Boots Read online

  He held his breath, readying himself, when the left boot and foot mated. Still the sudden rush of power made the room pitch and spin. Magic flowed into him, increasing his being. Soon he would be too large for the cabin, too large for the mountainside. Gods, oh, gods, it's still there, all at my paw tips now! I am immortal! I am the demon who rides the lightning! I am...

  His.

  One look at Willem brought him back down from his magic-induced high, back into the physical body he inhabited.

  "Are you all right?"

  Some men who had claimed him had done so for selfish gains, for power and wealth. Some had done so out of lust. But Willem, sweet boy, had no idea what he had done. He was simply giving footwear to his demanding cat. "Yes. Thank you."

  Kasha leaped down from the chair to stand on two legs. He tried a few steps and did a slow pirouette. "So, do they suit?"

  "Never was big on the cowboy look, but on you, it looks good." Willem gave a satisfied nod. "You're a very handsome cowboy. Cowcat. Cowboy-cat."

  "That was perhaps the clumsiest compliment I've ever received. But thank you all the same. Now, I believe you mentioned dinner?"

  Chapter 3: Feline In His Bed

  A couple of tins of tuna and half a box of crackers later, they lounged in their blanket nest in front of a roaring fire. Kasha had placed his hat up on the table, but refused to take off his boots. If they ever had a bed again, that would have to change, but for now, Willem didn't say anything.

  While Kasha dozed in a warm ball next to his thigh, he dug out his tin snips and the three empty tins, two tuna, one sardine, which he had washed out in a nearby stream. Shapes formed in his mind, tiny geometries that would link together to form the whole he intended. Spatial manipulation had always been as natural for him as breathing, the one thing he did well. His father had tried to steer him toward drafting and civil engineering, but the books he had tried to read had been so dry and his high school drafting classes had lulled him to sleep.

  He was well into cutting tiny triangles from the tuna can, when he realized one bright green eye peered out at him from beneath Kasha's tail.

  "Do you mind if I watch?"

  Willem shrugged. "Why would I mind?"

  "Some men don't appreciate an audience while they create."

  He reached over to scratch Kasha behind his ears. "I don't mind. Really. Gun's kids used to watch me all the time." This was why he only had one of his creations with him. Whatever he made usually went to a patient, watching child.

  When he had what he believed to be all the necessary pieces, he took out the soldering iron and wire and started assembling. A pair of tweezers would have made the work easier and neater, but he managed, joining each meticulously cut shape to the next. The almond-shaped pieces cut from the green portion of the sardine company logo became the eyes. The most delicate triangles cut from the tuna can became the ears. White half moons from the nutrition information box formed the little socks on the front paws.

  Darkness surrounded their little oasis of firelight by the time he had finished. He put down his soldering iron and rolled shoulders stiff from hunching over his work. Though Kasha had watched the whole process, he still felt shy when he presented the finished piece.

  "There. What do you think?"

  Kasha tipped his head to the side with a slow blink. "It's... me."

  "Yes."

  "Willem, I... that is, no one's ever... "

  "You don't like it. I'm sorry." Willem reached out to take the little metal cat away. Kasha's paw shot out to stop his hand.

  "No. I like it very much. I'm simply... surprised." Kasha petted him, his velvet pads soft against Willem's skin. "Your technique is extraordinary. Quite astounding."

  Willem struggled to determine whether the praise was serious or if the sharp-tongued cat was poking fun. Hard to tell with cat expressions. "Oh. Okay, then." A huge yawn snuck up on him. "Bedtime, for me, at least. Don't you want to take your boots off to sleep?"

  "No, thank you. I'd like to keep them on, if you don't mind."

  * * * *

  The little metal and wire cat was exquisite. How could such large, powerful hands create something so delicate, so elegant? Kasha lay on his side, staring at the miniature sculpture after Willem had dropped off to sleep. No one had ever thought of him as anything but a tool, an instrument of fate. Certainly, no one had ever taken the time to craft a likeness of him with such loving care.

  If he had been able to weep, he might have. Even without tears, regret shadowed his heart. This one would be difficult to leave when the time came. Though perhaps the time they did have could ease both their loneliness. Yes. Willem needed more than a change in fate. It would cost him nothing to give him that.

