mind Valentine knowing that we're - playing - you could set me up tonight, make me wait, and our scenario tomorrow could be testing whether the - the cow produces better in multiple lots or if it's made to wait and build up.”

The blush had darkened when he'd said the cow . Samir kissed him softly and said, “I'm really proud of you for asking for that. You go have a shower and take out your plug while I make dinner. We'll eat, and then I'll get a plug and a ring from the lab and get you nice and ready to produce plenty of come for me.”

He didn't have to ask what Canto had meant about Valentine knowing. Of course, any incubus would be immediately aware of both their conditions the moment he stepped into a room with them. Samir had no objection as long as Canto didn't; it wasn't as though Valentine wasn't already well aware of what they were getting up to in the lab, after all.

He left Canto to shower while he went to the living area and started making dinner. Nothing fancy - he had a few dishes that he was particularly good at, but they tended to take a fair bit of preparation, especially if he wanted to make injera from scratch. Canto had seemed to enjoy the spices in the food that Samir had shared with him so far, though, so he took a container of spicy stew from the refrigerator and set it to heat on the stove, warming up some pre-made flatbreads to go with it. Canto joined him at the stove after his shower, wrapped in a soft, fluffy robe, and draped himself against Samir’s back to watch while he cooked.

Dinner was a nice, leisurely affair. Samir asked about the things Canto liked to watch or read, going over options for their evening's entertainment, and when they were done, he said, “Canto, could you put the dishes into the dishwasher while I go get our supplies from the lab? And would you like a larger plug tonight?”

Canto gave him a startled but appreciative look and replied, “As big as you want. Like I said, it’s hard to hurt us. I can take whatever you’d like me to.”

Samir chuckled and reached out to run his thumb over Canto’s lower lip. “You shouldn’t say things like that to me, love,” he warned, his tone light. He wasn’t serious about it; he had no intention of doing anything Canto didn’t like. But he knew Canto would appreciate the words, and sure enough, the incubus shivered a little, biting his lip.

Samir left him to finish cleaning up and headed to the laboratory. He’d have to take Canto shopping for things to keep in their rooms, he thought idly, aware that he was already thinking of their relationship in a longer term than just the length of the contract. He selected one of the largest plugs, a tube of lubricant and, after a moment’s hesitation, a couple of other toys that Valentine had made and explained in enough detail that Samir’s cheeks had been flaming by the time he was done. He wasn’t sure Canto was going to be interested in everything, but knowing that he couldn’t really do anything to physically hurt him helped settle Samir’s nerves. Just because he was enjoying himself didn’t mean this wasn’t still a very new thing for him.

When he returned to his suite, Canto had made coffee. Samir paused, surprised; he had coffee after most meals, as a way of remembering his parents and their customs more than because he really needed the caffeine. Canto had seemed to anticipate that; as he brought the cups over to the coffee table in front of the sofa, he said, “I touched it with a bit of magic so the caffeine doesn’t keep us up all night. I hope that doesn’t ruin anything.”

“It’s fine,” Samir said, touched. “I didn’t realise you’d noticed.”

Canto shrugged, looking a little self-conscious. “It seemed important to you. More than just having a hot drink,” he said. “I figured even if it was just something you like doing as a part of a routine, I should pay attention to that sort of thing. Making an effort.”

Samir kissed him warmly. “I appreciate you taking the time. Making it magically decaf doesn’t ruin anything.” Pulling back from the kiss, he gave Canto a grin and squeezed his ass. “Let’s get you ready and we’ll watch a movie. Take your robe off and lie on your stomach on the sofa.”

Canto folded his robe over the back of one of the armchairs and moved over to lie on the sofa, pillowing his chin on his folded arms and watching Samir with mingled anticipation and fondness in his eyes. Samir put his box of supplies on the floor next to the sofa, where Canto wouldn’t be able to see it, and knelt, taking out the lubricant and squeezing a glob out to ooze over Canto’s ass. The incubus jumped at the sudden cool touch, letting out a little breathless chuckle and glancing over his shoulder at Samir.

