Rating: Explicit
Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Category: M/M
Fandom: Original Work
Relationship: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Additional Tags: Shapeshifting, Hypnosis, Manipulation, Murder, Cannibalism, Resurrection, Snuff, Eroguro, Slow Burn, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Alien/Human Relationship, eldritch space entity in a human body, the body is cis technically but he does give himself pussy sometimes. or tentacles, Implied/Referenced Incest, Demons, Office Sex, BDSM, Necrophilia, let me make it explicitly clear that all the gore/death tags and the resurrection tag go together, they both die but they both come back every time
Felix Carter is just a normal human man, and Matt Jones is just his normal human boss—or at least that's the picture they paint for everyone else. In the privacy of a lavish office on the top floor of a corporate building, Felix is a man on a mission to kill a god, and Matt is the god daring him to try.
This game can only have one winner, and Matt learns to regret not pulling the plug before it started to mean something.
new pinned post since this is arguably the most important source of malix lore. read my fic boy. (if you want to)
from my "random scenes" document, an event that may or may not happen in canon following another entire event (alluded to here) that i was writing recently but that also may or may not happen
i just had part of this scene in mind and really wanted to write it
Felix sits down next to Matt and looks up at the starry sky above, contemplative. "Have you ever been down there before?"
"Yes, but only once," Matt sighs, audibly exhausted. "I needed to know what I was up against. I'm confident, but I'm not stupid." He huffs a humorless laugh. "Usually."
Felix leans back on his hands, stretching his legs out past the sidewalk and onto the parking space in front of them. "How did you avoid them? They all feel you coming from a mile away."
"I suspect the more powerful ones have a much wider range, honestly," Matt mutters. "But avoiding them is only tricky when I'm locked into the same reality that they are. They may bend it, but they rarely move through different layers of it."
Felix glances over at him, watching the way Matt hugs his knees, not looking at anything in particular. "How would you— Oh, right." Matt meets his eyes as Felix continues, "Without a vessel."
"Yes." Sitting up a little more, Matt casts his gaze up to the sky above. "It's only the surface reality that hurts, in that way. There are many others to move through. As long as I don't cross paths with the demons as such, they don't know I'm there. The trade-off is having very little influence over the world around me." His posture shifts, relaxes, and he stretches his legs out as well. "I can move through planes of reality as though through water, in that state," he muses. "In this form, I am bound to one reality at a time, but in exchange I am free to interact with the surface and all who walk within and around it."
Felix looks up again. The stars are dimmer here in the city, but they're still a welcome sight after their long ordeal, and they always seem a little brighter around Matt anyway. "You don't do the body thing that much, though. Relatively."
"Relatively," Matt echoes. "It's very useful, but there's never been a dire need for me to find a new vessel. I decide to do it when I want to experience reality… or when I'm bored. Which I suppose is the same thing."
Felix looks over at him again, observes the soft angles of his face in the moonlight. "Is that how you wound up here? Looking for a new one?"
Matt sighs. "Yes and no. I was restless, surely, and desperate for something new, but I would have chosen anything that fit my tastes after a point. I was aimless, wandering… And then within my vicinity, someone was uttering an incantation I'd made. I'd hoped to use them to find new hosts, but that tradition died out some time ago."
That gives Felix pause. He looks over his shoulder, up some of the towering length of the company building, then back to the sky above, before sitting up and raising a knee to rest his arm on. "That's kind of a crazy coincidence, isn't it? That you just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, for your entire routine to get turned into this?"
Matt surprises him by drawing his legs back and then rising to stand. "Let me tell you something, Felix," he says, dusting himself off. "If there's one thing in this universe I refuse to believe in, it's fate. My life is a result of my own choices, and the consequences and benefits thereof. There is no predetermined destiny that guides us to what we yearn for nor what we deserve."
