Of Angels and Demons - 1. Greed

Greg Thomas got out of his Honda Civic in front of the Wolf Queen Casino. There was a hundred and fifty-two dollars in his pocket that he had borrowed from the till of the bowling alley he worked for. Tomorrow he was splitting to Cali to hook up with his brother. All he needed was a good run of luck for expenses. It wouldn’t even take a jackpot, just $300 for his roommates, $150 for gas, a little more for food and $152 for work so he wouldn’t have to spend the night in jail. If he could turn the $152 in his pocket to $700 he would be sitting pretty. Money, it was always about money. There was never enough.

He ran a hand though his medium length brown hair after looking at his watch. It was a little before 11:00PM. Late, but he didn’t have to be at work until tomorrow at 2:00PM. Of course he would be fired for taking money from the till tomorrow so did it really matter if he was on time. He just needed to make this count.

Walking into the casino he was hit by the slightly stale smoky air. There wasn’t a ventilation system powerful enough to remove the amount of smoke created while people gambled away their hard and not-so-hard earned money. Even South Park had joked about Indian Casinos in an episode. States claimed that it was good for the economy, providing jobs and money. All Greg knew was that on a good night, it was good for him, entertaining and profitable. What more could you ask for?

He made his way through the crowded groupings of slot machines, flashing bright comical animations with their tell-tale jingles competing with the overhead music, searching for a money machine. Everyone had their own view of which machines were lucky. Some people only liked end machines and others preferred ones in the middle. Some looked for machines where someone had just lost all their money and other looked for machines with a high payout. Greg thought that none of those things really mattered. There was a vibe he was looking for. Something about the way the screen lined up or felt as he walked by it. Narrowing his eyes, he looked around trying to find the machine that would make him money.

On the far side of the room, he saw a group of newer slots. One with a purple boarder and groups of cranes caught his eye. A lady got up from the machine he was looking at and he took it as a sign.

“A thousand cranes, huh,” he said softly to himself as he sat down at the penny machine. He flipped the screen to see the payouts and whistled softly. Cranes were wild and multiple rows and columns would lead to a hefty payout. Putting a twenty dollar bill into the machine, he hit the button for placing $1.20 bet and pressed the enroll button.

“Ding…Ding…Ding…” the machine sounded indicating that he had hit a bonus on his first roll. As the game rolled into his twenty free spins he watched the numbers and symbols roll through. At fifteen spins he had $9.20 cent returned on his $1.20 bet and then he hit a jackpot roll. Coins exploded on the screen as the music became frantic, $60.00 return, fifty times his bet. At the end of the bonus round, he had turned his twenty dollar bill into $95.65.

Pursing his mouth, he narrowed his eyes at the machine. He could take the money out and find a different machine or he could continue to play this one and hope it continued to pay out. Looking down at the bet keys the next bet up was two dollars. Pressing the button he let the amount roll. “Ching, Ching, Ching,” Three rows of wild cranes slid onto the screen connecting all the rows on the right side to the left with two numbers showing as five of a kind. The machine was loud as coins exploded on the screen once again. He watched the credits won flash across the lower bar of the screen. Five thousand credits flashed across the screen six different times with several lesser amounts. By the time the machine had quit spinning, he had won and additional $600.00. His heart raced. In two spins, he had won all the money he needed. He should take out the $695.65 ticket and cash it.

A waitress called out ‘Cocktails’ and at almost a hundred dollars more than he was aiming for, he decided he could afford a drink.

“A whiskey and coke,” he said after getting her attention by raising his hand.

“Sure thing hon,” she said writing down the number of his machine and flashing him a quick smile. “I’ll be right back.” She moved past him taking orders from other machines as she went.

Looking back at the bet amounts on the machine he read 30, 90, 120, 200, 250 and 500. He had bet 90 and won almost a hundred dollars and then 200 and had won six hundred. His eyes lit upon the 500. Five dollar bets ate money quickly, but he was so far up. “What could it hurt?” he reasoned out loud, fantasies of spending the next night in a hotel instead of his car flashed through his mind.

He hit the button. The machine returned nothing. Sighing, he hit the button again. Again the machine returned nothing.

“Your drink sir,” the waitress said handing him the small cup filled with brown bubbly liquid. “That’ll be three dollars.” Handing her one of the twenties from his wallet, she returned his change. Giving her back two dollars for a tip, he mumbled, “Here and thanks.”