“Eyes ahead,” Samir said, giving Canto’s ass a light smack. “I want you to tell me if you don’t like anything, but you don’t get to watch this time.”

Not being able to see what Samir was doing should make it feel more intense, Samir figured. Canto obediently dropped his chin back to his arms, keeping his gaze forward, and moved at Samir’s urging, going up onto his knees and shifting his legs apart.

Samir swiped his fingers through the glob of lube and reached between Canto’s legs to check how stretched he still was. They’d done enough that day, and he’d worn the plug long enough, that his natural healing hadn’t kicked in yet to make him tighter, but Samir figured he deserved some attention anyway. He slipped two fingers in right away, crooking them to rub over Canto’s prostate, and murmured, “You get some choices here, Canto. Do you want just the plug, or do you want me to give you something to keep in?”

Canto shivered, rocking back against Samir’s fingers, and replied, “I want you to really fill me. I can take it.”

“I know you can.” He leaned down to press a kiss to Canto’s ass, rubbing his prostate again and smiling at the moan that slipped from the incubus’s lips. “Valentine gave me some eggs that will dissolve overnight. They’ll keep you good and interested . How does that sound?”

Canto moaned again and whispered, “ Good . Really, really good.”

“Good.” Samir kissed his ass again and withdrew his fingers. “You just relax. Tell me when you think you’ve had enough.”

The eggs were small enough that he wasn’t worried about them being too much for Canto, and formed of some gelatinous substance that made Samir’s fingers tingle lightly as he handled them. Valentine had explained how they worked, and as Samir began to carefully insert them, he said, in an almost professorial tone, “These will melt inside you at a rate of about one per hour, and they release a low-level aphrodisiac. How does three sound?”

“Five,” Canto countered, as the first egg settled into place. “I can take five for you.”

“We’ll see,” Samir said, a little doubtfully. “Tell me how you feel at three, okay?”

Just because sex demons adjusted didn’t mean he wanted to push any limits, after all, and there was still the plug to consider. He stopped at three, rubbing his thumb lightly over Canto’s rim, and asked, “How does that feel? Think about it for a minute before you answer.”

Canto was quiet for longer than Samir expected, and then he realised that the incubus had taken the request to think about it for a minute quite literally. Smiling to himself, he kept lightly rubbing Canto’s ass as he waited patiently. Eventually, Canto let out a shaky breath and said, “Four?”

“Four,” Samir agreed, kissing his ass once again. “Good boy, thinking about it seriously. I don’t want you to push yourself too far just to please me.”

“I know,” Canto murmured, whimpering as Samir carefully inserted the fourth orb. “That’s why I need you. To keep me in line when I think I want more than I can handle.”

“Of course that’s why you need me,” Samir teased, giving him another light smack on the ass. “Otherwise you’d do all sorts of silly things chasing pleasure, wouldn’t you, you little slut?”

Canto moaned softly against his forearm and nodded, a blush colouring his cheeks, although the humiliation clearly did nothing to hurt his arousal. Samir resisted the temptation to touch Canto’s cock just yet and picked up the plug he’d selected, rubbing the tip against Canto’s ass.

“You can’t tell how big this is, can you?” he asked, pressing the tip in. Canto shivered, shaking his head.

“No, but - but it feels great . I can take it. I want to take it for you.”

“You will,” Samir promised. With Canto as aroused as he was and the help of the lube, he didn’t have to take his time; he slid the plug home, chuckling as Canto moaned and pressed back against the intrusion.

“ Fuck ,” the incubus gasped, his legs shaking from the effort of holding himself up. “It’s so good, Samir, it’s such a good burn. It’s pressing those eggs right up against me.”

Samir might have worried about burn , but he knew what Canto meant, that stretchy burn that eased into pleasure quickly enough. He gave Canto a minute to adjust, in case he wanted to tap out, but when the incubus let out a shaky sigh and nodded, Samir fixed the plug in place with the harness and smacked Canto’s hip lightly.

“Onto your back,” he instructed. “I need to give that cock some attention.”

