Ravenous (Lake City Stories .5)

by Unknown

  I hesitated. The hunger beat at the walls of my conscience. I was a succubus. What kind of succubus could afford a conscience? A dead one. I had to feed. Now. All these weeks Sin and I had kept things under control. He’d gotten lax tonight. That’s how fast the demon part of me snapped.

  “Not that I mind.” He breathed heavy. “I just wanted to make sure you knew we’d be recorded.” His thoughtfulness tipped the balance. I couldn’t control it anymore.

  I lunged and tore his shirt open, buttons pinging off kitchen appliances.

  He in turn snapped my bra open and fondled the girls with shaky, eager hands. “I am going to pay for this later.”

  After weeks of feeding on a regular schedule, I had filled out back to my normal size. My sisters were stop-traffic-on-a-bad-day kind of beautiful, but I wasn’t a slouch.

  With a practiced ease, I shimmied out of my pants and underwear while John pawed and kissed whatever he could reach. A girl could get used to this kind of worship, even from a demon.

  He pulled me back to the floor and crawled on top of me. “Are you wearing glamor?”

  “No, we don’t have that kind of magic.”

  “You’re so beautiful.” He kissed me, exploring my lips with keen, excited enthusiasm. He moaned and slid the tip of his cock to my entrance, teasing me by slightly pressing in and out.

  I was so wet and ready for him. He didn’t need to be this gentle. My mothers always warned me away from demons, saying they’d rape and kill me for just being a succubus. I was beginning to believe them, because John was killing me softly.

  He pushed farther inside with a groan and licked along my bottom lip, sending tingles straight to my aching pussy.

  I raised my hips and gripped his ass, sliding him deeper.

  Sensing my urgency, John rose on his arms and fucked me like a demon on a mission. He plunged so deep and hard I couldn’t breathe to make a sound. I clung to him and held on for the ride. Small inhuman snarls escaped his lips.

  Like a ninja warrior my orgasm snuck up and jumped me unexpectedly. It hit with such force, I arched back with a scream. The white light of bliss blinded me as I became a slave to my sensations, bucking and clawing under his weight. He tasted of wind and heat that warmed me from the inside out as we created magical energy.

  John roared and reared up, almost bending in half as his hot seed splashed against my womb. “Oh yes.” He breathed and fell on top of me. He pulled out and rolled off. “Oh yes.”

  I glanced at the clock on the stove through the haze of left-over smoke. “Crap, I better hurry. Sin hates waiting for me.” I jumped to my feet and wiped the milk off my limbs with my shirt. “Thanks, John. I needed that.”

  “Anytime.” He waved weakly and closed his eyes.

  I didn’t bother to dress as I hurried to my room to change. Most of the nest had seen me naked anyway.

  Chapter Seven

  “I don’t know why you’re so mad at me.” I sat in Sin’s car as he zoomed through the dark streets of Lake City toward Cleaver, a private BDSM club that catered to only the paranormal community. I didn’t frequent the bar. I made a terrible submissive and my dom skills were lacking. “I was hungry. You can’t leave me waiting so long on my day threes. It’s not like I have control.”

  “He’s a mazzikim demon.” The vampire squealed into the parking lot, almost crushing a couple crossing to the club.

  “Oh.” My heart skipped a beat. “He doesn’t look like one.”

  Sin parked his car and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. “Glamor, Pia. He’s wearing glamor.”

  “I fucked a mazzikim demon?” And lived. The mazzikim were the pillage and violence kind of demon. They fed off pain and despair. My stomach rolled. John didn’t give off that kind of vibe. He hadn’t even hurt me except when he’d purposely poked the bump on my head. Yeah… “If he’s so dangerous, why is he in the nest and working for you?”

  “Because I’m more dangerous than he is. John won’t cross me and live.”

  I clutched his arm. “You’re not going to kill him because of me?” What had I been thinking, seducing John? Sin acted as if he owned me and in many ways he did. I’d crossed a line and now John would pay for it. The demon’s mind had probably been filled with my fuck-me pheromones when I’d propositioned him. His kind hated mine and this was probably why.

