by Devin Hanson
I was still hung up on Raveth being an incubus. “So that was what all his bling was about? He was inspiring greed in others?”
“He drew strength from his followers. The more he promised to pay them and the harder he pushed them, the more their greed took hold. I saw it happen, and the strength he gained from it.”
I wondered what my life would have been like if Mammet had been my mother instead of Mahlat. Would I be rich? It certainly seemed like Raveth hadn’t had a problem paying his monthly rent. “Ah, shit.”
“What?”
“I could have swiped a couple of his rings and bought a house,” I groaned.
“Mm… you are not driven by greed. Something else pushes you to act.” Her nose touched my neck and I shivered.
“You’re saying I should get some followers? Have an orgy?”
Her teeth nipped at me and I yelped. “I’m saying you should order room service while I take a shower.”
She slid off the couch and padded away into the bathroom. So much for not being left hanging anymore.
“Maybe I should join you?” I called after her.
“Maybe you should order steak. Make mine as rare as the kitchen will allow.”
I heard the shower start up. I sighed and climbed off the couch. I ordered our dinner and was told it would be at our door in twenty minutes. I put the phone back on the hook, suddenly in a much better mood. Twenty minutes was lots of time.
Steam was already fogging the mirrors when I got to the bathroom. Behind the frosted-glass partition I could see the slender shape of Ilyena soaping her hair. I stripped out of my clothes and pulled the shower door open. A wave of steam rolled out and I stepped under the cascade of hot water.
“Alex?” Ilyena asked. Soap was still in her hair and she had her eyes shut.
I slid my hands around her waist and pulled her to me. “You have a promise to keep,” I told her.
“You ordered dinner?”
“We have twenty minutes.”
She tilted her head back and rinsed the soap off her face. She turned to face me and reached up on tip toe to press her mouth against mine. “Why me, Alex?” she asked softly. Her hands traced over me, following the runnels of water.
I shrugged and made a pleased sound in my throat. “Why not?”
“You said yourself you aren’t normally into other women. You could have anyone. Ethan, Caradoc, they both want you. If not them, then any number of others. The rich and powerful of this world could be wrapped around your finger.”
“What makes you think I want that?” I ran my nails over her flanks, enjoying the feeling of her. Ilyena shut her eyes and swallowed as I dragged my nails up her stomach and cupped her breasts. The stab wound stood out red on her pale skin. The wound was sealed, but tender, as if it had been weeks instead of only a few days.
My exhaustion was starting to fade as the hot water and growing arousal pushed aside the strain of the last hour. Ilyena’s mouth was open, her breath coming in short gasps. More than enough invitation for me to kiss her again.
“Right now, this is what I want,” I told her. I kissed her and slid my fingers down to the tuft of white down at the juncture of her thighs.
Ilyena moaned into my mouth and pressed hard against me. Her nails dug into my hips and she drew her head back, breaking the kiss to pant. “Wait,” she said, “slowly. We have all night.”
She was right. As much as I wanted to pin her against the wall and taste every inch of her, there was no rush. With our food coming in only a handful of minutes, I didn’t have the time to really give her the treatment I wanted to.
I grabbed the little bottle of complementary soap and squeezed a generous dollop onto my hands. I turned us around so my back was to the stream of water and ran my hands over Ilyena, leaving behind a trail of suds. I took my time, making sure every inch of her was soapy, maybe spending a bit longer on some areas than was strictly necessary for cleaning.
Then I turned her around and rinsed her clean, taking as much care to remove the last bit of soap as I had applying it. I got her hair wet again and worked in conditioner, massaging her scalp and stroking her hair.
“My turn,” Ilyena said throatily. She bundled her hair up into a sloppy bun with the conditioner still in it then grabbed the soap bottle.
Where I had fumbled about, trying to be sensual and only falling short of slapstick by technicality, Ilyena knew what she was doing. I shivered as her slender fingers pulled sensation from places I didn’t even know I had. I got clean in the process as well, but that wasn’t Ilyena’s main focus.
A knock on the suite door intruded, dissipating some of the sexual tension that hung as thick in the air as the steam. Reluctantly I broke the kiss we were in the middle of and grinned sheepishly at Ilyena. “Woops.”
“I am clean,” she said, returning the grin. “I will get the door.”
“Are you sure?” Worry for her spiked through me. Raveth was still out there, and now we had both the skull and the journal in our possession. If it was widely known that we were in possession of artifacts that could guarantee a safe summoning, there would be nowhere in the city we could call safe.
Ilyena touched my lips and smiled briefly. “It is fine. For this night, at least, we will be undisturbed.”
“You’re sure?”
She stretched up and gave me a quick peck. “You worry too much.”
Ilyena got out of the shower and wrapped a robe about her nakedness. I felt abandoned in the shower, the walls suddenly too far away, the space too large. I finished washing my hair and turned off the water. The cool air outside the shower made my skin pebble and my nipples hard.
I stacked my hair up in a towel, grabbed a robe for myself, and went to join Ilyena in the sitting room. She had our dinners laid out on the coffee table and my stomach growled as the warm smell of steak wafted over me.