Trembling from the effort, Canto managed to turn onto his back, whimpering softly as the movement nudged the eggs and plug inside him. Samir gave his stomach an approving pat and took hold of his cock, saying, “Another choice. Both of the rings I’ve brought have spells to keep you from getting hurt by staying hard for too long, and both of them will stop you from coming until I take them off, but one of them is a bit more extreme. I want you to think about it seriously, all right? I can use the simple ring and be perfectly happy with you. The other one is metal. It’ll loop around your cock without keeping you from getting an erection - it’s not a chastity cage. It might get a little uncomfortable while you’re hard, but it won’t be tight enough to hurt. Take a minute to think about it.”

Again, Canto took the take a minute request literally, closing his eyes and biting his lip as he considered. Samir rubbed his thumb over the soft skin of Canto’s hip, leaving his cock alone while he decided; he didn’t want to risk Canto making the wrong choice because he was too distracted by stimulation.

After a minute, Canto nodded, opening his eyes and meeting Samir’s gaze. “I want the metal one. I’ll tell you if it doesn’t feel right, I promise.”

“All right.” Samir kissed Canto’s hip and took hold of his cock again, stroking slowly. “Let’s get this good and hard, then.”

It didn’t take long, barely five or six strokes, for Canto to be whimpering under his hands, his cock hard and leaking. Samir picked up the metal cock ring and carefully slid the loops down over Canto’s cock, circling the base with the ring that Valentine had explained held a touch of magic. It started out loose, but as Samir touched his fingertip to a small gem on the top that looked purely decorative, the base ring contracted just enough to be firm but not uncomfortable around Canto’s cock.

“How does that feel?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over the head and smiling at the way Canto shivered. He ran his fingers down the length, checking each loop to make sure it wasn’t going to be painfully tight, giving Canto’s cock light, teasing touches with each check, and waited for the incubus to collect himself enough to answer.

“It’s good,” Canto said eventually, leaning up to press a kiss to Samir’s lips. “It’s like a proxy of your hand, holding me. More of a reminder than the other ring. I like it.”

“Good.” Samir returned the kiss, then helped Canto sit up, a rush of desire shooting through him as the change in position made Canto moan softly. “Let’s get settled, then.”

The coffee was still hot; Canto had clearly put some sort of spell on it, or the mugs, to keep it that way as long as necessary. Samir brought over a small basket of mandazi, spiced coconut donuts that were his favourite movie snack, and settled on the sofa beside Canto, wrapping an arm around his waist to snuggle him close. Canto had revealed that he enjoyed romantic comedies, and Samir’s streaming account had plenty of those on his to-watch list - he tended to enjoy watching movies with company, rather than alone, and was often too busy to arrange something - so he called up one at random, sipping the coffee and feeling a slow spread of warmth through him that had nothing to do with arousal.

He’d had happy relationships before, and this sense of comfortable contentment was familiar. That, more than anything, reassured him that whatever this was with Canto, it wasn’t just about attraction. Oh, that was certainly there , and things were developing faster than they had in Samir’s relationships with other humans, but the feelings were more than just lust. He felt happy , just spending time together. He felt relaxed, and for once didn’t feel the need to chatter to fill an awkward silence; there was quiet, as they watched the movie, but it wasn’t awkward. He had a feeling that he could spend a few hours on his work, with Canto doing his own thing in the same room, and feel as together as if they were actively engaging with each other.

It was a nice feeling. Samir let out a soft sigh of contentment, one that Canto echoed as he cuddled against Samir, and settled in to spend a quiet evening together, stroking Canto’s hair gently.

It was unprofessional, and it was new, and more than a little strange, but it felt good. It felt right.

Chapter Text

Three of Infernal Partnerships’ people came for the check-in; Valentine and Oliver, and the witch that Samir had met when he'd signed the contract, a curly-haired man whose easygoing, friendly demeanour hid the deepest power well that Samir had ever encountered. Ashley Navarro was the chief of magic for Infernal Partnerships and, apparently, Oliver’s oldest friend. He gave Samir and Canto a warm greeting and said, “I'd like to have a bit of a look around, if that's okay? Get a feel for the magic going on here.”

