by Sarah Carter
“Great. Ben is going to flip,” Claire moans. “I should probably call him. We need to tell him.”
“Alright,” Damien replies.
Claire shows Kayla and Jackson to the spare room. “You guys can get settled. The bathroom is through that door.”
“Thanks,” Kayla says.
“Come on.” Claire grabs Damien and pulls him down the hallway.
When they walk into her room, Damien smiles. “I like it.”
Turning in a circle, Claire looks at her room. Nearly everything is sleek and black. There are pops of hot pink and a few other bright colors. “It’s very me. I’m not a frilly girl.”
Damien puts his suitcase on the floor. He walks over to the dresser and starts opening drawers.
Scowling, Claire snaps, “What are you doing?”
In a very nonchalant tone, Damien says, “I’m looking for the lingerie.”
“Fourth drawer down.” Claire laughs. “Most of it is in the closet, hidden in the back.”
Damien bends over and opens the drawer. He reaches in and pulls out a garter belt. “Dear lord, you weren’t kidding.” Squatting down, he rifles through the contents of the drawer. “I think you should put some of this on.”
“Sure,” Claire replies. She walks over and closes the drawer. “It’s going on underneath clothes, though.”
Standing up, Damien smirks. He slowly saunters over to the closet. Opening it up, he grins. “Wow, baby.” He looks through her wardrobe. “I think I’m going to grow very fond of you wearing this stuff.” He finally gets to the back of the closet. Pulling out a corset, he gulps. “Please, please, please put this on.”
Claire walks over and snags it from him. “One day, I’ll parade around in nothing but this.”
“How about now?” Damien suggests.
“Are we married?” Claire asks.
“Well, no, but we are kind of betrothed,” Damien replies. “So, that makes it okay.”
Lifting up her arm, Claire shows him her wrist. “When you put a vine around this wrist, then you can see it.”
“I’ll get one today,” Damien states, looking through more of her closet.
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Claire drawls out. “Again, it’s a recurring theme for you. It’s getting old. Anyway, it isn’t going happen.”
“Well, what do you want to do today?”
Claire looks at her clock. “Not much. It’s almost dinner time. I should call my brother and Alex.”
Damien gives her a look. “Why do we need to tell Alex that we’re here?”
“Because, he’s my friend and I told him I’d let him know what was going on.”
With a roll of his eyes, Damien says, “Whatever. I know where your heart lies.”
“Yup, right here,” Claire whispers, pointing at his chest. “Nowhere else.”
“Good,” Damien murmurs. He pulls her in and kisses her hard. It gets heated very quickly. Claire pushes him toward her bed. They fall down on it. Damien rolls them over, so that he’s on top. Slowly, he runs his hand up her leg and under her shirt.
Pulling away, Claire says, “Later. I have guests right now.”
“Later…” Damien starts kissing her neck. “Promise?”
“I swear.”
“Okay.” Damien sighs, rolling off of her. “You should probably make those calls.”
Claire leans over to kiss him. Then she reaches for the phone. Dialing Ben’s number, she holds it up to her ear. A few rings later, Ben answers. “What’s up?”
“Hey, it’s me,” Claire says.
“You’re back! Are you alright? Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Yeah, but we need to do it privately,” Claire whispers. “Mom and dad can’t find out.”
“Well, come over and talk to me,” Ben demands. “I want to know what’s going on.”
“Damien and my friends are with me. I’m going to bring them with.”
There is a pause. “Damien is with you?”
“Yeah,” Claire replies. “You’ll like him. I promise. What are you doing for dinner?”
“Alex is coming over. We were just ordering pizza. You guys can join us.”
“That’s perfect. We’ll come over now.”
“Alright, see you soon.”
“Bye,” Claire says. She hangs up and says to Damien, “We’re leaving.”
Nodding his head, Damien replies, “Alright.”
A little while later, they arrive at Ben’s apartment. Claire knocks on the door. When it opens, Alex is standing there.
“Hey!” Claire says.
“Hey,” he counters. Alex’s eyes drift to Damien. “Master Damien.”
“Alex,” Damien retorts.
Ben pushes Alex aside and sweeps Claire into a bear hug. “I’ve been worried sick.”
