Gratitude of the Damned (#mm #gratitude #pnr)

By Lisabet Sarai

He’s grateful for the constant pain. Anger and hate keep him going much of the time, but when those emotions ebb, the pain remains, reminding him of his new life’s purpose.

Months, the doctors had told him. Maybe longer. They couldn’t predict the recovery trajectory from massive third degree burns like the ones he’d suffered.

The man who was formerly Stefan Aries doesn’t take the drugs they give him. He doesn’t try to dull the hurt or hurry the healing. The unremitting agony keeps him alive. It fuels his visions of vengeance.

By all rights, he should be dead. He was lucky that muscular firefighter had found him, lucky that despite being blinded and nearly mad, his power had surged when the young man touched him—a new power born of his baptism in the fire, the ability to suck the vital essence from another being through mere physical contact. Leaving the husk of his savior behind, newly energized, he’d managed to crawl away from the blazing remains of his mansion and hide in his neighbor’s garage.

When he considers his situation, he realizes he has much to be thankful for. His Swiss bank accounts, for instance, utilized cryptographic identity validation rather than biometric indicators. With no fingerprints left, a reconstructed face, and a false eye, it would have been difficult for him to access his funds if biometrics were involved. Fortunately, he had the foresight to choose the the most advanced verification technologies available.

Then there was Jezebel. He grins, though that increases the pain, remembering her joy and horror when he’d shown up at her door six weeks after the fire. A scarred and oozing monster swathed in bandages, he still had his seductive voice, plus the telepathic talent he’d stolen from the cop’s sister. That was more than enough to make her believe her Dom had returned.

Having a thoroughly loyal and devoted slave was a tremendous advantage. She’d managed all the arrangements for his trip to Thailand, the private aircraft and the multiple operations, plus all the documents and details required to legally confirm that computer genius Stefan Aries had perished in the terrible fire. She’d even attended the memorial service his parents had organized for him. She shot a video so he could watch them later, mourning their all-too-ordinary son. The eulogies all rang false. He knew what they really thought. Poor Stefan, who was born into a psychically gifted family but possessed no paranormal abilities at all.

Hah. If only they knew. He flexes his stiffened fingers and feels the power stir. The thoughts of the other customers at this exclusive riverfront café are a muted whir until he focuses on one particular individual, an impeccably-groomed young man nursing a Perrier at the next table. The guy’s thinking about going over to Boy’s Town this evening, to pick up a bit of male entertainment. His consciousness buzzes with anticipatory arousal. That sort of lust is contagious.

The recovering mage considers introducing himself. He suspects it will take little effort to change the tourist’s plans. He hasn’t fucked, or fed, for more than a week. But he’s strong now. Though he’d enjoy the young man’s ass and his essence, he doesn’t need it. No, right now he needs to focus on the next steps of his plan.

Jez was a bright, capable woman. With her help, he’d meticulously constructed a new identity. Sven Alstrom had a Swedish mother and a South African father. He grew up in Argentina, amassing a small fortune in South America through various endeavors. Now, at the age of thirty five, he has decided to retire to a farm in western Massachusetts and make artisanal cheese.

While he’d endured the surgeon’s knife and long, bloody aftermath, Jezebel had created the false history he needed. She’d seeded the Internet with false biographical details, manipulated and published fake photographs, forged passports and diplomas. At this point Sven is as real as Stefan had ever been.

He’d rewarded her as she deserved. After teasing her, punishing her, reveling in her pain for years, he finally fucked her as she’d begged him to do since the very first. Knowing his preferences better than anyone, she understood what it meant when he drove his cock into her rear hole.

She’d thanked him with her last breath.

****

This is a possible start of a sequel to my M/M paranormal erotic romance novel NecessaryMadness. As you can probably guess, Stefan/Sven is the villain. I'm playing with the idea of making the villain also be the hero in this sequel. 

What do you think?

Check out the trailer for Necessary Madness here:

https://youtu.be/4fVZjWpvJEo