“Thank you and good luck,” she said wandering into the crowd.

Turning back to the machine, he noted $685. It wouldn’t hurt him to play it down a little bit after all the previous turn out had been so profitable. Deciding to continue while he finished his drink, he hit the button and the reels spun. In a short time he noted that his ticket was down to $500.

“Shit,” he hissed. In a matter of minutes he had lost $185 dollars, all because he’d been greedy. Going over the math in his head he thought about what he’d won and lost. Pulling out his wallet he counted out $120, twenty for the ticket in the machine and ten for drinks, he’d ordered another one just a little bit ago. Figuring it was better to be safe than sorry, he took the ticket out of the machine and cashed it.

“Good luck,” said the teller, handing him five one hundred dollar bills.

Greg looked down at his watch. It was only 11:30, a half an hour hadn’t even passed. He was a hundred dollars short of where he wanted to be and the only way to get it back was to play some more. Looking around he saw that there was an opening at the Chaos Coins machine. Making his way over there, he sat down in the open seat. He put a $20 bill and pressed a button for a $2.50 bet. Twelve spins later the amount of credits in the machine read zero.

This wasn’t right, this couldn’t be right. Chaos Coins always paid better than any other machine. Frustrated, Greg took out a hundred dollar bill and stuck it in the machine. Not trusting the 250 bet again he went ahead and pressed the button for 75. At seventy-five cents a roll the money would go a lot long, but the payout would still be good he reasoned. Spin after spin returned nothing. When the hundred dollar ticket was down to thirty-five, he took it out of the machine and moved on.

The casino was crowded. It never ceased to amaze him how many people came here. Stopping at a Fabulous Fairies machine he put in his ticket. The max bet on this machine was lower than any other $3.00. Pressing the button he spun the reels and a bonus came up right away. Sitting down, he sipped his drink and wondered when a waitress would happen by.

Even though he was betting max credits the bonus only paid out twelve dollars. The next bonus was sure to pay better he reasoned, so keeping the bet at max, he went ahead and spun the reels. A short while later he looked at his total credits and found that his ticket was down to five dollars. He hadn’t hit another bonus nor had he had a decent win. Glaring at the machine he put in another hundred dollar bill.

The credits on the machine went up and down, until heading for a downward spiral and ending with $1.25. He looked in his wallet. After getting a few more drinks and the two $100 tickets he was down to exactly $400. If he left right now, he could still make it down to Cali, but he wouldn’t be able to do that and give his roommates their rent. He looked around.

Near the back entrance of the casino was an open machine for Mystical Merlin. He had never played the game but he knew people who’d done really well at it. Putting in one of his hundred dollar bills, he bet max credits and hit enroll. The machine paid, not big, but twenty-five dollars was more than he’d won in a while. Sitting down he kept rolling. After what seemed like forever his ticket was up to $300. That would put him back up to $600, if he could just win a little more. A waitress walked by and he ordered another drink. By the time she came back he was down to $220.

‘Why?’ he wondered. He wasn’t being greedy. The casino made so much money. Why wouldn’t it just payout. Sticking to the max bet, he spun again and again. When the ticket hit $5 he sat staring at it in disbelief. He’s been up. If only he’d gone and cashed it. Cringing he looked in his wallet. He had two hundred dollar bills and some twenties. Things had been going so well, when did it all go wrong. He ran the ticket down to zero and then moved from the machine.

A tall man with white hair walked in through the back entrance and looked around, spotting Greg he smirked, walking off to the left. Greg couldn’t help but notice him. His hair, eye lashes and eye brows were all white, but his eyes were so dark they looked black in the dim light of the casino. Watching him, he followed a short distance behind. Dressed in a pair of dress pants and a deep purple button up shirt the guy looked like some sort of executive. What the hell was he doing here? Did executives really like to gamble away the fortunes they made? He followed wondering what type of machine a guy like that liked to play.

Wolf Queen Casino had originally been a small three story hotel. When the Tribe had taken it over they gutted the main floor of everything except the reservation desk. The original hotel lobby was turned into casino floor with a far wall being reserved for a bar and deli. As the establishment made money, they expanded. There was nothing left of the original structure. Six stories tall with an adjacent parking garage, a five star restaurant, a stage for performances and six thousand feet of gambling floor, it was as if the casino was its own world. There were no clocks, although tickets did have date/time stamps, and what windows existed were blackened so that it was impossible to see what time of day or night it was. Greg had often wondered if there were people who just stayed here recycling their money through the self-contained microcosm that existed within the Casino’s walls.

