Nothing helped her to relax more than walking into her bedroom. With a soft sigh she lit a few candles and climbed onto the bed, pulling her antiquated phone onto the comforter with her. She settled into a comfortable position and tried to center her thoughts. It was just another night at work. How many millions of Americans were sitting at their jobs and hating it just as much as her? It was part of her life. She needed to work to stay fed, even if her work was her food. She snorted at her own attempt to rationalize what she did.
At least her clients knew what was happening. Every single one of them was a supernatural who called her business in hopes of being selected. Not many made it through the screening and even fewer were picked by one of her employees. Each one gladly handed over bank information and credit card numbers to have a thirty-minute slot of time with one of her staff. They knew they’d be fed upon in exchange for their deepest fantasies. They understood that they were having phone sex with succubi. They knew that the sex wasn’t real, that the situations were all faked to meet their deepest wants. For most, that was the biggest draw and reason to spend outrageous sums of money. There was no guilt, no danger. A male could walk on the wild side, tangle with a succubus, and live to tell the tale to his office friends.
Then why did she feel so guilty?
Her thoughts flitted to the scent she’d picked up at her first techno-magic meeting months before. She’d inhaled the most delicious, most alluring smell she’d ever tasted on the air. She’d known in that moment that her mate was sitting in that room. One of the many males who stared at her with longing and adoration was supposed to be her other half. She’d stood in front of all of those testosterone-laden men and watched their eyes dilate, reacting to her succubus. Some of them had given her body a cursory glance, returning to stare longingly at her face. Others had taken on the faint scent of greed, devouring her with a much different look in their beady eyes. The fact that she was one of the richest females in the city tended to have that effect on some men. So which of them was hers? Was it one of the drooling idiots already giving off lust? Or had fate been so evil as to give her one of the greedy assholes? She hadn’t wanted to know.
The male who was supposed to complement her demon side, the one who was to be her other half, had been within her reach and she’d balked. She’d erected an emotional barrier as fast as she could and refused to look any of them in the eye. Draining males of their life force depressed her—the thought of doing that to someone as important as her mate terrified her. How the gods thought pairing someone like her with a mate was a good idea was a question she’d never have answered. She’d made it out of that meeting without figuring out which one he was, without connecting that scent to a set of eyes. She’d known once she’d seen his face she would have taken him. Then probably would’ve killed him or turned him into an empty shell.
Now that she’d scented him, every feeding was polluted. The lust of others just didn’t fill her need like it used to. Her demon grumbled each night, pushing the memory of her mate’s smell at her. Nothing she did seemed to appease her other self. Nothing but the lust of her mate would fully take care of the craving, the soul-shaking need gnawing at her insides.
She sighed. Her thoughts stopped along the well-worn path when her old-fashioned phone rang. She’d spent almost every waking minute obsessing about that meeting and the fact that her mate lived and breathed. A deep breath didn’t do much to push away her thoughts, but it did give her a moment to get her mind where it needed to be. Using the magical lines required to enter someone’s mind via the telephone was tricky. She’d perfected the process and could do it in her sleep, but to make the transition from her thoughts to her client’s as smooth as possible, she needed to be completely focused. The moment she put the receiver to her ear she would need to be on her game.
Chapter Two
Sin Incorporated. The name seemed so innocent on the creamy business card. The black font was elegant, scrolling across the recycled fibers. Dominick turned it over and over in his fingers. He’d worked hard, trading favors and bribing others to get the number inked carefully on the back of the small piece of paper.
He almost felt guilty about his deception, but if he wanted to talk to Victoria he needed to do something. She’d built too many walls between her and the outside world. You’re stalking her. He sighed. He wasn’t really stalking her, he just wanted a minute to connect with her, to let her see into him and see that he wasn’t like her other men.
From the first time he’d seen her he’d known that they were fated to be together, if she’d just give him a little time. He’d walked into a planning meeting with a bunch of other techno-magic guys, assuming they were going to be working on some top-secret defense contract. That was what he did for a living, building security into technology so even the best supernaturals couldn’t use their powers to coerce the electronics.
They’d entered the boardroom together, chatting about a hockey game they’d watched the night before. The people sitting around the large table had let him know that the best in the business had been contracted for this new job. Dominick had sat, anticipating the arrival of the military or government official who would fill them in.
As a single unit, all heads in the room had turned to the doorway when a wave of strong demon magic had washed through the room. His jaw had dropped when a beautiful woman had sauntered into the room. A black business suit wrapped around her lush body like a glove. Her legs, long and perfect, had been visible under the knee-length pencil skirt. Breasts that a goddess would be jealous of had adorned her chest. A very small amount of cleavage had peeked from between the lapels of her jacket. Dark hair had been pulled into a severe twist on the back of her head, but he would have bet money that it was long and wavy.