“Actually, I was hoping to talk with you about a thought I've had,” Samir said. “I've got some ideas for the science side of it, but I'm pretty sure it'll need fairly high-level magic as well, and, well, none of us here are more than minor practitioners. I'd appreciate a witch's input.”

“Of course,” Ashley said immediately. “Just me, or do you want Val and Oli as well?”

“All four of you,” Samir said, after a moment's consideration. “It's something that would affect demons as well, and it came up in a discussion with Canto. I'd feel better if we were all involved.”

“Well, now I'm curious,” Valentine drawled. “By all means, let's talk shop.”

Samir led them to one of the conference rooms, taking a seat at the table and watching as the others chose their places. Valentine, he had expected. He wasn’t sure what the incubus’s official position in Infernal Partnerships was, but he knew Valentine oversaw most of the pairings they set up; of course he’d want to be there to make sure Canto was all right. Oliver, though, Samir hadn’t expected. The CEO taking a personal interest? He didn’t mind, and it made a certain amount of sense; Samir and Amira had only been able to get a contract in the first place because of Infernal Partnerships’ grant program, and no doubt the executive officers and the board took an interest in those applications.

And, of course, Ashley. Samir had known he'd be there, to check that Canto was safe and to dissolve any unauthorised bindings. He hadn't expected to find Ashley so easy to be around. Most humans had low-level magic, the sort of thing that was useful for cleaning and mending spells, and a particular strength in a narrow band; Samir was good with animals, outside of his basic utility magic, but he was considered weak, magically-speaking, and didn't tend to use his magic for much. The few who had deeper power reservoirs and broader abilities, the witches, were sometimes intimidating in their strength, but Ashley had none of that. He gave Samir a sunny smile as they all sat down and said, “So, a potential new project that might need strong magic?”

“Canto and I were talking last night, about demon reproduction,” Samir said, reaching out unconsciously to lace his fingers through Canto’s. “He said that some demons might want to experience parenthood, now that it's safer for that sort of thing, and it got me thinking. We're a sexual health and fertility research facility, primarily; it's why we started the… demon come… project to begin with.”

He could feel himself blushing, but they were all looking at him encouragingly, so he soldiered on.

“Canto said that when demons - Become? - they follow an emotion out of your in-between space and sort of… form into a demon that's considered young enough to need guidance and protection for a few years. How do those new demons get found?”

“The demons of their clade can tell when there's going to be a Becoming, but it can take a bit of time to locate the new demon,” Valentine admitted. “That happened to me at the start.”

“Well, I was thinking, what if there was a way to guide the emerging demon to a safe place to Become?” Samir asked. “Not forcing someone to leave the Nothing before they were ready; more a ‘hey, if you're going to be an incubus, here's an incubus who'll help you during the early days’. I don't think we could come up with something to replicate pregnancy, since you guys don't have an infancy phase, but if someone wants some of the parenting experience, that might help both of them. The older demon gets to have a parenting experience and the younger one gets a mentor without having to be found.”

“Hm.” Valentine looked thoughtful. “I can see the appeal. You're right to loop the witches in; I'm not sure demon magic would be quite the right thing. What do you think, Ashley?”

Ashley made a low humming sound as he considered. “I don't know of any existing spells, but I think I could come up with something. A guiding rather than a binding, so the choice would always be there, but you could set a spell into a… receptacle, almost, for the energy to be held safe until the Becoming was complete.” He smiled at Canto and Valentine. “I know that process can take a little while as the emotional resonance settles. And hey, if a demon wanted to experience the nicer side of pregnancy, I could set something up. Sort of incubating the energy until it's ready.”

“I know a lot of demons who'd like something like that,” Canto said softly. “And just knowing that new demons would have a safer place to Become would be nice. We're not as worried about bindings anymore, but being alone right at the start is still scary sometimes.”