This is a sentiment he's alluded to before, but the conviction with which he delivers his little speech is more than Felix was expecting. Before he can object to the implication that he was even saying fate had led them here, Matt turns to look down at him. There is no condescension in his gaze, nor contempt, nor smugness. He looks tired, but there's something… more. Something that stirs in Felix's ribcage, an echo of what must be a stronger emotion.
"What I do believe in," Matt says, perfectly calm, "is luck."
The way Felix's heart jumps in his chest feels wholly unfamiliar and yet entirely his own. He stares at Matt, stunned, unsure of what to say. No one else has ever rendered him speechless even half as much as Matt has.
A hand is extended his way. "We have a long road ahead of us, Mr. Carter," Matt informs him. "You and I have made some very powerful enemies together."
Felix takes his hand, and for as exhausted as he seems, Matt effortlessly lifts him to his feet. He's always so small when he's at Felix's side, but the immensity of him, the true size of his being, feels very close tonight.
"What are business partners for?" Felix offers with a grin, and Matt gives him a hint of a smirk in response.
an excerpt from a fic i'm working on about matt's gluttonous urges and felix discovering more about them as the relationship progresses
"Honestly, why should I respect you?" he sneers.
Matt's eyes go a little wide, and then he turns to face Felix fully. "I don't want to play right now, Carter."
"No, I'm serious," Felix insists. "You know not killing me because I'm fun to have around and actively wanting to keep me alive are two different things, right?" Matt's eyes narrow dangerously, and Felix leans back against his desk. "I'm just saying. If I don't have to actually worry about something like that, why should I even be scared of you?"
"I'm sorry," Matt seethes, "did I give you the impression that you didn't have to worry about that?"
There's a part of Felix that's all too aware of how far he's pushing the envelope. He can feel Matt's agitated emotions clear as day, see the warning look in his eyes—but Felix has never been a cautious man.
"Well you don't want me to tempt you into succumbing to your feral urges, or whatever," he scoffs. "You obviously want me alive."
There are times where Matt's true nature is more apparent than usual. Even with his golden eyes, his halo, his fangs, he's still mostly human—and Felix has never seen him stray far from that form. The form isn't the only thing that completes the image, though. Sometimes Matt moves too fast, too smoothly, like he's operating on another plane of existence entirely, unbound by the laws of the world he's been living in. Now is one of those times.
Pain reverberates through Felix's skull as Matt slams him down on the desk with a tight hand wrapped around his throat. As the stars in his vision clear, breath quick and ragged, snake-like golden eyes meet his own.
"Let me make one thing clear, Carter," Matt murmurs, his voice carrying an implicit threat on every syllable. "If there's one thing you should be, it's afraid. Your entire existence is akin to a baby bird. You're fragile, and tiny, and helpless, and with one wrong move I could crush you underfoot. Snap every single one of your bones by holding you just a little too tight." As if to prove his point, his grip tightens just a little, not as much as when he killed Felix a moment ago but still enough to hurt. "Whether or not I desire that outcome is irrelevant to you being a fucking idiot with no self-preservation instincts who dares consider himself my equal."
Felix claws at Matt's wrist, but it's no use; he's rigid as stone. Everything feels fuzzy around the edges.
"Take this seriously," Matt murmurs, "or I will snuff out your life. I'll be the only one who remembers you even existed, and only to be disappointed with what a waste you were."
this fic is referenced in the one i'm working on so i may as well post it now. please be nice tumble
it's a filthy frotting fic about the first time matt and felix kiss, as well as when their professional relationship is set in stone. and also the first hint felix gets about matt's appetite...
---
Everything has changed so much in such a short span of time.
There was an air of mystery to it all, before—or more accurately, an infuriating lack of understanding, and the sense that he was being deliberately kept from things. Felix had never enjoyed deferring to the higher-ups in the company, but after Matthew Jones Sr. suddenly “stepped down” and his son took his place, everything had gotten worse. He’d understood Mr. Jones enough to know how to manipulate him; Matt was nothing like that, even if he almost seemed like it on the surface.