Following the purple-shirted guy through the myriad of machines, he tried to stay unnoticed. He wondered briefly if he was looking for someone and then dismissed the thought since he didn’t seem to be searching the crowds around him. The pale-haired man wandered deeper into the casino back by the older machines. Most of the machines in the section were nickel or quarter machines. Greg had always thought it was amusing that people would happily gamble five dollars on a penny machine but they would say that the four dollars and fifty cents for a max bet on a nickel machine was too much. Apparently math wasn’t a requirement for throwing away your money.

They ended up in the furthest corner from the front doors. The white-haired man in the purple shirt took a seat at the empty bar which occupied the corner. Pulling out a cell phone, the guy made a call as Greg sat down at a vacant machine where he could keep an eye on him. When the guy turned around, Greg quickly put a twenty into the machine, selected a middle bet and pressed enroll. Better to be playing, than caught stalking he reasoned.

Coins started flying across the screen capturing Greg’s attention. He had just won a hundred and fifty dollars on a dollar twenty-five cent bet. Paying more attention, he looked the game over. Juggling Joker’s was a five cent machine with two court jesters pictured on the splash art of the machine. The art of the reels showed playing cards and faces that were caricatures of royalty. He looked over the pay screen to find out what the significant wins were.

Five jokers paid the highest, followed by Aces, Kings then Queens. Flushes and Straights paid next, followed by a Full House with Tens and Nines following. It was similar to poker except the possibility of five of a kind instead of four. A joker in any hand doubled the payout, with multiple jokers multiplying the payout multiple times.

“Can I buy you a drink?” asked a deep silky voice.

Looking up, Greg’s pale blue eyes connected with eyes so dark he couldn’t see where the pupil started and stopped. “I…sure,” he stammered. He hadn’t expected the guy he’d been following to come up to him, much less offer to buy him a drink.

Stopping a passing waitress, the guy said, “Tina, please get…” The pale-haired man looked at him expectantly.

“Greg.”

The man smiled. “Please get Greg whatever he would like,” he said looking at Greg.

“Yes Mr. Mammon,” she said enthusiastically.

Her eyes skimmed over Greg however, he couldn’t help but notice the attention she gave the man. The look of utter adoration written on her face was one usually reserved for celebrities, but he was sure he’d never seen the tall pale-haired man on TV or in the movies. Although, his name did sound familiar and he struggled to figure out where he’d heard it before.

“Ah…whiskey and coke,” he said. As soon as he uttered the words the waitress hurried away.

“Mr. Mammon?” Greg asked scratching his head. He felt a little intimidated. The waitresses here always took as many orders as they could before returning to the bar. He’d never seen one respond like Tina.

“You can call me Ravi,” he said.

The waitress returned with his drink handing it to Greg. She turned and looked at Ravi expectantly. Greg noted that it was if she were waiting to be dismissed. Taking a sip of the drink, he wondered how long she would continue to wait.

“That’s all, thank you Tina,” Ravi said, after a few minutes.

Tina’s face broke out in a huge smile, as if he had just told her she’s won a million dollars. Greg watched her rush off to take more drink orders. The way the waitress had fawned over him spooked Greg and he wondered who exactly Ravi Mammon was.

“So are you the owner or something?” he asked, trying to appear casual. His curiosity was killing him.

Turning back to Greg he said, “No, I’m not the owner.”

He wanted to ask him if he wasn’t the owner then who was he, but he felt it would be rude. After all the guy had just bought him a drink and unlike the small four ounce drinks that he had been paying three dollars for all night, this was a double or triple served in a regular size glass.

“Do you come here a lot?” Greg asked. The question sounded like the worst sort of pickup line and he regretted it the moment he said it. Outside of blatantly asking him why the waitress had acted like a servant waiting on her master, he didn’t see how he was going to piece together what was going on.

Ravi chuckled. “You could say that,” he replied, but then didn’t elaborate. “So what brings you here tonight Greg?”