“If demons want to have a full parenting experience, infancy and childhood and everything, there's no reason they couldn't be considered for fostering,” Oliver said, looking thoughtful. “I'll have IP's legal team look into what would be necessary. The rest of it, though - that sounds nice. More our side than yours, Dr Zidane, but we'd be more than happy to fund any further research you'd like to do.”

“We can look into the physical side of it, especially if multiple demons are willing to donate, but I suspect you'd have to consciously take on the ability to carry a child, and I'm not sure how viable that is for… however long a demon pregnancy would take,” Samir admitted. “If you form out of magic and emotion, I'm not sure demon women even have ovum; Canto said sex” - Valentine snickered, and Oliver slapped his arm lightly - “is more of an internal thing for demons. Like you two are male because you feel like men.” He considered that, absently toying with the bead at the end of one of his braids. “If you could consciously give yourselves uteri and the process was safe, then there's no reason male-presenting demons wouldn't be able to carry a pregnancy if they wanted to.”

“Huh.” Valentine looked as though he was giving the idea serious consideration.  “That could be interesting. I think we'd still need assistance; even with our shapeshifting, I'm not sure we're capable of spontaneous pregnancy. Hell, I'm not even sure our semen is viable. You might end up doing more along the lines of gene-mixing and cloning.”

“Ah.” Samir could feel himself blushing. “Well, our preliminary tests do indicate that it's not viable with human ova; you've got too much magic for human biology to cope with. Maybe a very strong witch could manage it, but most humans just don't have that sort of power.”

“Hear that, Ash?” Oliver teased. “All the demon ladies who want hybrid babies are going to come chasing you.”

“Demon ladies with hybrid babies sounds like a bad porno,” Ashley murmured, smiling. “I'm happy to help on the magical side of things, though. If you can find a way to implant a pregnancy in a demon, we'd attach the guidance spell to it, and the same process of Becoming would happen; we'd just adjust the spells so that those instances would be for the new demons who need more guidance. The ones who Become a bit younger than others. I'd bet demon babies would age a lot faster than human kids, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.”

“What would you need to test the viability of both these ideas?” Valentine asked, looking at Samir. “Both in terms of genetic material and in terms of funding? I'll need to call a conclave in the Soulshadow to see what the majority of demons think, but I think most of us will at least be interested in finding out if it's possible.”

Samir blinked, thrown. “I'll have to talk with Amira and the rest of the team. I can come up with a proposal?”

Valentine nodded. “Do that. Ashley, you'll look into the spell side of it?” Ashley murmured agreement. “Great. Canto and I will go do our interview; Oliver will do the official check-in with you, Dr Zidane.”

“And I'll do that walk-through,” Ashley said, smiling warmly. “I like the way you think, Dr Zidane. I'll be in touch about this demon baby idea.”

He got to his feet and left the conference room. Samir sent a quick message to the rest of the team, letting them know that Ashley was going to be looking around; they'd let him know what equipment shouldn't be touched, but Ashley hadn't struck Samir as someone who would interfere with delicate equipment unless he had to. Samir was comfortable with him looking around to make sure everything was on the level, magically-speaking.

He felt a little awkward, though, as Valentine and Canto disappeared into another conference room, leaving him alone with Oliver and the recollection that, during their very frank conversation earlier, Valentine had kissed him. Not a proper kiss, true, but Samir wasn’t sure whether it was something he should mention or not.

As the door closed behind the demons, Oliver glanced at Samir, raising his eyebrows. “Okay, I’m no demon with empathy, but even I can tell something’s making you feel squirrelly. What’s wrong?”

Samir sighed, toying with a braid absently, and said, “Valentine is very… open.”

“Ah.” Oliver chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “Let me guess: he kissed you? Did you mind?”

“No,” Samir said slowly. “It was only on my forehead, anyway. I’m just - not used to that much… openness… I suppose.”

“That’s understandable.” Oliver laced his fingers together, giving Samir a sympathetic look. “If it helps, Valentine kisses everyone. I’m not bothered by it as long as they’re not. It’s part and parcel of being with someone as, um, physical as him. You’ve probably noticed Canto is pretty tactile too, right? Not in the same way as Val, but still. Incubi and succubi like touching.”

