by Kailin Gow
“Ooh,” Lux let out.
“Too hot?”
“No. It’s perfect.”
He gently let her go and she sank fully into the water as more water continued to poured in.
“This is glorious,” Lux said as she let the warm water sooth her aching muscles.
“Can you sit up?” Asher said. “I’ll wash your back.”
She sat up and leaned forward, letting him repeatedly run a soaked sponge over her back. Occasionally, his hand ran over her arm, his fingers lightly brushing along the side of her breasts.
“I think my back is clean now,” Lux said with a playful grin.
Asher let her sink back into the tub and went around to tend to her legs. He pulled one slender long limb out of the water, washed it, then more carefully did the same with her injured leg.
He stayed with her throughout the duration of her bath, telling her silly and amusing stories. It was nice to think about the good things in life, the simpler things. Her told her a funny story about a cat who’d gotten stuck in a box, then a cute story about a bear cub trying to eat out of a bird feeder. He then told her of about a little boy who had cried with joy when offered an adorable puppy.
Lux laughed when he told her about the man who’d been fishing in the river, lost his balance and fell flat on his face into the cold running water.
Then he told her more touching stories; stories of people helping each other. He told her of the woman who paid for the groceries of the older man in front of her at the cash register, and the story of a young girl offering flowers and a box of cookies to a homeless man. And when he told her of the middle-aged man who went out of his way to help an older woman who lived alone, Lux had tears in her eyes.
“Where did you get all these stories?” Lux said.
He shrugged. “Last night, after everyone fell asleep, I was feeling restless. I got up and just started looking for stories like this online. I needed to see the good in humanity. I wanted to see all that we had saved. There is so much good out there, and I wanted to focus on it.”
Lux reached out with her oily hand to take a hold of his. “You’re right. There is so much good in the world, and I’m glad we succeed in preserving it. And I’m glad that we’ll be together to protect it in the future.”
Asher smiled. “Are you saying that we’ll always be together?”
“I would sure like that.”
Beaming, he squeezed her slippery hand. “And I love you so much, Lux. Not only were you the girl in my dreams, but you’re the one to change my life forever.” He kissed her lips for a long time before he started kissing her all over her body, showing her just how much he cherished and loved her.
***
“Where did all the guys go?” Lux asked Brax when she got up from her nap later that afternoon.
After her bath, Asher had settled her onto the huge, billowy sofa in the living room instead of leaving her cooped up in the bedroom.
Now, as she sat up to find a virtually empty house, she was instantly concerned.
“Don’t worry,” Brax said. “They just went to Moore’s place to help him bring his house back to normal. They should be back after dinner.”
“Speaking of which,” Lux said as she took in a big whiff of the aromatic air. “What smells so good?”
“Ah,” he said nonchalantly. “Just a little something I whipped up.”
“And what would that be?”
“A good, old-fashioned beef stroganoff.” He came to her side. “Think you can sit up at the kitchen table, or do you want me to bring you dinner here?”
“Here would be nice, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He helped her to sit up, and propped her up with a half dozen throw cushions. Leaning in, he kissed her gently on the lips. “You sure smell great.”
“Not as great as your dinner,” she shot back at him.
Smiling, he turned to reach for the television remote control, turned the television on and flicked the channel until he found a lighthearted sitcom.
“How’s that for a change of pace?” he said.
“Perfect. It seems like all I want to do today is sleep and laugh.”
“And eat,” Brax added.
“Oh, yeah,” she said with a laugh. “And definitely eat.”
“Sit tight. I’ll bring you dinner in a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
He returned a few moments later with two bowls of piping hot stroganoff, and sat with her to watch the amusing television and eat.
They laughed together, often repeating the lines they’d just heard. Just as with the stories Asher had told her while in the bathtub, watching the situation comedy left her feeling lighthearted and optimistic.
“This is so perfect,” she said softly as she leaned slightly into him.
“Ah,” Brax said. “It could use a little less salt.”
Lux laughed. “Actually, I was talking about all this.” She waved her fork around. “The whole setting. You, watching television, eating a good hot meal.”
He nodded.
“And, by the way, this is perfect. It’s divine, Brax,” Lux said as she devoured spoonful after spoonful. “I would love to have you cook dinner for me every night. Every night!”
“Really?” he said with a proud grin. “I would love to. Lux, you changed my life. You saved me from an eternity of being a succubus and from Shayne. I can’t even express how much you mean to me. So much…”
***
Romeo was the first one back from Moore’s house that night. The moment he walked into the living room and saw Lux, he came to her side.
“I’m happy to see that you’re up,” he said softly.
“You’re looking particularly chipper for a guy who was dead barely twenty-four hours ago.”
“All thanks to you,” he said with a warm loving smile.
She smiled at him and caressed his cheek. “I think Ida had something to do with it as well.”
“Indeed, she did.”
Lux reached for the remote control and flicked off the television then sat up. “I’ve been veg’ing out on the sofa for too many hours. I think my brain is going numb. I need to some air.”