“I’ve been curious,” I said as I sat next to her on the couch and started eating, “why you like your meat so rare.”
“Does it bother you?” she asked.
“No, not at all. Most people I know prefer medium or medium-rare is all.” I showed her my own steak, a perfect pink.
She shrugged and sliced off another bite. Her steak still had the glistening, rubbery look of raw meat, with only the outsides browned. “It is how I like it.”
“Sure. Who doesn’t?” I grinned at her. The juices running down her chin somehow made her look cute. I shook a corner of my robe sleeve into my hand and dabbed her chin. “So, what’s going to happen tomorrow? I’m guessing Elaida will be quite excited to get her skull back.”
Ilyena shifted around until she was leaning against me. Her robe fell open along the way and slipped off one of her shoulders. “Tomorrow will take care of itself,” she assured me.
I leaned over, getting a better angle on the swell of breast that was only partially visible. I wasn’t feeling very hungry anymore. At least, not for food. Still, Ilyena was eating, so I might as well get some food in me while I could. If I had my way tonight, we’d be ordering room service again somewhere around three in the morning.
“How did Raveth find us, anyway?” I asked. It had been a thought that had been nagging at me. “Does he have a sybil of his own?”
“I do not know everything about how the succubae work, for that Caradoc would be a better source of information. But Raveth made no secret of it while he was gloating over me. He can… sense… when someone nearby is being greedy. He picked up on our purchase of the journal. It is my suspicion that the auction house marked up the price of the journal when they understood I was willing to pay a great deal for it.”
“Greed,” I shook my head. “And they followed us to the bookstore? Why can’t I do that?”
“They must have, and I don’t know. Maybe you can ask Caradoc when you see him next.” Ilyena smiled up at me and popped the last piece of her steak into her mouth. She hadn’t touched the broccoli or baked potato that had come with the meal. “Why don’t you go dry
your hair,” she said softly. “I’ll be in the bed, waiting for you.”
She shook her own hair out, revealing how it had mostly dried while we were eating and talking. A benefit of being a hinn, I guessed. Or maybe it was just the fox in her.
I stood up without finishing my meal, tense anticipation coiled in my stomach. “I’ll be only a minute,” I promised.
Ilyena got up and walked toward the bedroom. Her robe slipped off her other shoulder on the way, and she glanced back at me, making sure I was still watching. “Hurry,” she said, and let the robe fall to the ground before crawling into the bed.
Yep, that wasn’t an invitation I wanted to wait on. I hurried to the bathroom, unwrapping my hair. It came out wavy from the prolonged twist I had put it in. The hotel’s hair drier felt good on my scalp, but I rushed through the process as fast as I could; the promise of Ilyena in the other room was far more tempting.
I had the worst of the dampness out of my hair in a few minutes and I gave up on getting it all the way dry in a reasonable amount of time. That was going to have to be good enough. I left the hair drier on the counter and headed back to the bedroom.
I paused in the doorway, suddenly a little nervous. I had talked a big game to Ilyena earlier in Christie’s, but I had zero experience in pleasuring another woman. I knew what made me feel good, but I was counting on enthusiasm and passion to carry me the rest of the way.
Ilyena had crawled under the covers, her bushy white hair a pool of softness spread out over her pillow. She was facing away from me, and didn’t turn around as I slipped under the sheet. I crawled across the king-sized bed to her side, and snuggled up against her back.
“Ilyena,” I whispered. “I’m here.”
No response. I propped myself up on my elbow and leaned over so I could see her face. Her eyes were closed, one hand tucked up under her chin. Her breathing was slow and even. Fast asleep.
I sighed and slumped back against the bed. Of course. This had to be some kind of record for me. Three times in one day I had been hot and ready for sex, only to be frustrated.
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. Without the excitement of a night spent with Ilyena, I could feel the bone-deep weariness that was lurking within me. Maybe it was for the best. My eyes sagged shut and I let the comfort of the opulent bed drag me down into unconsciousness.
Chapter Nineteen
My phone rang and I started awake. The exhaustion of the day before was gone, replaced with buzzing energy and a mental clarity I normally didn’t feel until my second cup of coffee. I rolled out of bed without waking Ilyena and padded on bare feet into the next room where I had left my jeans in a tangled pile. I fished my phone out of my pants and looked at the caller ID. It was David.
“Hello, this is Alex,” I said softly. I reached behind me and drew the bedroom door shut.
“Alexandra, this is David Caradoc.”
“David! How are you? What can I do for you?”
“I am fine. How is the sybil?”
“Sleeping. We, ah, had a rough day yesterday.”
“She is uninjured?”
I wondered if the concern in his voice was for Ilyena or for the contract he had with her owner. “She’s fine.” I could tell by the silence that David wanted more information, but I wasn’t feeling super charitable at the moment. If he wanted more, he’d have to ask for it. Nicely.
“That is well,” he said finally. “I am in your hotel’s restaurant. Would you meet me down here?”
“You know where we are?” I asked, worry making my voice tight. I turned to look at the coffee table and spotted the skull and journal where we had left them amid the remains of our dinner.
“The card you used to pay for the room is mine,” he said and I could hear the amusement in his words. “I hope you enjoyed your night?”