Samir sighed. “I hope I’m doing the right thing with him,” he said quietly. “Did it move this fast with you and Valentine?”

Oliver blushed, rubbing the back of his neck, where Samir could see another love-bite peeking out from under his collar. “Val and I are - complicated. But yeah, feelings set in pretty fast with demons, sex demons especially. It doesn’t make them not real.”

“I’d get fired if it was anyone else,” Samir admitted. “He should have the same protections as anyone else when it comes to employers being inappropriate.”

“And he does.” Oliver gave Samir another sympathetic look. “It’s complicated with demons, and we’re still ironing out the legalities, but on a base level, if he wanted to end the contract citing harassment or boundary-pushing, the law would be on his side. The same with you, if he’d made inappropriate overtures that you didn’t appreciate. The fact that you need semen and incubi don’t really… do… the whole jerk off into a cup thing complicates it, but that’s why we have these check-ins. We can’t really do one size fits all for demons, and this way, we’re sure that everyone involved is okay.” He tilted his head, watching Samir. “Are you okay? Val hasn’t told me any details, but I got the impression you’re going into pretty unfamiliar territory.”

“I’ve never done this dominant stuff,” Samir burst out. “I don’t get why he likes it, but he says he does. I just don’t want to be another in a line of partners who hasn’t taken proper care of him.”

Oliver’s expression softened. “Oh, Val was right about you. It’s about trust, Dr Zidane. He trusts you to have his best interests at heart, and letting you take control is a way for him to let go.” He chuckled then, the blush returning. “Besides, it’s really hot sometimes to let someone else do what they want to you, if it’s the right person. Do you enjoy what you do with him?”

“Of course. I just - worry that I’m doing it wrong.”

“You aren’t.” Oliver smiled. “Besides, half the fun of a new relationship is exploring how you both like things. But I know a happy incubus when I see one, and Val’s not concerned. You should always feel free to talk to him, by the way. He’ll be more useful on the whole dominant side of things, and he loves it when people he puts together make it work.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “For someone as intense as he is, he’s got such a soft heart. No wonder he likes you.”

Samir felt himself blushing again. “Ah. Well. I like him, too. He's been - very helpful. With… things.”

Oliver laughed, reaching out to lightly pat Samir’s hand, and said, “I'll stop us talking about the sex stuff before we both spontaneously combust. How are your tests going?”

Samir brightened. “Amira is very optimistic. There's magic in the fluid, but our medicine speciality practitioner says it's residual rather than a key chemical component. We're going to try to synthesise a sample by the end of the week to see if it has the same effect without the residual magic.”

“It would be good if you could,” Oliver said, nodding. “I know several sex demons who would happily contribute if it turned out you needed it from the source, so to speak, but we don't want to make demons into sources of medicine if we can help it; it opens too much of an avenue for abuse.”

“That's exactly what we're worried about,” Samir agreed. “And it's why we didn't seek outside funding until Infernal Partnerships opened the grant program. We're not looking to publicise unless it's going to be safe for the demons. We're not interested in publicity, anyway.”

“Science for the sake of science.” Oliver smiled. “We're very interested in working with you in the future as well, so you know. Your Amira writes very thorough reports, and Val approves of your passion.”

Samir laughed. “Don't let her hear you calling her my Amira,” he warned. “Amira doesn't belong to anyone but herself.”

“And you're interested in someone else being yours,” Oliver teased, as Canto and Valentine emerged from their conference room. Canto was a little flushed and kept glancing at Samir, but he didn't seem distressed, just distracted. Valentine came over to where Samir and Oliver were sitting, bending to press a light kiss to Oliver's hair.

“I'm satisfied,” he announced. “You two take care of each other. Oliver and I will go collect Ashley. Come on, puppy.”

Oliver blushed again, giving Samir one last smile and getting to his feet, remarking, “Someone's got all worked up. We'd better find Ash and get out of your hair. We'll talk again soon, Dr Zidane. It's been a pleasure.”