  Sin stared out the windshield, his jaw solid as granite.

  “Please.” I bowed and rested my forehead on his lap. “It’s my fault. Don’t do this. I have enough guilt.”

  “You’re supposed to feed only on those I assign you.”

  “I’ll do better. I promise.” It wasn’t all my fault. He’d waited too long to feed me.

  Sin pulled out his cell phone. “Is he already dead?” He paused. “Let him go, and I want him back to work tomorrow.” He cut the call and lifted me from his lap.

  I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye before he saw it. Crying made him even crankier. Sin had never raised a hand to me but he knew how to hurt me in other ways. This was as much my punishment as John’s. How would I ever make it up to the demon? I cleared my throat. “What does John do for you?” I did my best to sound nonchalant and failed.

  “He’s good with computers and needs a place to hide. As long as he makes me money, he can live in Lake City.”

  “How does he make you money?”

  Sin glared at me. “By doing what he’s told.” He got out of the car and stalked to my side to open the door. Normally, I wouldn’t have waited but with Sin in such a bad mood I didn’t dare jump out like normal. He was an old-fashioned vampire with an odd sense of honor. He liked taking care of me, I could sense that, but if I pissed him off enough he’d pull out his box of bad toys.

  He offered me his hand and helped me out of the car. His gaze traveled over the red leather outfit I’d found on my bed. With a little lube, I was able to squeeze into the pants and matching top that wasn’t much more than cups in the front with laces holding the girls in place. I’d be fine as long as I didn’t jump up and down or sneeze. “You look good.” He ran his fingertips along my exposed flank before snaking his arm around my waist possessively.

  “Thanks. So do you.” Sin always looked great. He could be dripping in blood and still make it look stylish. Tonight, he wore black leather pants and vest that strained against his chest. “I didn’t mean to make trouble, Sin.”

  “Zur-Sin.” He spoke with an edge of growl to his voice. “Trouble seems to be your middle name.”

  I stared at my red heels as we walked to Cleaver’s front door. He was right, but for the wrong reasons. I’d proven I had terrible judgment when it came to men, and poorer control when it came to my demon nature. It was so hard to resist males who were nice to me.

  The bouncer let us in without a cover charge. People respected Sin, or feared him. We never waited in line or couldn’t find a table. He’d been meeting with many of the community leaders since obtaining his new title of co-ruler and had broken ground on new club for his nest called Suck. He was a busy vampire.

  The smell of sex filled the inside of the club. Thank goodness I’d already fed. Tables and chairs surrounded the bar where we entered with a few couches to the left that most doms used for after-care and snuggling. A small empty dance floor was to the right, but who came to Cleaver to dance? The dungeons were to the back of the club behind the bar where Samantha, the dungeon mistress and owner, monitored the scenes being played by her customers. Samantha was part of my father’s charm and didn’t like me much. Not many succubi did. Not since I’d forced my father to lose half his power to Sin.

  The vampire paraded me to the bar and settled me on a stool. “Since you’ve already fed, what do you want to do?”

  I wanted to curl up in bed with a tub of ice cream and watch bad reality television. “I could flog you?”

  His frown implied he still hadn’t forgiven me and wasn’t in any mood for my jokes.

  “You could flog me?”

  He
shook his head. “I don’t play well with others, not unless they can take damage.” He wasn’t even looking at me. He had his eyes on a dom across the room who wore one of those scary leather masks. “My date is already here. You should be able to find someone eager to play your games.”

  I sighed. “Anyone specific?” It wasn’t above Sin to ask me to seduce a business prospect or competitor, and I wasn’t making the same mistake twice in one night by picking my own playmate.

  “No.”

  “Then why bring me here?”

  “It’s your day three. I thought to kill two birds with one stone, not for you to jump a demon in my kitchen.” He shook his head again as if he still couldn’t believe what I’d done. “Take the night off. Go play.” He frowned. “Don’t burn the place down.” He left me alone at the bar and strode across the room to the dom, running his hand over the man’s shoulders as he whispered in his ear. Sin liked both men and women. He didn’t like sharing, though. He would rather watch me with another before joining to make a threesome. I wouldn’t be welcomed on his date.