“It was pleasant,” I allowed. Had greed prompted us to pay for the room? Would Raveth be able to sense our location because of that? I thought back to the confused jumble of the night before. I had selected the hotel because of its proximity. There was a sort of vicarious pleasure in using David’s money, but I didn’t think it was greed.
“Is everything all right?”
“We’ve had some complications.” I started getting dressed. “I’ll meet you in five?”
“That will suffice.”
The line went dead and I tossed my phone onto the couch so I could have both hands free to dress. I scribbled out a note for Ilyena and tiptoed back into the bedroom to leave it on her bedside table. Hopefully she wouldn’t worry too much if she woke up without me there.
I considered taking the skull and journal with me, but didn’t want to walk around the hotel carrying a human skull in my hands. I took a moment to tame my hair, then hurried to the elevator. I made it down to the lobby before my five minutes were up.
David was waiting for me in the restaurant’s foyer, and we found a table in a corner away from any of the other guests. He held my chair for me, then settled into the seat across the table. He looked immaculate as always, with his customary cigarette sending up a thin thread of smoke.
“Are you in danger?” he asked.
“Not… immediately,” I sighed. “I ran into an incubus of Mammet yesterday.”
David’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Did you now?”
“I got into a fight with his marid and interrupted a ritual he was performing to summon his mother.”
A waitress came by and our conversation paused while we ordered food.
“You are starting to discover your strength,” he said with a satisfied nod. “How did the marid come out of it?”
“Hospitalized at the very least. That’s all you care about though? He was intending to summon one of the Seven! Here!”
David shrugged. “Always are the Seven scheming to gain influence. Their offspring wax and wane, and their influence is ever changing. It would not be the first time one of the Seven succeeded in getting a foothold in this world. As I said, though, the lilin do not interfere in my affairs. How did you come to encounter this incubus?”
“He had stolen an artifact from Elaida. Ilyena led us to him, but then he abducted her and intended to sacrifice her as part of the ritual.”
His brow furrowed and he paused. “This incubus, you are sure he was of Mammet?”
I nodded. “You should have seen him. He probably had on at least half a million dollars’ worth of gold and diamonds. He had zero taste, though. Wealth without the class to display it. It was like he had gone on a shopping spree for things that had the most monetary value.”
“That does sound like one of Mammet’s.” He dragged on his cigarette and blew a careful ring that drifted over the table before getting caught in a stray current and shredding apart into wisps.
Our food arrived and I picked at my blueberry pancakes without much appetite.
“You recovered Elaida’s artifact?” David asked.
I nodded. “Up in the room. A skull with a bunch of carvings on it.”
He frowned thoughtfully. “It should be secure enough here. I’ll tell the manager to extend your stay for a few days. Make use of the safe in the room.” David got up from the table without touching his food.
“You’re leaving?”
“The news you brought has changed things for me. Thank you, Alexandra. So far, you have been more than worth your retainer. Continue trying to solve Elaida’s problem. I will leave Ilyena assigned to you for now—do try to keep her safe.”
I watched him go and drained my orange juice. The waiter came by and I told him to charge the meal to my room before leaving. In the lobby while I waited for the elevator, I watched the hotel guests staggering around, their eyes sunken with their sleepless night.
I couldn’t spend the rest of my life sucking the energy out of anyone who slept under the same roof as me. I had woken up feeling brand new and full of energy, but the cost of that was apparent. If any of these guests would be sleeping here for more than another da
y or two, they would end their stay at the hospital like Ethan almost had.
More than anything else, it was that aspect of my new life that I found the most troubling. I could never have a lasting relationship with anyone. Ever again. I couldn’t get married. What husband—or wife, I suppose—would be willing to spend every night in a different building than me? I was still lost in thought when I reached my suite and let myself in.
Ilyena was still sleeping. I stood in the doorway to the bedroom and watched her. I could have no future with her, even if we both wanted to, even if I succeeded in pulling her away from her owner somehow.
I don’t know how long I stood there, fighting the feeling of despair. Eventually I realized that Ilyena’s eyes were open and she was looking back at me.
“Good morning,” I said and offered her a bleak smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” Ilyena stretched, arching her back. Her hair had turned into a bristly mess as she slept, and it floated in a halo about her head. “How long have you been up?”
“Fifteen minutes or so. David called. He was already downstairs in the restaurant.”
She blinked at me owlishly and I felt the tipping sensation of her gift grabbing at me. Before it turned into the expected whirling disorientation, the feeling faded before it got properly started. Ilyena rubbed at her temples and lay back in the bed.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I think. Just… tired.”
I went over and sat next to her, combing her hair back with my fingers. “So, what are we going to do today?”
“We’ve accomplished the first step,” she mumbled. Her eyes were closed and a contented smile hovered about her lips. “We need to contact Elaida next. That shouldn’t be too hard since she’s searching for the skull.”
“How do we get her attention without also showing up on Raveth’s radar again?”
“You need to learn patience, Alex. Your answers will come soon enough.”
I kicked off my shoes and climbed over Ilyena. I laid down next to her and spooned up against her back.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she said. She wriggled around until she was facing me, our eyes only a few inches apart.