As Oliver and Valentine left, Samir went over to Canto, reaching out to cup his face. “Everything all right, love?”

Canto shivered, leaning into the caress. “I'm good. Valentine is just - well, you've met him. He's a lot.”

“As long as you're not comparing yourself unfavourably to him, he can be as much as he wants,” Samir said, rubbing his thumb over Canto’s cheekbone. “I prefer doing things to you.”

Canto shivered again, his eyes darkening with want. “Can we go to work? I need you.”

“I should make you wait,” Samir teased, watching as Canto whimpered softly at the threat, as idle as it was. “And someday I will, but not right now. You've been very patient all morning. Let's go to the lab.”

He led the way to their lab, running his thumb over the soft skin of Canto’s inner wrist. He could feel Canto's tension ratcheting up, but it didn't feel like unhappy tension; it was the sort of anticipatory nerves that were more pleasant than not. As he closed the laboratory door behind them, he leaned in to give Canto a soft kiss, murmuring, “Did you make those clothes? Can you get rid of them once I've got you in the chair?”

“I can do that,” Canto agreed, leaning into the kiss.

As always, the scenario wasn’t going to start until Canto was good and settled. Samir guided him to sit down, brushing his fingers through his hair and pulling the restraints firm around his wrists and upper arms, ankles and thighs, and one looser over his chest, enough to provide the security of restraint without interfering with his breathing. He bound a lighter strap around Canto’s tail, just below the tip, keeping it from lashing freely, and pressed a kiss to Canto’s forehead, murmuring, “Ready to go? Get rid of your clothes when you are, and we’ll get started.”

There was a gentle swirl of Canto’s honey-coloured magic, and the clothing he’d conjured melted into nothing. Samir gave him one last smile and went over to the bench where he kept his props, putting on a lab coat and tying his braids back out of his face, slipping on a pair of nitrile gloves, and picking up a clipboard. They didn’t do much on paper these days, but the look of it seemed to work for Canto.

He turned back, crossing the room to stand beside the chair and give the incubus a long, clinical look that made him squirm under the scrutiny. Glancing down at the clipboard, he remarked, “Trial B. Subject has been kept from release since 8pm last night. We have data on production under normal circumstances. Commencing stage one.”

Canto’s cock was already hard, straining against the metal loops of the cock ring. Samir pressed the decorative-looking gem set into the base ring, loosening the metal enough that he could slide the ring off. He rubbed his thumb over the head of Canto’s cock as he did so, noting, “Subject remains erect after prolonged denial of release. Attaching milking apparatus now, in the event of premature ejaculation.”

Not that there would be anything premature about it, after keeping Canto on the edge for so long, but the scientist he was pretending to be wouldn’t see it that way, and his choices seemed to be working for Canto, if the tiny whimpers he let out at every clinical remark were anything to go by. Samir set the cock milker up next to the chair, where Canto could see the reservoirs waiting and the tubing running from the sleeve to the machine, and gave his cock another slow stroke before sliding the sleeve over it and buckling it in place.

With the ring gone, Canto would be free to come whenever he needed to, but Samir was fairly sure he wanted to be held off at least a little longer, so he was careful not to touch <i>too</i> much as he set up the milker. He idly ran his hand over Canto’s thigh, murmuring, “You're good and full for me, aren't you? How would you like it if I ran a sound up that cock, hmm? Keep you nice and plugged up so you don't have a chance to come until it's time. Needy little cows like you need that sort of control, don't you? I should fuck you full of donor come, breed you properly, plug your ass and cock until you've had plenty of time to produce for me.”

Canto shuddered, letting out a low whimper, and the still-inert milking machine let out a merry little beep to alert them that one of the vials had been filled, as Canto came without Samir touching more than just his thigh.

Samir swallowed, suddenly very aware of his own arousal. He started up the milking machine and moved to the head of the chair, threading his fingers into Canto’s hair in a gentle caress that was at odds with his words.