She’d given off an aura of indifference and exotic energy, but it had been the look of disconnect in her gorgeous violet eyes that had caught him. His heart had raced and fluttered in his chest. It’d taken every ounce of personal strength not to step into her energy and take her in a searing kiss. He wanted to burn the walls down between them and feel her passion wrap around his soul.
Even as she sat at the head of the executive table and talked about funding and proposals for work, he hadn’t been able to keep his mind on the conversation. He’d spent the entire meeting watching her, studying the small nuances of her behavior. It hadn’t taken long for him to pick up her energy signature and focus his thoughts on her. He’d seen into her heart faster than he’d ever done with another supernatural. His talents extended beyond the techno-magic he could conjure, even if he didn’t tell many people. Aura-surfing or aura-channeling was fairly unique even in the circles he traveled in. Normally he didn’t even pull those powers to the front, but Victoria had triggered the need to feel her.
That meeting had started his obsession with getting to know her, with finding out whether he could bring her a small measure of happiness to push off the bleakness that he’d nearly drowned in when flitting along her aura. How any person, demon or not, could survive with such loneliness and emptiness, he wasn’t sure.
He’d learned so much more about her over the weeks that he’d worked on the project, building safety into a phone system to guard the succubi and their clients. She’d been present at most of the work sessions, answering questions, studying their work. During the testing they had each been on the receiving end of her thoughts. Even when she’d been dug into his mind he’d still been able to feel her disconnect, her emptiness throbbing between them. Professionalism had masked her deep-seated hatred of what she was.
Dominick looked at the clock on the top of his dresser and felt his anxiety spike. He had three minutes before he could call the number. He started chanting, building the mirage spell around himself, making sure to mask his thoughts and personal signature. If she knew it was him before he was ready to let her see, she’d pull the plug and he’d never get another chance to talk to her. Just before picking up the phone, he downed the fortifying concoction he
’d made. It would help him to keep his strength while he held the spell, and to keep his energy up while she fed from him. Hopefully.
His hand shook as he dialed. It had been a long time since he’d used a landline phone. The cord that wound from his phone to the wall seemed so antiquated, but the magic behind the system he’d helped to build was anything but ancient. Dominick, James and a few other warlocks had spent weeks working the magic that allowed the Sin Inc. employees to safely feed during their sexual encounters during the calls. No permanent harm came to anyone. Fail-safes kept the energy flowing unless one of the participants started to drain the other. The system was one he was extremely proud of. Some of the best magic he’d ever worked was wound through it.
The first ring sounded loud through the earpiece. By the third ring he was ready to hang up. Perhaps he had the wrong day or time. Maybe she’d figured out what was going on and she wasn’t going to answer—
“Hello, lover.” Her voice was silk over ice, smooth and cold. It shivered down his spine.
“Hello, Victoria. How are you this evening?” he whispered.
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” She chuckled and his cock hardened. The sound of her voice, wicked and sensual, was enough to make him want to come right then. Her next words flowed across his mind and he fought the urge to keep her out. “Relax. Let me into your thoughts. Once I’m there we can be together.”
The feeling was very similar to when he ate too much ice cream or drank a soda too fast. Cold pressure, a slight pinch of pain, then it melted away to nothing. He wondered whether she could sense that he was shielding his identity from her. He waited, holding his breath, for her reaction. When nothing happened he let his mind open enough to her to allow her presence to enter his. She molded his senses, changing his surroundings, building herself in his mind. His room melted away, replaced by a gorgeous hotel room. He’d studied rooms for the last week, trying to find the absolute best setting for their first session.
“Oh, lover, your cravings are so dark and delicious. I see so many things you wish for me to do to you and you hope to do to me,” she purred in his ear. Warm breath feathered over his neck and long, slender fingers ran through his hair. “Who do you want me to be, lover? I will give you anything you want, be anyone you need, just give me a picture.”
“I just want you, Victoria.”
She was silent for a moment. Cold words barely skimmed over with her sexy, silky voice whispered into his ear. “You don’t know what I look like though. Why don’t you tell me what you think I look like? Tell me, love, what does my voice conjure for you? What sensual delights do you envision when I whisper into your ear?”
He couldn’t help the mental slip. An image of her formed so quickly and firmly in his thoughts that he wasn’t sure whether it was him or her feeding it. She was sitting on a low, plush burgundy couch. Long black hair fanned along the back of the dark fabric. Her body was covered in a flowing midnight-blue sleeveless gown. Bare toes peeked from under the lace trim. Creamy flesh looked nearly translucent surrounded by all those deep colors. Her firm breasts filled her bodice almost to overflowing, hardened nipples poking against the thin material. Violet eyes were half closed, staring at him with longing. Just a touch of color rested on her cheeks from passion.
“You are so lovely, Victoria. Absolutely stunning.” He breathed the words before he realized he’d spoken. He quickly fuzzed her image enough in his head that she looked almost right, almost perfect, but not exactly as she truly was. He mentally evaporated the mirror over the fireplace before turning to stare at the vision of loveliness spread before him.