“How about a stroll through the grounds. Brax has a pretty nice layout here. The gardens, the forest. It’s quite spectacular.”
“Yeah. It is pretty nice. But…” She pointed to her leg. “I can’t put any weight on it yet. Doctor’s orders.”
“No problem. I can fix that.” He ran out of the room and soon came back pushing a wheelchair. “Let’s get you into this thing and I’ll wheel you out.”
Lux was thrilled by the idea. She held out her arms to him as he bent down to scoop her up. Holding onto him, she was instantly reminded of all the times she spent in his arms and it struck her just how much she missed those times.
Those days when he’d tutor her, those passionate nights spent together, all came flooding over her.
He gently sat her in the wheelchair then tucked a blanket around her lap. “It’s getting a little chilly now that the sun is down.”
He rolled her outside, strolling along the cement path that meandered through the garden. Portions of the path were incredibly smooth while others were rough and bumpy. And when they reached the portion of the path that was cobblestoned, it was nearly impossible.
“You okay?” Romeo said with a chuckle after she’d been shaken up for a few yards on the bumpy path.
“I think I broke a tooth,” she said jokingly.
When the short cobblestone path led to a rough gravel trail, Romeo stopped the wheelchair.
“I think I need to find a better solution,” he said. He stooped down and picked Lux up. With ease, he strolled through the dimly lit portion of the grounds that surrounded the gardens. Tiny white lights were strung up high in the tall trees, bringing a magical feel to the sparse forest.
“This is nice,” Lux said, holding onto him. “I wish we could do this more often. Every night, even. Just walk
, just stroll. No running. No chasing. No hunting. Just a breezy walk in the park. Just a romantic stroll in the garden.”
“The thought of doing this with you every night, for the rest of our lives sounds nice; very nice,” Romeo said. “When I was a succubus, I was consumed with wanting to devour you sexually all the time, and literally. I couldn’t help being passionate around you, but now these quiet times with you…it makes me feel so content and happy, too. It just shows how much I love you and being with you in any way I can. I could go for spending time with you like this for a lifetime in a heartbeat.”
***
When Lux woke up the next morning, she glanced over her shoulder to find Lucas already had some bandages, compresses and some antiseptic on a tray on the bedside table, and he was examining her wounded wing
“Everything okay back there,” she said to him over her shoulder.
“I think you turned onto your bad wing in your sleep and it pulled a part of the bandage off.”
She knew that Sully had changed the bloodied sheets of the night before and she hated the thought of having stained another set of sheets.
“Did I make a mess?” she said.
“I’m afraid you did,” Sully said coming up to her face and grinning. He pulled up a chair and sat facing her. “I think you like to keep me busy.”
“Sorry.”
He leaned down to kiss her. “Don’t worry about it. Brax has a linen closet with dozens of nice, silky soft sheets. I’ll have you in a fresh, clean bed in no time. Just as soon as my pseudo doctor brother here, changes your bandages.”
Through the sting of the fresh pain, Lux looked into Sully’s eyes. “Can you hold my hand while he changes the bandage?” she asked, holding back the tears.
“Sure thing.” He held her hand tight. “So, did I tell you about the time Lucas and I tried to sell our old clothes so that we could raise money to buy ourselves brand new bikes.”
“Ow!” Lux let out as Lucas removed the remainder of the bandage that clung to her feathers. “No,” she said through gritted teeth. “You never told me.”
“Sorry about that,” Lucas said. “It’s a bitch how half of it came off on its own and the other half refuses to come quietly.”
“It’s okay,” Lux said. “Keep going.” She looked up to Sully. “So, what did you do?”
“We went through our bedrooms looking for stuff we could sell. You know, old toys we no long played with, trophies that didn’t really mean anything to us and clothes that didn’t fit anymore. We gathered up a few pairs of jeans, some nice shirts and some really nice shoes, put them in a box with our old toys and headed out.”
“Ouch!” Lux winced, took a breath, then opened her eyes to look at Sully. “Then what?”
“Well, we were able to sell all of that easily enough, but we didn’t raise nearly enough money to buy the bikes we wanted. We couldn’t even buy one.”
“I’m going to have to clean the wound, Lux,” Lucas said.
Biting her lip, she nodded, then looked to Sully.
“Well,” he said, maintaining a light and amused tone as he spoke. “We had to find something else that we could sell.”
“And what did you find?” Lux said through clenched teeth.
“We went through our mother’s closet.”
At this Lux looked pointedly at Sully and grinned. “You’re kidding.”
Smiling, he shook his head. “I am dead serious.”
Despite the pain Lucas was causing, she laughed. “What did you take?”
“Everything that was pretty and expensive,” Sully said. “We picked out a few gowns, some expensive designer jeans and several chic business suits.”
“Wow, guys,” Lux said. “That’s naughty. How old were you? Eight? Ten?”
Sully hesitated. “Um, I was…” He glanced up to Lucas. “I was fourteen.”
“Oh, guys,” Lux said. “You should have known better by that age.”