Looking at the man, Greg felt his mouth go dry as he remembered why he was there. “I’m planning on moving down to Cali and needed some money for the trip.” Greg felt his face heat up as he said it. It really hadn’t been his intention to be honest. After all he had lifted the money from the till at work in the first place. There was something about the dark eyes and the silky voice that was disarming.

“So what’s in California?” Ravi asked.

“Sun and fun, my bros an entrepreneur I’m going to help him out with his business. There’ll time for lots of R & R on the side.” It wasn’t the entire truth, just more than he’d been going to say.

“Ah, your brother Julian Avery Thomas. He deals meth to high school students and has a small prostitution ring, doesn’t he?”

“How did you…” Greg felt light headed. How did this guy know his brother? It made no sense. He was sure he’d never met Ravi Mammon before. “How do you know Jules?” he asked trying to maintain his composure.

“He’s been a client of mine for years,” Ravi smiled. Unlike his previous smile, this one looked predatory and made Greg want to pull away from him.

“Client? I don’t understand. My brother works on his own.”

“You know all businesses take capital to start them…even illegal ones.” Tina brought Ravi a drink. He hadn’t seen the man order one, nor was he drinking one when he sat down. The liquid was thick and red, and although Greg was sure it was just a Bloody Mary without the garnish, he couldn’t shake the thought of it being blood. Greg was getting a very bad feeling about Ravi. “Do you need another drink Greg?” he leered.

“I ah, no…thank you. I think I should be going,” Greg said. Removing his ticket, he went to stand up. The ground rushed up to meet him and he found himself sitting on the floor. He looked up at Ravi confused.

“I’m sorry Greg,” Ravi said, his voice floating over Greg like a blanket. “I can’t let you leave.” The white-haired man knelt next to him and ran a finger over his jaw. His nail ended in talon like point that was as black as his eyes. “See you are greedy, there is no doubt about that. Stealing money to gamble with and losing everything you’ve won. But your brother…” Ravi’s cold heartless laughter washed over him in a chill. “Your greed is nothing compared to your brother’s. You and I need to have a little talk Gregory Andrew Thomas. It appears that you are the most valuable thing your brother owns.”

Greg’s head swam. “Own…Jules doesn’t own me, I’m his brother not his pet.” Even to his own ears his voice sounded whiny and thin.

“Semantics, all family members own each other. It’s why they feel protective and possessive of each other. If I were to break Tina’s arm would you get as mad at me as if I were to break your brother’s arm.”

“What? Of course I would.” Greg couldn’t believe the conversation. Ravi’s face was so calm and stoic, he might as well have been talking about the weather.

“Maybe it is a bad example, after all you’ve met Tina and feel connected to her.” Ravi pondered tapping his lip. “What about all the horrible things you see on TV when you watch the news?” he continued.

“I don’t understand it’s the news.”

“Yes, but all that awful stuff is happening to someone. All of those people are other people's mothers, daughters, wives, husbands, sons, and fathers. They all have a family…someone they belong to.”

“But it’s not belong to as in possessions,” Greg said. Having enough of sitting on the floor looking up at the strange tow-haired man, he stood up and immediately regretted it. The room swam slightly around him. Clutching to the chair he’d just been sitting in, he looked over at the glass the waitress had given him. True he’d had several drinks before that one, but he didn’t feel like he should be this incapacitated. “I gotta go…” he sighed for some reason his tongue was feeling very thick in his mouth and it was took a lot of effort to talk.

Feeling the need to be as far away from Ravi Mammon as he could, he let go of the chair and he took a step. His legs felt like gelatin and rather than his feet moving him forward he fell. Right before he hit the floor, a large pair of well-tanned hands caught him. Looking up, he saw that he had been saved from kissing the carpet by one of the casino’s security guards.

“I gotsa go…” he mumbled.

“Sir?” asked the guard, looking over Greg’s head to Ravi.

“Take him up to my suite. I’ll be there soon.” Although he had been talking to the guard, Ravi’s eyes never lost contact with Greg’s.

“No, I wansa go…” he mumbled, trying to pull away from the guard. His speech was becoming more slurred; shaking his head he tried to clear his double vision.

The guard’s firm grip on his arm steered him away from Ravi. Looking over his shoulder he watched as Ravi walked off. His head felt thick and it was hard to think. Something was off, even though he’d been drinking he hadn’t drank so much that he should feel this intoxicated this quickly.