“You would like that,” he murmured. “You’re such a little slut that you need someone to control you, or you'd go offering your ass to any bull that comes by. We can't have that, contaminating a perfectly good-” he caressed Canto’s hair again at perfectly good, smiling as the incubus leaned into his hand, “-come cow like you. You're too valuable to the project for me to risk your behaviour compromising our results.”

“Samir,” Canto gasped, turning his head to press a shaky kiss to Samir’s palm. “You can't say that. I can't keep character.”

“You don't need to.” Samir bent to press a kiss to Canto’s forehead. “We don't have to be doing a scene for me to call you a good little cow slut if that's what you like.” Another kiss. “As long as you know it's because I love you.”

“I know.” Canto shivered as the milker worked around his cock, getting hard again already. “The scenes are good. They're fun. But it's because it's you.”

“Do you want to go back into it?” Samir asked, cupping Canto’s face and rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone. “You need a minute, but we can pick back up if you'd like. But tomorrow, we're taking the day off. We can do anything you'd like.”

Canto gave him a shy smile. “That sounds nice. But… tonight, after we've got some samples for your work… maybe that scientist does exactly what he said. We can take them out in the morning, so it doesn’t interfere with the day.”

Samir smiled, leaning down to kiss Canto properly. “Thank you for asking for what you want,” he said warmly. “Do you want some juice before we go back in?”

Canto nodded, leaning up into the kiss. Samir let him for a few moments, then pulled away, pressing one last kiss to his forehead, and went over to the mini-fridge that held water and juice and a few snacks. He grabbed one of the juice boxes and brought it over to the chair, stroking Canto’s hair as he drank. Canto seemed to be settling, even with the milking machine still working his cock, but he had that little not-exactly-tension that Samir was starting to recognise as Canto needing to talk about something but not knowing how to approach it.

Well, that was all right. That was what Samir was there for. He kissed Canto’s hair softly and asked, “What's on your mind, sweetheart?”

“I like this,” Canto said, finishing the juice. “I really do. And I can tell that you like it, or you at least get turned on doing it. I just wondered…”

He trailed off uncertainly, and Samir cupped his face gently, prompting, “You wondered what?”

“You don't fuck me,” Canto said eventually, his cheeks flaming. “Or get me to blow you, or anything. If that's how you like it, that's fine, that's more than fine, just…” His voice turned small and hesitant. “Do you not - not want me to touch you?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Samir sighed, kissing Canto’s hair again. “This is all new for both of us, and we're feeling our way through very unfamiliar territory. If you were just an employee, someone I'd contracted to provide us with the physical material we need for our research, then no, I wouldn't fuck you. But you're not. You're very special to me. If you'd like that sort of sex, then I'm more than interested.”

“I haven’t wanted to interfere with your project,” Canto began, but Samir silenced him with a proper kiss this time.

“You’ve given us more than enough to work with,” he said, quiet but firm. “If you want it, there are plenty of ways I can fuck you while you’re still hooked up to the milker, but if you want me to take you to bed and make a proper mess of you, it’s not going to hurt the project. Besides.” He kissed Canto again, running his fingertips lightly along one of the incubus’s horns, smiling as Canto moaned softly against his lips. He’d wondered about incubus horns, about whether they were at all sensitive to touch, and it seemed like that in Canto’s case, at least, they were. “You’re more important than losing one day of research. I love you. So whatever you want, you tell me, all right? Let me worry about my work. It’s not as important as you.”

“I’m so glad Valentine picked me for you,” Canto whispered, honey-brown eyes filling with tears that Samir knew weren’t bad tears. “Nobody’s ever made me feel the way you do. Wanted, for more than just being an incubus. For me.”

“You’re very much wanted,” Samir assured him. “If you’re worried about my research, we can finish up here after you come once more, and then I’d like us to take the afternoon off. We’ll go and do something nice. Watch a movie, or a play. No games for a few hours. Then, after dinner, we can go to bed. Would you like that?”

Canto nodded, any remaining tension flooding from him, and murmured, “Yes, Samir. I think I’d like that a lot.”