Bound in Blood

Chapter 2

Inside the office, Orion leaned against the dark wooden desk, tossing a glass paper weight between his hands. The room was large and the walls were lined with bookcases filled from floor to ceiling. It looked just like it did the first time he had seen it years ago. The door clicked open and in walked Mr. Mon, a smug smile spread across his face. "Care for another drink?" He asked.

"Sure," replied Orion curtly, walking over to one of the bookshelves. He ran his hand along a row of books to distract himself, their spotless leather spines still and cold. Now that they were in a room alone together, Orion's heart began to beat quickly and his palms felt cold and sweaty. He stuffed his hands nonchalantly into his pockets hoping Mon wouldn't notice his nervousness.

"It's not like you to be so nervous-" Mon held out a glass of amber liquid. Orion chuckled softly and grabbed the glass, his head lowered so that his flushed cheeks wouldn't be noticed. Mon reached his hand up to Orion's chin and lifted it upwards. "Amazing isn't it? That even after all this time our contract still affects you this way." His red eyes narrowed mischievously.

Orion winced and closed his eyes, the pleasure of the Prince's touch stopped his breath for a moment. He quickly slapped Mon's hand away. "Stop it...I'm here on business." He turned away and took a deep breath to himself before sitting in the chair behind the desk. He propped his feet up on top of it and took a sip from the glass.

"You're not fooling me with all these displays of false confidence," Mon laughed and took a seat in an armchair. Orion's cheeks flushed but he fought the urge to look down. He needed to keep his composure. This was a deal just like the hundreds of others he had made before.

"Don't you usually have your harem with you during meetings?" He asked, holding on to any hope that they wouldn't have to be alone together.

"Oh, you'd like an audience? You really have changed -" he dipped his finger in the bourbon and ran it around the edge of the glass causing the crystal to ring. The noise hit Orion's ears and he froze. A lump formed in his throat and his chest tightened. "Stop it," his jaw clenched and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything but the sound.

Mon grabbed the glass to stop the vibrations. "You've been gone a long time but it looks like not long enough," he said, amused by the young demon's reaction.

"Quit playing around," Orion stated sternly. "If you don't want to talk about a deal, then I'm leaving." He stood up and began to head towards the door.

"Oh Orion you are so transparent. You're not going to leave...Not without what you came here for."

Orion stopped and turned around.

"And I might give it to you," Mon continued. He stood up and walked to the desk, a locked drawer opening with the flick of his wrist. "I understand your little...group...is having a hard time staying out of trouble -" He pulled out a file.

"Only because someone keeps trying to steal our contracts," Orion replied sharply. He purposefully downplayed what he really needed. It was always better not to let them know how desperate you were. Although in front of Mon, he wasn't sure how effective that strategy would be.

"And why should I care about what contracts you're making?"

Orion thought about a small vial he had tucked away in his coat pocket. It was his only real bargaining chip. "Well I just thought you might be interested since Levi is behind it all." Mon's hands clenched into fists at the name. "Currently we still work in your territory sharing 15% of profits with you. If Levi takes over the south then he'll be coming for you next." There was a pause and a moment of silence between them before Orion continued. "But I'm sure I could work out a deal with Levi if I had to...maybe a binding. Did you forget how persuasive I can be?"