  I ordered vodka straight up and sipped. I should have stayed home. Odd that I considered Sin’s nest home now, but I could barely even think of my family without tsunami-sized waves of guilt. I tossed the remainder of my drink back and let it burn all the way to my stomach. I didn’t need a family, I had a nest. Waving to the bartender, I held out my empty glass for a refill.

  Families were for humans. My parents had made a huge mistake by sending me to mortal school. They thought my sisters and I could learn to mingle better with our prey by growing up among them. It worked great for them. My sisters hunted their territories with grace and tact. Hell, they hunted my territory as well, since I wasn’t using it. I drank my second vodka without tasting it.

  Twisting in my seat, I faced the BDSM crowd. No one would bring humans here. Against house rules and dangerous for the mortals. Samantha enforced the use of safe words, but the paranormal community considered certain extremes a norm. Most of them could take major damage and heal within hours.

  Sin led his domtoward the dungeons. He kept a private room there. Vampires considered blood foreplay. I’d tried to watch once but didn’t have the stomach for it. Sin was a sadist and I was a wimp. He also liked his playmates dominant and the thing that puzzled me was he never lacked for volunteers.

  A young selkie sauntered passed the bar from the dungeons. He had an after-orgasm glow. I recognized him because he was my sister Adele’s favorite snack and sub.

  My heart leaped in my throat. She didn’t share her subs and none of them would dare cheat on her. I slid off the bar stool and scooted to theother side of the bar before he spotted me. If he was here, my sister would be too. Lucky for me he seemed too dazed to notice me scoot to the dungeon as he flopped onto an empty couch. I hovered at the other end of the bar until I spotted Adele striding from the scene room, cleaning her hands with a wet wipe.

  Her long dark hair hung to her waist in smooth waves I could only dream about. She wore a dark leather dress that ended below her knees. She hesitated by Sin’s room and pounded on the door.

  Sin cracked it open. “What?”

  “Do you have my sister in there?”

  “No.”

  She bit her bottom lip as she tried to peek past him.

  “I’m not lying, Adele. I promised your family I wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “You’re not known for keeping your promises.”

  “No, but I’ll keep this one. Your sister is too broken for me to have fun with. I left her at the bar. You can ask her yourself.” He slammed the door shut in her face.

  Adele hurried on her stilettos to where I’d been. Seeing her was the last thing I needed on this fucked-up night. The nail in the coffin, per se. Why did she care? Being the middle child, Adele always had a chip on her shoulder. Picking on me had always made her feel better, but god forbid anyone else tried. She was an assertive, gorgeous, big-hearted succubus.

  Where I was nothing.

  I strolled in the opposite direction, going deeper in the dungeon. Lots of customers came out on Saturday nights, so I had plenty to watch. Most stations were in use. I wish I could feed off other people’s climaxes because this place could be a drive thru for my kind. I wandered from station to station, not really watching anything in particular. No, I had the pleasure of using people like John, in front of a camera no less. How did he feel about that? At the time, I knew he didn’t care but afterwards when clarity returned, regret would set in. I knew regret had rooted its way into my conscience.

  What kind of person had sex with strangers in a kitchen? The kind who lay in wait for the married postman to show up then seduced him right in her own home. Sharp pain stabbed my chest and I couldn’t move. I slumped onto one of the benches lining the wall. I’d promised myself to forget the past but no matter what I did it snuck up on me. I thought if I stopped remembering and stopped feeling it would all go away, but the emptiness I sought wouldn’t remain.

  I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of Sin’s closed door. I should tell him to take me home. This place, my sister, and John were shredding me apart. If I interrupted Sin, he’d get even angrier though.

  He told Adele the truth when he said he wouldn’t hurt me. Part of me wished he would, and deep down inside that’s why I had really agreed to live in his nest. That maybe he or one of his other vampires would finish what I had started in the motel, but he’d told Adele he promised not to hurt me. In other words he’d sworn to protect me, even from myself.