Felix had tried to dissect him and his mannerisms and couldn’t. He’d tried to coerce Matt into telling him things and was met with big smiles and careful evasion every time. The other members of the C-suite seemed to fully believe they had Matt under their thumb; Felix could tell that wasn’t the case even from a distance. With his plans to usurp the former CEO handily roadblocked by his baffling son, Felix had opted to end the game there, no longer interested in dealing with subtlety.
That had unwound everything before his eyes, the fabric of the reality he thought he knew coming undone and dropping away to reveal something so much more than he could have ever anticipated. There was a moment at the time where he’d been filled with a sense of all-encompassing dread—not even the moment when he was forced to kill himself, but after. As the reality of things started to settle in, as he stared up in horror at gold eyes and a shimmering halo while his virginity was stolen from him. The presence of some sort of divine being in the real world had implications about the greater truths of reality that Felix didn’t especially want to believe in. He'd been raised religious, told for years that he was on a fast track to Hell, and had dismissed it entirely. This made everything uncertain.
Maybe he should have left when Matt let him live. Instead, he started to hone in on the idea of killing Matt for real, whatever that entailed. The idea was more interesting than trying to become a CEO had been, and truthfully, it pissed him off that Matt seemed so unaffected by what had transpired. Informing his boss that he fully intended to find a way to kill him was met with a smile and a suggestion of having more sex.
Maybe he should have said no.
It’s been maybe a week since then, and they’ve barely interacted; Felix has been wondering if Matt’s smarmy comment about him being “not bad for a virgin” was even less sincere than it seemed. Was he unimpressed? Does he have no interest in doing it again? Felix tells himself that he doesn’t care, that he has more important things to worry about, but he can’t stop thinking of the velvet heat of Matt’s cunt around his cock. (It’s not fair that Matt can just have whatever junk he wants. It makes him even sexier, somehow.)
He tries to put it out of his mind. He tends to avoid doing research on company time—he doesn't care what people think of him, but he also doesn't want to field annoying questions from the IT department—so he does his actual work, things he’s been relegated to doing for months now. He’d forced his way to this position when the senior Jones was still in charge, using his skills to dig up all manner of blackmail and promising his silence if he was promoted. That blackmail is largely useless now; arguably Felix still has full control over the other executives if he wants it, but none of what he has even touches Matt. Maybe he should be grateful that Matt is letting him stay where he is. Mostly, he finds himself feeling frustrated.
It’s on the way back to his office after delivering a thinly-veiled threat to someone who’s been slacking that Felix finds Matt waiting for him. Their eyes meet, and Matt gives him one of those sweet little smiles that just barely covers something much more sinister underneath. He's actually in formal wear for once.
“Can I see you in my office, Mr. Carter? There’s something I wanted to talk with you about.”
Felix meets Matt’s gaze as evenly as he can. Is this a precursor to more sex? He’s both fine with that and not—he hates feeling like this will only be on the table if Matt wants it to be. It’s been a week of barely seeing him. Having a lack of agency is infuriating, even if Felix gets laid as a result.
“Came to see me directly, Mr. Jones?” he observes, tilting his head. “You could have sent an email.”
“Matt,” Matt corrects him, a sharper edge to his smile. “I wanted to see you right away. Can’t put it off if I’m right here, can you?”
Felix scowls, just a little. “Guess not.”
Matt leads the way back to his own office, waving off someone’s attempt to hand him something and largely not acknowledging anyone else they pass. Likely as sex seems, Felix almost can’t help but wonder if it’s something more urgent. Nothing of the sort really comes to mind.
Once they’re in the office and the door is closed, Matt gestures to the couch against one wall before heading for his desk. Felix gives him a wary look but complies nevertheless, sitting down on the edge of the middle cushion and watching as Matt retrieves his laptop before approaching the couch himself.