Victoria glanced down at the dress she was now wearing. She couldn’t remember the last time one of her clients had her dressed in anything so beautiful. It molded to the body she now wore perfectly, showing off her curves. Her breasts were pushed up, her creamy skin glowing with a healthy flush. For once she wished she could actually feel the passion her image was obviously supposed to be feeling.
Turning to watch the male she was servicing, she found him standing in shadow. His stare was intense and filled with wanting, but she couldn’t see his face or catch his image from his thoughts. It was disconcerting not to have complete control over their interaction. She wanted to move along and get to the sex. She knew how to deal with lusty men, how to work them over until they were sated and limp. This mysterious being watching her as if she were prey was not usual for her. With a mental push she tried to access his thoughts more deeply, to catch a glimpse of where their time was going.
She found this male’s thoughts difficult to read, either because he was new to her or because he just had a strong mental defense. She worked to give him what he wanted, to take their thirty minutes and extend it in his mind so it felt as if they were together for hours. The struggle to access his desires made her grunt in exasperation. Even the level of lust she could feel tickling her succubus self was muted somehow.
“Come, lover. You need to release some control on your mind so I can fulfill your needs.”
“You will take care of me, and I you. Don’t worry about that. I wanted to see you like this first.” His deep voice filtered through her icy walls and gave her a shiver. He continued and she felt the first tinglings of her own desire, surprised by her body’s reaction. “Lie back and relax. Feel. I want to taste you before I bury myself in your heat, sweet Victoria.”
It should have bothered her that he continued to use her name even if she looked like someone else. It should have irritated her that her body was reacting to his voice even when she knew that he wasn’t seeing her. Instead she found herself following his orders and sinking onto the couch, relishing the feel of the softness wrapping around her back and legs.
The brushed velvet of her dress rubbed against peaked nipples, pulling a moan from her lips, startling her. She could actually feel it. The smoothness of the fabric, cool and silky, lay tightly across her breasts. Every breath she took caused the material to glide across her skin. She took another, deeper breath just to see what feelings that would elicit. Warm liquid heat pooled between her thighs. She caught herself humming under her breath at the deliciousness of it.
Her eyes closed and she let her head fall back against the couch. Her dress slid across her legs and she moaned a little. Goose bumps rose along her legs and a slight tremor shook her belly. Had she ever felt anything so sensual? She couldn’t remember ever allowing herself to feel anything for so long in her work or life. Maybe this time, with this man, she could let go and pretend to be seen. When was the last time she’d actually made love with anyone? Years?
“That’s it, sweetheart.”
She opened her eyes and found her client standing not far from the couch, but still he remained in the shadows. Strange, but some of the males they serviced were demons who didn’t have forms that a typical person could look upon. Form and function didn’t matter in her line of work. Their bodies weren’t actually touching, so the form that any of them took was inconsequential.
His magic washed over her and something tugged at her memory. She’d felt his signature before someplace, but where? Before she could concentrate too much on it, she watched him kneel in front of her. Warm hands settled on her naked ankles and she gasped. With the first touch the man’s lust soaked into her aura, overwhelming her control for a moment. She closed her eyes and let the emotion fill her, feeding the hungry beast that lived where her soul used to be. Her demon part woke and stretched in her mind, giddy with the influx of pure need pouring off the male. Letting the energy enter her made her pussy cream and for once she wasn’t disgusted by the reaction.
Chapter Three
Dominick knew the moment that she started feeding off his energy. The magical pull was slight, but still there in the back of his mind. He couldn’t stop from smiling when her face finally relaxed and a beautifully peaceful look descended. She’d been distant and cool when first materializing in his mind. Now that he was feeding her, he could feel her loosening up, r
eleasing some of the control she had on their session and her mind.
Moving his hands up under the dress was a taste of delicious torture. He could feel her smooth skin under his palms, feel her heat, but could only imagine what she looked like. Were her legs long enough to wrap around his waist if he hoisted her against the wall? Would they look pale against his tanned skin? Did she have any freckles on her ivory skin or was it creamy and unblemished? He groaned, his imagination fueling his thoughts, feeding his desire to unwrap her like a present. He wanted to push the fabric off her legs and catch a glimpse of the prize he was after, but the longer he waited the better it would be.
He watched her face as he stroked both hands up along her legs. He stopped at her knees and skimmed his palms back down to her ankles, lightly running his fingers over her skin. He grinned as she shivered under his ministrations. He did the circuit again, up slowly along the outside of her calfs then back down to her ankles. The feel of goose bumps under his touch made him want to shout in triumph. She was reacting to the session even if she didn’t want to.
Dominick wanted to give her so much more. “Open your legs, Victoria. Spread open for me, love.”
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