“Little too much tonight huh?” the guard said. “No worries, we’re just going to take a little ride in the elevator and then we’ll have you home safe and sound.”

“I wanna go ome,” Greg struggled to say. For some reason the guard thought he and Ravi were together and he tried to figure out how to make the guard understand that he needed to go to his real home, not upstairs.

"We'll be there soon," the mammoth of a guard smirked.

“Noooo, I washa go.” Jerking his arm back, Greg was able to pull away from the guard as he stumbled backward. He barely avoided being grabbed as he bumped into someone behind him. Turning, he staggered forward to put some distance between him and the guard.

“Sir, wait,” the guard yelled as he stumbled away.

Glancing behind him, he looked back at the guard. A procession of women walked between them, blocking his view of the tall man. As he reached the end of a row of machines, he turned the corner, hunched down and followed the rows to the bathroom.

The face staring back at him in the mirror was haggard and drawn. His blue eyes were wide and glossy. “Shit,” he hissed. Leaning forward, he splashed water onto his face.

“You know there is a bathroom up in the suite.” Greg jumped and spun around. Walking toward him was Ravi Mammon with two security guards behind him.

Greg looked around for a way out. The only exit was on the other side of Ravi and there were no windows. A small cry escaped him and he watched with wary eyes as they approached.

“I jus wanna go home,” he whined.

“Shh,” said Ravi, stopping once he was within touching distance. Reaching out, he stroked the side of Greg’s face. It reminded him of how one would pet a child or dog. Looking down, he refused to meet the blond man’s jet colored eyes. “You’re only making this harder on yourself.” His silky voice caressed over Greg causing an unwanted reaction.

“Please,” Greg whimpered.

Ravi leaned down until his head was just over Greg’s. He could feel the taller man’s breath on his cheek and ear. “You are home,” he whispered.

Greg woke up in a huge bed with a pounding headache. He couldn’t remember where he was or how he got there. Sitting up, the silky sheets slid down his bare flesh. Realizing he was nude, he panicked and began looking around the room for a trace of where his clothes were.

The room was rather large however the only piece of furniture in it seemed to be the bed he was lying in and a console center with a large TV and DVD player on it. There were two doors and otherwise the walls were blank except for a large mirror over the bed. Looking up he was shocked. He barely recognized the face looking back at him. His blue eyes looked larger than normal and his shoulder length black hair was sticking up in random directions. The black carbonite ring he wore in his eyebrow piercing stood against his paler than usual skin and his lips looked like he had been sucking on cherries.

The one thing that caused him to stare at his image was around his neck. Dark with shiny gems that looked like diamonds, the cuff around his neck resembled a dog collar complete with a ring for a leash. Touching his neck, he felt the dark band and ran his fingers over it trying to find a clasp to remove it.

“No, no, no,” he hissed, as he desperately pulled at the collar. The television flicked on causing him to jump. His eyes grew large as the image of his brother flickered to life of the screen. He seemed to be talking to someone sitting behind a large desk and on top of the desk surface were large white bricks.

“Look I can move all of it, but I only have the cash for one brick,” said Jules to the unknown person sitting behind the desk.

“One brick is nothing Mr. Thomas.”

“Exactly, so if you let me have all of them, I’ll move it for you and return you a hefty return on your investment.”

“Fifteen bricks is a lot of product Mr. Thomas. If I were to trust you with this much snow I would need assurances.”

“Of course,” he said. His brother’s eyes looked large and greedy. Greg knew Jules was going to walk out of there with all the meth sitting on the table. “What do you need from me?” he heard Jules ask.

“I need you to sign a contract, pretty standard really, just a little assurance that if you don’t deliver the return on my investment that I will get to seek compensation.”

“Sure,” Jules said. “What kind of compensation?”

“Just your most valuable asset,” he could hear the smirk from the man behind the desk.

“My most valuable asset,” Jules laughed. “I am my own most valuable asset,” he said confidently.

“Do you really think so? I never leave things like that up to say so. That is why you will need to sign the contract in blood Mr. Thomas.” The person sitting behind the desk pushed a paper in front of his brother and handed him a pen. Greg could see that the pin had a spike on the side of it.

“Blood? What are you into Voodoo or something, superstitious much?”