“...What’s this about?” Felix asks cautiously as Matt hands him the laptop, cracked just far enough open that it’s still on. He doesn’t take it at first, but Matt gives him no answers, so reluctantly he accepts it and sets it on his knees. Pushing the lid all the way up reveals that the only open programs are for documents and spreadsheets, both with several active instances.
Still silent, Matt climbs into the couch, moving to kneel behind Felix, presumably to look over his shoulder. Felix tries to ignore him, focusing instead on the document that’s already open; the title is the name of the company. Whatever expectation that sets doesn’t prepare Felix for what he actually finds in the text on the page.
It’s a bullet list of what appears to be events that have happened at the company, starting with a brief description of the transition from Mr. Jones’ leadership over to Matt’s. From there it continues on to describe his methods of winning over the employees, forming contracts with other companies, restructuring… As Felix scrolls, he starts to find bullet points listing things that haven’t happened. Further plans, descriptive but concise, building into something that resembles a corporate empire.
He feels Matt’s lips on his neck, warm, surprisingly chaste.
Felix clicks into one of the other documents. Each page is dedicated to what looks like a profile; closer inspection reveals that the first few are for the other executives. Their heights, weights, birthdays, ethnic backgrounds, a handful of standout points in their lives, and an assessment: boxed-in paragraphs of what look like observations on personality and willingness to comply.
What he knows of the other C-suite members lines up with what Matt wrote. After them, there’s a page titled Felix Carter; a chill runs through him as Matt opens his mouth to run his tongue over the skin he was kissing.
Stubborn. Spiteful. Dangerous; maybe not to me but certainly to others. Professes to wanting to kill me. After the attempt he’s already made, I don’t doubt it. Very fun. Shows more promise than I’m used to from people. I should keep him.
“...I’m not a pet, you know,” Felix mutters, face hot as Matt grazes his neck with sharp teeth.
“Mm.” Matt winds his arms around Felix’s middle, sliding one hand up to his chest, the other roaming down towards his groin. “Maybe not.”
Unsatisfied with that answer but also feeling unfocused as Matt touches him, Felix abandons the profiles to click into one of the spreadsheets. It’s a financial breakdown—the cost of every salary, every utility, every amenity. Another one is a chart of neighboring companies, their profits, their goals, the structure of their employees…
“What is all of this?” Felix asks, trying to keep his composure as Matt palms his half-hard cock through his slacks.
“If you don’t want to be my pet,” Matt murmurs in a low purr, “how about my partner?”
“...Huh?” Felix tries to look back at Matt, but a rough squeeze to his cock and a bite to his neck arrest the motion as he chokes back a groan.
“I like you,” Matt whispers as he lifts his head to brush his lips against Felix’s ear. “You’ve got spirit, and you’re a good lay. You’re also a skilled cyber-criminal, smart about body disposal, and very talented in forcing your way to wherever you want to be. I admire those things.”
Drawing in a shuddering breath as Matt thumbs over the head of his cock, the dampness of the fabric over it actively becoming uncomfortable, Felix just barely leans back into the embrace. “So you… want me to be your business partner? I don’t—I don’t buy it.”
“What do I have to lose?” Matt asks, insufferably smug, before tracing the outer shell of Felix’s ear with his tongue. “And you have everything to gain.”
“You just want something to play with,” Felix hisses.
“I want someone to fuck.”
The roughness of Matt’s voice makes Felix’s cock jump in his hand. It’s impossibly hard to stand his ground when he's being touched like this; Matt knows it, and that makes it even worse. Felix wonders if he can train himself to withstand this sort of onslaught better if it keeps happening. “So why let me in on your corporate plans at all?” he asks in a little growl.
“Because I do want you to be my partner,” Matt assures him, languidly stroking his aching cock through his slacks once more. “Do you have any idea how boring it is to keep all of this to myself? And I could use your eyes, so to speak. Your human view of things. I've never done things this way before, I could use an outside perspective."