  * * * *

  When Willem woke that night, he knew where he was and who lay in his arms. His beautiful dream boy was back.

  "Don't put me to sleep again," Willem whispered, afraid even a loud voice would banish the vision beside him. "Tell me who you are."

  "Dear Willem." The green eyes held a glint of amusement. A gentle hand stroked back through his hair. "Can you honestly tell me you haven't guessed?"

  "I've never seen you before last night."

  A lean-muscled leg slid over his, caressing his calf. Willem looked down to see the boy's foot encased in a black boot... Kasha's boot. "You do know. Let your mind come around to it."

  Those green eyes, the gently mocking voice... No, holy shit, it can't be. Willem jerked back in shock. "You can't be Kasha. He's a cat." He scrambled backward over the floor, terrified that his last bit of sanity had taken a flying leap off a tall bridge. "No... go away! You're not real!"

  Hallucination-boy snorted. "Of course I'm real. Your family's been feeding me for years."

  "The cat... the cat was real." Even a magic cat, he could accept, but this beautiful boy, despite his feline eyes and fluid grace, was not a cat.

  "Not just a cat. Willem, it's still me. This is simply another aspect of me, the one you don't see as often."

  "I haven't seen you before because I wasn't crazy before!" Will scrabbled over the floorboards and surged up, trying to stand. He smacked his head on the edge of the table with a sickening crack. The room tipped on its side.

  "Willem! Will!" A soft, anxious voice called to him across the universe. "Oh, my poor Willem. Easy now."

  He lay with his head and shoulders cradled in someone's arms. Must have grayed out. Ow. Damn. His fingers found a sore lump on top of his head. "Kasha?"

  "Yes. Despite your protestations to the contrary."

  "God." Willem put an arm over his eyes. "This is horrible."

  "Why?"

  "I've lost my mind. The way you look. Shit. It's just proof I've lost my mind."

  Kasha helped him sit up. "I can't possibly appear that hideous to you." His green eyes narrowed. "Or is it that you prefer something different? Someone larger, more powerfully built to match your own strength?"

  Will twisted out of his hands again. "What? No! Christ, you've seen Joey. You know I like smaller men." That was just it. This illusory version of Kasha was his dream boy. Lean, compact and hard-muscled, with smooth, golden skin and lovely, elfin features, he was like one of those luscious uke boys from a Japanese graphic novel, though not so effeminate. "It's... just sick and wrong. You're a cat, dammit, my cat. What the hell's wrong with me?"

  With a little sigh, Kasha moved behind him, hands kneading his knotted shoulders. "So you do find me desirable?"

  "Yes, and that's why you can't be real! You're exactly what I want, what I dream about. You have to be something manufactured by my tired, lonely brain. God, my head hurts."

  Gentle hands tilted Will's head back to rest on Kasha's shoulder. Skilled fingers massaged his forehead and temples, easing the throbbing tension, soothing the sharp pain of smacking his skull on hardwood. "I see. So every boy you've ever desired then was an illusion. Every time you looked across the room and saw someone who attracted you, it was a daydream. Everyone yo
u ever fucked was a hormone-induced hallucination."

  "Yes... no! I didn't... that makes no sense."

  "Neither does what you're babbling, my dear." Kasha leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm trying to create a logical progression for your thoughts."

  "I... oh." Willem became all too aware, even through his jacket and shirt, of the warm, naked chest pressed against his back. "I haven't had that many lovers, you know." He cringed at how defensive that sounded.

  "You certainly could have." Kasha undid his top two shirt buttons, sliding his fingers under the fabric to attack his knotted shoulder muscles more directly.

  "I don't just hook up with guys to screw them. I want it to be more than that."

  "No tomcatting about, eh?"

  Willem turned his head to see Kasha's wicked grin. His stomach did an odd flip, though he couldn't tell if he was still freaked out or getting turned on. "Not funny." He gazed into those lovely, not-quite-human eyes. If he wasn't crazy, there had to be some other explanation. "Kasha, what are you?"

  Kasha slid around to face him. He still had the cowboy boots on, boots that shouldn't have fit adult male feet, but damn, he looked sexy in nothing but those. "If I tell you, will you run off to get a priest with crosses and holy water?"