“Blood is a binding element, Mr. Thomas. After all, you’ll forgive your family for things you would never forgive anyone else for and why, because they are connected to you by blood.”

“I think you exaggerate,” he said as he grabbed the pen. Wincing when the spike went through his finger he signed the contract and handed it back across the table.

“Really, so if Greg were to sell your soul to the devil for fifteen bricks of meth you wouldn’t forgive him.”

“Sell my soul to the devil…wow you really enjoyed Sunday school didn’t you. I hate to tell you Mr. Mammon, but there is no such thing as the devil. That is all just Christian myth to get everyone to step into line.”

“So you would throw the baby out with the bathwater eh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well obviously, God is not personal enough for you. And truth is he is a bit high and mighty…all I created it why do I have to watch over it. But you think that because you can throw out his personal involvement with your life you can just discount having a soul?”

“A soul?” Greg watched his brother laugh. “What does my soul have to do with anything?”

“I believe that depends on what you consider your soul to be. If you consider it to be the thing that makes you you, then you would be more possessive of it. Fortunately for you I am not collecting souls.”

“What?” Julian shook his head on the screen. “Whatever do I get to take the bricks or no?”

“Of course Mr. Thomas.” The man behind the desk stood up and walked around the desk. Greg’s heart sped up as he realized the man he’d been following, the man who had told him was his brother’s most valuable possession was the man that Jules had made the deal with. He watched as they shook hands and Julian walked out of Mr. Mammon’s office with fifteen bricks of Crystal Meth.

The video flickered and his brother’s face reappeared only this time it was drawn and haggard. His lips were pale and chapped and the bags under his eyes looked like bruises. “They tell me you are going to see this Greg,” his brother said to him. “You have to know I didn’t understand. I had no idea that the contract I signed meant that I was giving him you. I was greedy. I know that. Please forgive me, please.” His brother took a haggard breath and looked at someone beyond the camera. “If you can get away do it. I don’t know what they are but it isn’t human…they are crazy…run Greg…just run,” his brother pleaded frantically. He watched the screen as a man walked up behind his brother and grabbed his head. The sharp twist could only mean one thing. He could feel his chest tighten and his breath came out short and sporadic. The worst possible scenario had occurred. His brother was gone.

One of the side doors to the room opened and Ravi Mammon walked in. Sitting on the edge of the bed he grabbed a fistful of Greg’s hair and pulled him over. “Do you understand now, my pet,” he asked. There was no emotion in his voice. It was cold and precise like a scalpel cutting though flesh.

“Wh..What do you want?” Greg asked his voice thin and afraid.

Ravi’s fingers ran along the side of Greg’s face softly, curling under his chin. His thumb fingered his lower lip pulling at it gently. Parting his lips, Ravi descended on them. The kiss was breathtaking and gentle, causing an unexpected and unwanted response in Greg. Breaking the kiss, Ravi pulled inches away and Greg fought the urge to lean up and reengage his lips.

“Your greed,” Ravi whispered. “I want your Greed.”

"You murdered my brother," Greg cried. His voice was strained as he fought the panic he felt welling up from his core.

"Murder is such an ugly word, don't you think," Ravi sighed as his hand skated over Greg's face. His touch was gentle and it sent waves of unwanted desire coursing through him.

"Why! Why did you kill him?"

"He was in my way."

"In your way," Greg gasped. His mind reeled. What the hell was he talking about? "In your way of what? How can he pay you back for the blow if he is dead?"

Ravi chuckled. It was cold and sent a wave of fear through Greg. "You know it never ceases to amaze me how narrow minded humans are? You think that money is the only type of wealth there is."

"What are you talking about," Greg hissed. A feeling of dread welled up in his stomach. He searched the emotionless ebony eyes that captured his. A knot formed in his throat as he realized he was helpless to look away.

"I am a collector," Ravi said. Pulling Greg's head to the side by his hair, he took his earlobe, breathing hot air around his flesh as he bit down softly.

"What do you collect?" Greg moaned. His body's reaction to Ravi was conflicting with his thoughts. This monster had murdered his brother, but right now his groin was throbbing after just a few touches.

"Whatever I want." Twisting Greg's face toward him, he captured his mouth. Ravi’s tongue skirted inside. Whimpering, Greg could only open up to the blonds’ administrations.