"Never done things…?" Felix trails off with a barely-bitten back whine when Matt releases his cock entirely. He tries to glare as Matt slips out from behind him to kneel next to him instead, but his conviction is hardly stable as deft hands effortlessly undo his tie.
"You've been doing your research," Matt murmurs, amused. "You know what I've been doing. The Godking, in all his endless power, has never run a company before. The similarities to a religion are there, but infrequent." He takes his laptop back from Felix's slack hands, setting it on the far end of the couch. "Hence, the notes. I need to keep track of things more than I usually do."
Felix lets out a shaky exhale as Matt moves even closer to him, something gold flashing in his green eyes. "So, what? I make a deal with the devil so I can get laid?"
"Like you wouldn't," Matt sneers, and Felix tries to steady his resolve as Matt slides a hand to his opposite shoulder and uses that as leverage to mount his lap. "But it isn't just sex. It's power, too. Control. And maybe…" Felix settles his hands on Matt's hips as an unexpectedly sharp nail traces a searing path across his throat. "The realization of a few fantasies of yours. If you're lucky."
Does he know? Felix gives Matt a wary look and is given a placid smile in return. If anyone is going to know about his snuff kink, it may as well be the immortal god-thing than can bring people back from the dead, he supposes.
Felix's thoughts are cut off quite abruptly as Matt winds his arms around his shoulders and leans in close. He reflexively turns his head away when Matt's lips near his, and the moment isn't even over before he realizes what a mistake that was. Matt's eyes are practically glittering with intrigue as he stares into Felix's own.
Of course he's never kissed anyone. Why would he? He's never fucked anyone before now either, which Matt is well aware of, although his experience with sex is at least a little more robust. Fucking Trevor's thighs while jerking him off was hardly the same as what he's been doing with Matt, though. He certainly never kissed his brother either way.
He expects mockery. For Matt to taunt his inexperience and maybe even challenge him to do something about it. That's not what happens. Matt touches his jaw, uncharacteristically gentle, and applies the lightest pressure to make him turn his head back. He's giving Felix the space to reject this proposal, to refuse what's being suggested. To definitively say he doesn't want this.
Bastard. This is, in fact, mockery.
Felix has never held his "firsts" in high regard. He's not particularly upset that Matt took his virginity; in all honesty, it was pretty hot, at least in hindsight. He's never fantasized about this moment, never hoped for the perfect first kiss or anything as sentimental as that. Even so—when Matt's lips meet his, tender and soft, Felix can't help but imagine that this is the ideal of what a first kiss should be. The real question is why does Matt care?
The answer becomes clear soon enough. Felix squeezes his eyes shut as Matt kisses him more firmly, lips moving against his in a way that feels like nothing ever really has before. As he shifts closer on Felix's lap, grinding against his cock just so, his tongue languidly traces Felix's lower lip like he's trying to savor the moment. A dizzying thought emerges: that awkward loser at the company party all those months ago absolutely didn't know how to do things like this. Nothing Matt is doing is a result of his body's memories—this is all Godking.
A hand finds its way into his hair, the other gripping his shoulder as Matt rolls his hips in a way that makes Felix let out a desperate groan. The gap in his defenses is immediately capitalized upon as Matt licks through his mouth in a way Felix can only think of as pornographic. This foreplay is going to send him over the edge.
As Matt moves their lips together, dominating the kiss while the heat of his body bears down on Felix's cock in the most divine way, he comes to a startling realization. His hands tighten where he's holding on, but that only seems to spur Matt on, the lascivious motions of his hips like a targeted attack on Felix's arousal. This isn't foreplay. Matt fully intends to get him off this way.
"Matt—" He tries to speak in the scant space between them, pulling back to do so, but Matt bites his lower lip before following his leaning to force him against the back of the couch. The kissing resumes in earnest, and at this new angle Felix suddenly becomes all too aware of Matt's choice of equipment today. The way his stomach twists in response to a cock rutting into his own is certainly all the evidence Felix really needs to know for sure that he is, in fact, bisexual.