  "Please. You're not a vampire."

  "Ah, no." Kasha's nose wrinkled in the most endearing look of offense. "Hardly."

  "What, then?"

  "I'm a sort of demon." Kasha took his hand as if he might try to pull away again. "Not the kind you Westerners usually think of. Not, say, the kind from Paranormal Activity. But not a being of the human world."

  "A cat demon."

  "Yes."

  "And you're here because... "

  "Because I'm a very bad little demon who broke the rules. I have to live among humans."

  "Oh." Willem took a moment to mull this over. "So, you were, what's that word, banished? Wherever home is, you can't go back there?"

  Kasha broke eye contact, a visible shiver running through him. "No," he whispered. "I can't go home."

  The shiver evolved into full-fledged shakes and Willem felt like a jackass for making him so upset. So he was a demon, so what? He'd never hurt Willem or his family and he obviously had feelings. He reached out and gathered Kasha close, pulling the lithe, lean body into his lap.

  "Shh, Kash, I'm sorry." He rocked Kasha slowly, stroking the silken skin of his bare back. "Things have been a little screwy inside my brain lately. I didn't mean to poke into things that would hurt you. It's all right. So we're homeless together. It'll be okay."

  A low, keening moan came from Kasha, a sound that pierced Willem's heart. He wrapped his arms around that slender body and held him tight, letting Kasha cling to him until the shivers subsided. He shifted to adjust himself, the press of that beautiful, tight ass against his crotch just a little too intimate to keep to innocent thoughts.

  "Don't cry, beautiful." Not that Kasha was weeping, but he didn't know what else to call the little whimpers catching in his chest.

  On impulse, he slid his hands up to cup Kasha's face. It fit so well in his hands. He tilted his head and watched in fascination as Kasha's eyes fluttered shut, his lips parted. Unable to resist the invitation, he closed the distance and pressed his lips to Kasha's. They were so full, so soft. He needed another taste. His lips touched down for a more serious kiss, his tongue teasing at the seam of Kasha's lips.

  Demon kisses. Like mint-chocolate and honey.

  He was rewarded with a throaty moan and Kasha's arms twining around his neck. The slender body melted against him, lips eagerly returning his kiss, opening for his questing tongue. Then Willem knew. He might be a demon and might work magic and have odd, mysterious motives, but sexually, Kasha was a bottom through and through.

  Tongues parried as their kiss caught fire. Willem let his fingertips explore the firm planes of Kasha's chest. His thumb flicked over the hardening nub of one brown nipple and he received a little gasp. Not just a bottom, but also a wonderfully responsive bottom. It suddenly became the most important thing in the world to him to erase the sadness from Kasha's eyes.

  "So you're a bad little demon?"

  Kasha pulled back far enough to see his face, his expression guarded. "Some would tell you so."

  Willem tangled his fingers in thick, black hair, tugging gently. "And have you been bad today?"

  Awareness dawned in those bright eyes. A wicked smile curled Kasha's lips. "Oh, yes. I've been a very bad little demon today. Very bad indeed."

  "Hmm. We can't just let that go. Especially since you're my demon. You were left to me in my dad's will, after all."

  With a little squirm, Kasha let him know how excited this turn in conversation made him. His hardening cock poked Willem in the stomach. "I've been positively evil. I really should be punished."

  "You seem way too happy about that. It's not punishment if you enjoy it."

  "I won't." Kasha slid off his lap and pushed his jacket from his shoulders. "I'll be positively miserable and penitent. I promise."

  "I see." Willem chuckled and pushed Kasha's hands away when he started on the shirt buttons. "You sit there like a proper penitent, then. Hands to yourself."

  Kasha sat back on his heels, hands clasped behind his back, gaze on the floor. Willem raised an eyebrow at the instant compliance. He wondered what his past lovers had demanded.

  "You can watch, beautiful. Unless you don't want to."

  The dark head snapped up, a brief look of outrage on Kasha's face before he smoothed his features. His eyes devoured Willem's movements as he stood, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. A hot flush crept up from his heart. He knew he wasn't ugly. He'd been told enough times by both sexes that he was easy on the eyes, but he'd never had someone's eyes rake over his body with such starved heat. It made him self-conscious, as if he stripped out of more than just his clothes, but he had started this so he had to brazen through it.