Need swept through Greg in a torrent of passion. His skin felt painfully tight and a desire to feel Ravi’s flesh against his own coursed through him. Hands grappled for buttons. Frustrated, he yanked on the sides of the purple shirt causing buttons pop. The sound of them hitting the walls woke him from his lust filled trance.

Pulling back he was horrified, at what he'd been about to do. Looking away from Ravi, he shut his eyes, trying to still the overwhelming desire he'd been feeling. The sound of fabric rustling brought his attention back to the blond. As he opened his eyes, he felt wanton lust resurge though his body.

Ravi stood bare-chested by the side of his bed. Tattoos circled his shoulders in identical spiral patterns with tails tracing down his arms ending with small delicate spirals on his biceps. His nipples were pierced with heavy dark barbells and another tat scored his abdomen. Tribal and dark against the pale toned flesh, the marks were mesmerizing and tempting.

Greg felt helpless as desire welled up inside of him. Swallowing hard, he allowed his eyes to trail over the dark ink and pale skin in front of him. The desire to see if there were any more tattoos under the dress slacks was uncontrollable. Sitting up, the soft cotton sheets slid off of his body.

Crawling to the edge of the bed, he knelt before Ravi. Tracing a finger over the tattoos on his abdomen, he whispered, "I hate you."

“And yet you still want me,” Ravi said, his voice devoid of emotion. The truth of his words had weight and Greg nodded as he licked his lips anticipating what the beautiful man in front of him was going to taste like.

Undoing the top button, he unzipped his slacks, sliding them down to pool around bare feet and exposing pale well-muscled legs. A firm length pushed against dark silk boxers, tracing his hands over the black fabric in front of him, he sighed at the sensation of the material under his fingers. Leaning forward, he mouthed the flesh covering Ravi’s well-defined stomach. His tongue following dark ink as his fingers slid under the silk blocking his view. Looking up, his blue eyes locked with ebony ones as he removed his underwear. Without breaking eye contact, he lowered his mouth until his lips met Ravi’s moist bulbous head. Tracing his tongue over and around, he lapped up the salty dew that had accumulated. The taste of the brackish nectar sent an uncontrollable craving through him. Shutting his eyes, he engulfed Ravi’s shaft.

The feel of the thick length in his mouth, combined with the salty taste made Greg moan in pleasure. A desire to swallow Ravi whole coursed through him and he pushed down on his member until he could feel his stiff length deep inside his mouth. Pulling back slightly, he bobbed up and down, abusing the back of his throat as Ravi’s length became stiffer. Grabbing a fist full of Greg’s black hair, Ravi pulled him off his cock. A whimper escaped him and he licked his lips in anticipation of returning to his administrations on Ravi’s member.

“Greg,” Ravi whispered, “what do you want?”

“You,” begged Greg, “please. I just, I need you.” Dark calculating eyes searched his face. A small cruel smile graced Ravi’s lips and he pulled Greg up by his hair, descending on his mouth while embracing his body flush against his tattooed stomach. Hungry for the contact, Greg opened his mouth to the blond allowing him access and grabbed his shoulders from behind with his hands. Forceful and almost cruel, Greg’s lips felt bruised as the strength of the kiss stole his breath.

“Will you give me your Greed my pet?” Ravi purred next to his ear when he’d broken the kiss.

Greg shuddered as the words seemed to permeate his being. Waves of desire ran through him like spiked feathers across his skin. It hurt and felt good at the same time. There was something he was supposed to be remembering. But right now all he cared about was whether or not Ravi was going to let him continue the blow job he’d been giving him.

“If I say yes,” he struggled to say though his lust addled brain. “Will you let me suck you?”

“When you’re a good boy.”

He couldn’t stop the cry that escaped his mouth. The authority in Ravi’s voice was undeniable. “If I don’t give it to you?”

“Then I will take it, you are my pet after all.”

“I-

Ravi’s mouth descended on his and his thoughts shattered into a million pieces.

“Yes,” Greg sighed. “Anything you want.”

“I’m going to fuck you,” Ravi said.

Greg whined. The words sent a wave of yearning though him. He wanted to feel Ravi inside of him, deep and consuming. It was impossible for him to control his desire. A single clear thought came to him. “What are you doing to me?” he whined as he leaned back on the bed.