“We did know better,” Sully said with a silly grin. “We knew that our mother’s closet was a goldmine. We sold everything and made a bundle. I mean, we had enough to buy both bikes, locks, helmets, and we even had enough left over to buy something nice for our mom.”
“I’m sure she really appreciated that,” Lux said sarcastically.
Grinning, Sully sat back, while Lucas put a warm hand to her shoulder. “All done.”
Surprised, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Really? I didn’t feel a thing.”
“Yeah,” Lucas said, amused. “Sully has an anesthetizing way of telling a story.”
“Hey,” Sully said. “It worked, didn’t it?”
With their help, Lux sat up, her wings tucked tightly against her back.
“You did a great job, Lucas,” Lux said. “Thanks.”
“We make a good team,” Sully said.
“You do,” Lux said. “And I hope you’ll be a team that will stick around for a long, long time.”
“As long as you’ll have us, Lux,” Sully said, kissing her. “You mean the world to us.”
“Definitely,” Lucas added.
***
As she sat in her bedroom staring outside, Moore came in to see her.
“It’s a dreary day to be looking outside,” Moore said.
Lux smiled and looked at him. “I guess it is. But I’m tired of watching television. I’m not sleepy. And I can’t really do much of anything else.”
“Anything I can do for you? Anything to entertain you?”
She turned to look at him and smiled. “I don’t know. Can you sing? Can you dance?”
Moore laughed. “I’m not quite talented in that way.”
“I think all your other talents are more than enough. Actually, I haven’t had much time to talk to you since you’ve been back,” Lux said. “It seems every time I wake up, you’re gone.”
“You should have seen my place. The slayers were all in such a rush to head back to their homes and their families. They left it in a mess.”
“Well, now that you’re here…” Lux patted the chair beside her. “Do you have time to sit with me a bit? The guys are all busy tending to their business.”
“Sure thing.” Moore sat beside her. “I thought you might be bored, so I thought you might like for me to read to you,” he said, holding a book up.
“That’s so sweet, Moore. I would love it.”
“I do have a good reading voice,” he said.
“I don’t doubt it.”
“This is a classic,” Moore said, tapping the cover of the book. “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
For the next hour, Moore read to her. He did, indeed, have a very good reading voice. He put just enough emphasis on certain words, was slow and deliberate with others and had an interesting way of bringing the dialogue to life.
“I could listen to you read every day, Moore. Did you ever consider going into theatre?”
He laughed and closed the book. “Not quite. But I’d be more than happy to read to you every day for the rest of your life.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you so much, Lux. You have no idea.”
***
The days passed quickly as each guy came to tend to her, wash her, amuse her and mend her back to health, while pleasuring her and showing her how much they loved her. As she became a little stronger, Moore snuck into bed with her one night and made her forget all the pain she felt as he made love to her over and over again.
The next afternoon, Brax got into the bathtub with her and was gentle as he pleasured her, making her cry out his name as she climaxed.
On a cool night, Asher cuddled up close to her and they watched television together while fondling one another under a blanket.
After a rainy morning, Romeo kissed her passionately, while making love to her the way he did when he was her professor, hard, and unrelenting to the point when they climaxed, she felt so relaxed, she was like jello. “Oh Lux,” Romeo grunted. “This is the first time making love to you as a human, and it feels better than al
l the times we had sex when I was a succubus. Knowing we have this passion even without me being a succubus means we have this intense chemistry between us without any special magic or supernatural pull. We’re meant to be, Lux.”
Then later that night, Sully held her tight and kissed her while slipping into her as he whispered words of love into her ear as she moaned her pleasure. Sully’s mouth, lips, hands, and body made her feel so loved and beautiful. “You’re the only woman for me, Lux,” he groaned when he came into her. “I can’t imagine being with anyone else. Just you, Lux. I have eyes only for you, my beautiful Lux.”
Even Lucas, usually so cool and aloof, came to her one night as she awoke from a bad dream. He slipped into bed with her, cuddled up close and then made slow, sweet love to her.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how I feel about you,” he said as he held her tight.
“I think I can sense how you feel,” Lux admitted. “But it sure would be nice to hear it from you.”
Lucas chuckled. “All right then. I love you. I love you, Lux. I’ve always held a crush for you, but now I’ve fallen in love with you, even though, since the very beginning, I thought it wasn’t proper to fall for you, as the son of the Dean and owner of Shadowlight Hunters Academy, but I can’t help it. I can’t hold back any longer. I’m so crazy for you, Lux. I’ll give up everything to be with you, it’s insane how much I want you.”
“Lucas, every time we sparred when you taught me how to fight, and every time we saw each other at the Academy, at home, here…I can’t help wanting you, too,” Lux said.
Lucas’ face lit up as he kissed and hugged her, completely free from the usual serious expression he wore. “You just made everything so worth it, Lux.”
They fell asleep in each other’s arms and when she awoke the next morning, he was already gone. For a moment, as she sat up in bed, she considered ringing them, asking any or all of them to come give her a hand, but then she realized it’d been long enough.