Perhaps most infuriatingly of all, it's as he starts to lose the fight that Matt dials the kissing back by several degrees. Felix can't hold back the whine that leaves him as Matt kisses him with only slightly-parted lips, drawing out every motion as he grinds into Felix with just about the same level of sensual passion. He digs his fingers into the fabric of Matt's slacks, trying his damnedest to hold on, but it's then that Matt hits him hardest: he moans into their kiss, a sound he didn't even make when Felix was fucking him as hard as he could. That undoes him completely, a stuttering moan of his own swallowed by Matt's hungry mouth as he comes harder than he thinks he ever has before.
He really does hate showing weakness. In general, of course, but also specifically in this relationship, where he's constantly being looked down upon by a being more vast than he can really understand. Felix can't help but pant and tremble as Matt pulls back though, their mouths parting with a slick wet sound that makes his exhausted cock ache. The things this asshole can do to him…
"How was that for a first kiss?" Matt asks in a purr, and Felix swears he hears a hint of breathlessness, but chances are good that it's just wishful thinking. "You really are adorable, you know. Such a powerful, dangerous human, but somehow so inexperienced."
Matt's little dossier already used the word dangerous, but… "Powerful?" Felix echoes, still breathing hard.
"Of course," Matt says with a little tilt of his head. (What the fuck, he's not allowed to be cute.) "Your skills outpace that of all your peers. Maybe you're not physically powerful, but that hardly matters when you can dig up dirt on anyone and everything and have a long history of self-serving murders behind you. There's something special about you, Carter."
The loss of the Mr. doesn't go unnoticed. Matt always says that with a sort of casual dismissal in his tone, like it's a distant formality that denotes a lack of interest. This… He says Felix's last name in a way that feels like recognition. Respect. Certainly an actual interest, too.
Bastard. He's stroking Felix's ego to earn his cooperation, and it's working. Most people hate or fear him too much to try.
"Alright, alright," Felix sighs, trying to sound as exasperated as possible. "I'll work with you. Be your business partner, or whatever. Happy?"
Matt grins, and for once it isn't with his fangs; Felix sees his normal teeth so infrequently that he always forgets they're a little crooked. (It's a shame, really. He never realized how cute Matthew was. Might he have done something if he did? The guy was gay, and clearly lonely. It would have been easy.)
"Thrilled," Matt assures, pushing away and standing up. Felix is all too aware of the mess in his pants as soon as there's no heat in his lap anymore. "We'll do amazing things together, Carter. You'll see. One day this company will be an empire, and you'll be right there at its head."
"Right," Felix mutters, glowering down at his groin. "Was making your new partner work the rest of his shift visibly covered in his own cum a part of your brilliant plan?"
"Only if you refused," Matt says pleasantly as he walks away from the couch. "You know, it's a shame, they used to make clothing that wouldn't show bodily fluids through two entire layers. The world has changed a lot."
Felix looks over at him with a raised eyebrow. This might be the first time Matt has ever properly referenced the fact that he's seen a lot of human history. Felix knew, of course, after all his research and Matt's assertions that he's "been here a long time", but this casual chatter is new. "You sound like a boomer," he observes, watching as Matt digs through a cabinet next to a bookcase on the far side of the room.
"I wasn't really around for the baby boom, sad to say," Matt remarks with a little laugh as he shuts the cabinet and returns to the couch with something slung over one arm. "Had other things going on. Rest assured, my comments aren't about the good old days, I just think humans tried harder before capital became more important than craftsmanship."
Felix doesn't hear half of that, too focused on the fact that Matt is offering him a pair of slacks. He cautiously takes them, looking at the worn-in fabric for a moment before looking back up at Matt. "Where the hell did these come from?"
"Oh, any good shapeshifter keeps a stockpile of clothing on hand," Matt says with a coy smile, and his tone screams "lie" about as much as anything else.