“I’m bringing out your Greed.” Ravi flipped him onto his stomach. He could feel the firm pressure of fingernails run down his back. Firm hands grabbed his hips and lifted him onto his hands and knees. “Some people are money Greedy.” He heard a bottle open up and felt a warm liquid drip between his cheeks. “Some are possession Greedy.” A finger trailed through the drops and then circled around tight muscles, before slipping inside his hole. He gasped as the finger circled around going deeper inside of him. “A very few are like you.”

Gasping he pushed against the finger, wanting more. “What do you mean?” he demanded frustrated with the conversation. All he cared about was Ravi taking him. He wanted to feel the thick member he’d been sucking deep inside him.

Ravi shoved a second finger inside of him. Twisting them around, he spread them apart and back together. “You are lust Greedy, you will do anything to satisfy the cravings inside of you.” Pulling out his fingers, Greg whined at their loss until he felt Ravi’s cock behind him. The broad head penetrated his outer ring of muscles. Panting through the pressure, Greg fought the urge to push backward, skewering himself on thick length that permeated him. A hand between his shoulder blades flattened his chest to the bed. The length impaled him hitting the nerve bundle deep inside of him. Groaning, Greg pushed back on the thick length as much as Ravi’s firm grip would let him. He whined at the restraint, wanting to shove Ravi deep inside of him. Lifting his chest off the bed, he pulled Greg’s back against his stomach. Although the angle changed how deep Ravi was penetrating him, it made it so that his head was pushing directly into his pleasure center. Crying out he threw his head back against Ravi’s shoulder and caught a glimpse in the mirror above the bed.

Ravi’s head of white blond hair curled around Greg’s neck, his paleness contrasting with Greg’s black hair and olive skin. The dark tattoos on Ravi’s shoulders and arms moved over his muscles. He watched as a pale hand with black fingernails reached down and began to massage his length, crying out as sharp nails bit into his tender flesh.

Images of other nights flickered through his mind, other lovers taking him, possessing his body. Need coursed through him and he felt helpless as pleasure began to climb through his body.

“I’m going to…I can’t…” he panted.

“Give it to me my pet,” Ravi whispered against his skin.

The referral to being owned drew his eyes to the black collar around his neck. He whimpered as the implication of being a possession coursed through him. It was too much. Crying out he watched as jets of white cum pulsed out of his cock onto Ravi’s wrist. Ravi lifted his hand to Greg’s mouth, hunger for the essence of their joining overtook him and he licked the skin until it was clean. He could feel his lover growing firmer inside of him and the desire to feel the blonds’ seed fill him was urgent. Ravi pulled him tight and he felt heat explode inside his body. Greg groaned as the blonds’ cum filled him, his cock throbbing inside of Greg’s body.

Ravi’s black eyes caught Greg’s blue ones in the mirror. Panic welled up in Greg as he came down from the lust filled high and realized what he’d just done. As Ravi pulled out of him, Greg ran toward the door opposite the one Ravi had come in through and prayed it was a bathroom.

Rewarded with the sight of a white porcelain toilet, he knelt in front of it gagging. Following him into the room, Ravi turned on the shower, rinsing off while Greg’s stomach lurched at the thought of what they’d just done. As the water was turned off Greg cried out, “What did you do to me?”

“Nothing you didn’t want done,” said Ravi coldly as he dried off.

“You killed my brother and then seduced me!”

“I was nowhere near your brother. And I believe my dear pet, that you were the one to seduce me. I didn’t rip open your shirt or take off your pants.”

“I woke up naked there was nothing to remove.”

Ignoring him Ravi continued. “All I did was kiss you until you begged me to do more.”

“Yeah well that will be the last time anything like that happens,” he hissed as Ravi walked toward the door.

Turning around, Ravi’s cold black eyes caught Greg’s mesmerizing him. Kneeling down before him he ran a hand over the side of Greg’s face. Want and desire course through him at the simple touch and Greg’s cock sprang back to life. Smirking, the blond asked, “Do you honestly believe that?”

“What kind of monster are you?” Greg hissed, trying to control the panic he felt well up inside of him.

“I am a demon…the arch-demon Avarice Mammon and you are my toy to use until I get tired of you,” he said capturing Greg’s mouth in a cold passionless kiss.

Backing against the cold of the bathtub, he watched as Ravi stood up and left the bathroom. Fear and panic welled up inside of him as he realized, there was no escape.

~~The End?~~