  What the hell am I doing? Am I so lonely, so horny, that I'll settle for any port in a storm? We just met a couple of days ago and he's not even human. That wasn't entirely true, since he had known Kasha all his life, just not like this.

  He dropped the shirt to the floor and sat on one of the chairs to unlace his boots, taking his time. Kasha chewed on his bottom lip, his erection bouncing a little as he squirmed impatiently.

  Willem undid his belt, popped the button on his jeans, and pulled the zipper down tooth by tooth. He did have to be a little careful; his full, hard cock was bent down at an odd angle under that zipper. Getting it caught would have ended the fun real quick.

  "You're glorious," Kasha whispered as he shoved his pants and boxers down.

  "Really? And here I thought I was just plain hot." In more ways than one. If he blushed any more, he was going up in flames. He sat back down on the chair to pull his clothes off the rest of the way, and then folded his arms over his chest, trying to look stern.

  "Now what should I do with you? Hang you by your thumbs, maybe? Tie you to an anthill?"

  He meant it as teasing, but the look of fear and suspicion that leapt into Kasha's eyes nearly broke his heart. The expression faded so swiftly, he wondered for a moment if he'd been mistaken. "Kash?"

  His face a stoic, expressionless mask, Kasha approached on his knees. He placed a hand on Willem's thigh and turned his face up, though his eyes remained lowered. "I am yours. To do with as you will, Master."

  The word was like a bucket of ice water dumped in his lap. He lifted Kasha up and set him on his feet, keeping firm hold of his biceps. "Don't you ever call me that. Ever. Hear me?"

  For the first time, he thought he caught confusion in those spring-green eyes. "But you are. I belong to you."

  When Willem stood, he towered over the little cat demon by a good half a foot. He took Kasha's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing his head up. "Don't say that. You're a thinking, feeling being. You don't belong to anyone."

  Kasha bit his lip on a mewl of distres
s. Shit, what did someone do to you?

  "And I don't want a slave or some I Dream of Jeannie kind of fantasy in my arms. I want a partner. I want you, with your smartass remarks and your cut-through-the-bullshit questions. All of it. All of you."

  "What should I call you, then?"

  Willem allowed himself a little smile. "How about stud?"

  "You haven't done anything to earn that yet."

  "Good. That sounds more like you. You can't tell me groveling comes naturally."

  "No." The single syllable held more sorrow and anger than Willem thought possible.

  He held out his arms and waited until Kasha snuggled against his chest. "I like when you say my name. Everyone else just calls me Will. But you say the whole thing, and it sounds liquid and beautiful, like lake waves on a windy day."

  "Willem, my dear boy." Kasha leaned back to meet his eyes. "I'd no idea you have a poet's heart."

  "Maybe you inspire me." He leaned in to brush a soft kiss over Kasha's lips. "Now, since you know what I like--"

  "Beautiful, compact boys with smart mouths and tight little asses."

  "Yes. That." Willem laughed, wishing he didn't blush so easily. "Tell me what you like."

  Kasha's hands skated up his arms, making Willem shiver. "I like big men. Men of strength and... " He glanced down at Willem's package. "Sizeable assets. I do like the feeling of being overpowered during sex, overmatched. Tenderness has its place. But in the grip of passion, nothing annoys me more than being treated too carefully."

  "I'll keep that in mind. But you do know I'd never hurt you. Don't you?"

  "Yes." Kasha ducked his head. Embarrassed? Ashamed? "I know. Should have known."

  Willem pulled him close again and crushed his lips down on Kasha's in a bruising kiss. The undulations of that lithe body against his sent a rush of blood to his groin, his cock achingly hard again in seconds.

  Kasha's scent drove him on, his taste an aphrodisiac all its own as he plunged his tongue into his sweet mouth. The fine-grit sandpaper feel of Kasha's tongue against his added an extra layer of excitement. Teeth nipped at him and Kasha's nails kneaded into his back. Willem bent and slid an arm under Kasha's knees to scoop him up against his chest, still driving his tongue hard inside. Those firm, yielding lips against his conjured a sudden image of them wrapped around his cock. The thought nearly took him out at the knees.