  Maybe it was time for me to leave the nest and strike out on my own again. Nothing linked me to Lake City anymore except my family, who I didn’t ever want to see again. I could borrow some money from Sin and head south. I heard there was another charm of my people in Howdin, close to the beach. I could rock a bikini.

  I’d have to figure out the whole feeding thing again. There wouldn’t be anyone to tell me who to use. Those decisions would be all mine. Again. Until I fucked up when the first nice guy gave me flowers or called me smart. Could I resist falling in love again? I didn’t think so and I’d probably make all the same mistakes.

  Rising back onto my feet, I went further into the dungeon and away from the temptation of Sin’s private room. This part catered to the more hardcore patrons. Even Adele didn’t play in here. The distant snap of a whip followed by grunts was the only noise. Not even the music from the bar drifted this far.

  I stepped close to the St. Andrew’s cross screwed to the wall with thick steel bolts. It was constructed of old, nicked wood like untarred railroad ties and gave off a vibe of age. Not abnormal in a place run by old creatures. I ran my fingertips over the rough surface. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted someone watching me a few feet away. I tried not to jump. Damn vampires could be near silent when they wanted. I twisted to face him. “Can I help you?”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “That’s my line.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Am I breaking a rule?” I glanced at Cleaver’s walls around the cross for a do not touch sign.

  “No, but you seem…” He shrugged. “Sad.” Cropped close to his head, his dark hair gave him a menacing appearance. He wore jeans and a red t-shirt because he didn’t need the leather costume to show his dominance. It oozed off him.

  I cleared my throat and pasted on my best fake smile. “Nope, I’m fine.”

  “That’s a bald-faced lie.” He approached me, blocking my escape off the small staging area. “People who lie deserve to be punished.”

  My mouth opened but nothing came out. He was right. I was a liar. I’d lied to Pierre and I lied to myself. I was pressed against the cross now as he leaned closer to me. “Do you belong to Zur-Sin?” I’d lived in the nest long enough to recognize the vamps who lived there.

  “All vampires in Lake City belong to him but I’m old enough not to need to live in his nest. Do you belong to him?”

  “No.” It came out so quietly I doubted anyone without superna
tural hearing would have heard it.

  He took a deep breath as if savoring it. “That’s almost truth. I won’t poach the master’s playmates.”

  “I’m his…” What the hell was I to Sin? Not his girlfriend, or even his friend. He took care of me, gave me shelter, and fed me. My stomach twisted in knots. “I’m his pet.” That didn’t really label me well either, because most people loved their pets. “He doesn’t own me.” There. That covered what I really wanted to say.

  “You look like a bad girl.” He set his hand on my bare midriff.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because only bad girls wander back here.” Or stupid ones, his voice implied. “People have been known to get punished for less in this part of the dungeon.”

  I held my breath. He wanted to hurt me. I could see it in his eyes. He had the same look Sin got when he discussed his hobby. Icy fear coursed through my veins and sent chills along my spine. If I screamed for help, someone would hear me, but who would care? I blinked at the stranger hovering over me. That’s what it all came down to, the story of my life. Those who did care about me shouldn’t and those I wanted to care about me didn’t. I’d never been so alone.

  He pushed me toward the exit. “You should go back to the bar, little girl, and learn better manners.”

  “Maybe I want you to punish me.” It was the least I deserved. I’d wrecked not just my life but Pierre’s and the postman’s. He’d been married when I’d torn the clothes off his back. I’d been so far gone with hunger, my pheromones took over the postman’s mind and he’d taken me on the floor by the front door. Last I’d heard his wife had filed for divorce. “Like you said, I’m a bad, bad girl.”

  A spark of interest flashed in his gaze. He lifted his chin and assessed me. “Have you done this before?”

  “Sur—” I stopped my lie. He’d know. “My sister is Adele Blyton. What do you think?”

  He laughed, throwing his head back. “A succubus? Is this your day three?” His invitation just about caressed my skin.