"These aren't your size. They're closer to mine," Felix notes. "And have obviously been worn a lot."
"Oh, is that so?" Matt asks, raising both eyebrows and looking down at the pants like that's a surprise to him. "Well, I'd offer to have them ironed, but they're only temporary anyway. You just need to be presentable for today, hm?"
"So, what, you take the clothes from people you kill or something?" Felix presses. "Why? They're evidence, you should ditch them with the body."
"I'm not worried about evidence," Matt says, his smile casual, gaze drifting off to the side. "The clothes were in the way."
"Of what?"
Their eyes meet again, and Matt folds his hands behind his back, the sinister edge to his grin accentuated further when he speaks in a low rumble, his fangs visible behind his lips: "Do you really want to know?"
Felix isn't afraid of Matt. Or, rather, he has a healthy fear of Matt, but no desire to turn tail and run from him. Moments like this make him feel like he's looking into the eyes of a predator, himself only helpless prey. It would be smarter to run.
"I mean, I've thought about fucking corpses before," Felix says with a shrug as he sets the pants aside to start undoing his belt. "Whatever the hell you're doing with them can't be much worse than that."
Matt surprises him by laughing. Not a short laugh, either, but a really sincere one, one hand moving to half-cover his mouth as he cackles. Felix watches him for a moment, then resumes his task of getting out of his soiled clothes, figuring Matt's already seen him in less decent states.
"Oh, you're fun," Matt chuckles, wiping a tear from one eye. "I like you, Carter. I'll be keeping you around."
"Good to know," Felix mutters, his face hot. I like you. Fuck's sake, this freak will be the end of him.
The slacks are a little shorter than he's used to, but it's not like he isn't taller than a lot of people. The going commando part is honestly more of an issue than his slightly-exposed ankles, but it's better than the alternative. It's as he's stepping back into his shoes that Matt approaches to fix his tie. Before Felix can object, Matt speaks again.
"I'm not a devil. I'm something much, much worse, and you are making a deal with me." He cinches the tie tight, then uses it to pull Felix down to his level. "You still want to kill me? I'd like to see you try. You have some time before I decide to kill you first."
It's amazing how quickly Matt can move from pleasant to threatening. "Why not just do it now?" Felix breathes, trying to be hostile even though his whole body is fighting between fear and arousal. "Why play this stupid game?"
"You're not a threat to me," Matt purrs. "But you're mine. And what's mine doesn't survive after I've left my vessel. Loose ends, you see. I don't want my toys to exist without me." He releases Felix's tie, allowing him to stand back up again, heart hammering behind his ribs. "Is that a dealbreaker, Carter? Will you refuse promises of sex and power because it might end your life?"
"As if," Felix immediately scoffs, straightening his tie. "I'll play your game, Matt. And I'll figure out how to kill you before it ends. Underestimate me all you want, I will become a threat to you."
If Matt can tell how scared Felix is, he doesn't draw attention to it. He simply smiles, folding his hands behind his back like he always does.
"You know the role I'll be playing," Matt says, clearly ready to launch into a whole discussion. "What's left is yours. You won't be a looming shadow behind the CEO anymore—you'll be center stage. So who will you be?"
Felix lowers his hands. "Same person I always am," he replies. When Matt gives him an unimpressed look he sighs and leans forward again. "No, stupid, I don't mean this. I mean who I act like when I want people to think I'm a normal person."
"You can do that?" Matt asks, actually sounding curious.
Now Felix gets to feel smug. "Of course I can. You're looking at the guy whose parents sent him to six different psychiatrists throughout his childhood. Every single one of them thought I was a perfectly pleasant young man and didn't diagnose me with anything." He braces his hands on his knees and drags himself to his feet, adjusting his tie and smirking down at Matt. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not some fucking nutcase. I'm just smarter than everyone and they like to give you disorders about that."
"It probably is a disorder," Matt scoffs, lowering his raised leg to sit properly again. "But alright. You've got my attention."