“Well, there’s something huge I need to tell you,” Claire says. “But inside.”
Stepping aside, Ben gestures into the apartment. They all walk in. When he shuts the door, he sticks out his hand to Damien. “Master Damien, my name is Ben. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Damien shakes Ben’s hand. “Ben, this is my cousin Jackson and his girlfriend Kayla.”
“Hi,” Ben says, shaking each of their hands. “Well, come in. Sit down. You have to deal with my modest accommodations. I’m a college student.”
With a roll of her eyes, Claire groans, “It’s fine, Ben.”
Everyone takes a seat. Claire takes in a deep breath and finally says, “We discovered what was so different about me.”
“Okay,” Ben replies.
“Let me tell you the whole story.” Claire tells him what happened.
At the end of it, Ben can only stare at her. “You’re a…”
“Succubus,” Claire finishes for him.
Nodding his head, Ben clicks his tongue. “And you found out about this because you kissed a boy.”
“Yes,” Claire whispers.
Alex stands up and walks to the other side of the room.
Ben watches him and then looks back at Claire. “Claire, how in the hell do you go from draining a guy to seriously dating Damien in a few days?”
“I think I should leave,” Alex mutters, heading to the door.
“What? Why?”
Exhaling, Claire closes her eyes. “Alex was the guy.”
There is a moment of silence and then a bellowing, “What?” Ben stands up and turns on Alex. “What the hell is she talking about?”
“Ben,” Claire whines, standing up. “We need to talk privately.”
“No, oh no, we don’t,” Ben snaps. “Dude, she’s my sister!”
“There’s more to it than that,” Alex murmurs. He looks at Claire. “We should tell him alone.”
Kayla laughs. “Alex, be serious. You need witnesses.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” Ben yells.
“There’s more to the story,” Claire says. “This all started because…”
“Claire, we don’t really need to tell him this in front of everyone,” Alex states.
“Alex, you don’t get to say anything!” Ben shouts.
Claire walks over and stands in front of Alex. “I’ll kick your ass, Ben. You know I can do it.”
He takes in a deep breath. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Six months ago, Alex and I slept together,” Claire declares.
In an instant, Ben jumps at them. He pushes Claire out of the way, but she rebounds quickly. Then it’s an all-out fight. The three of them completely trash the kitchen. Finally, Claire slams Ben down on the ground.
“Get off me, Claire!” Ben screams.
Alex is holding his nose as blood pours out. Claire pushes Ben harder into the floor. “Are you going to behave?”
“I’m going to kill you, Alex!”
Mumbling through his mouth, Alex says, “I need to shift to heal this.”
“Go ahead,” Claire replies. “I have him.” Alex nods and shifts, and Claire looks down at he
r brother. “Listen, there are two people in this. He didn’t push me into it. It was a mutual decision. You need to let it go.”
Ben finally stops struggling. “So, it was your virginity?”
“Yes.” Claire sighs. “I’ve only had sex once and it was with Alex.”
Laying his head down on the ground, Ben says, “I’m never going to forgive you, Alex.”
When Alex shifts back, he sits down on the floor. “I’m sorry, Ben. I really care about her. I love your sister. Dearly.”
“You can get off of me,” Ben growls. “I won’t do anything.”
Claire stands up and Ben rolls over. “So, what the hell is going on? You sleep with Alex, then you kiss them, and now you’re with Damien.”
“Yeah, nice, huh?” Alex interjects.
“Alex,” Damien says softly. “Watch your tongue, or I’ll have it removed.”
With a huff, Alex starts to take paper towels to the floor to wipe up the blood.
“Claire and I truly care about each other and are in a relationship. I, too, love her very much.”
“Damien!” Claire hisses.
With a look of pure hatred, Alex seethes, “How can you possibly love her? You have known her for a week!”
Damien shrugs. “Sometimes you can’t help the way you feel.”
“Do you love him back?” Alex shouts at Claire.
“No,” Claire says. “Yes…I don’t know. That’s a conversation for Damien and me to have. I’m with him and plan to stay with him. Sooner or later, we’ll say it freely. What I’m concerned with now is that I’m a succubus. That’s what I came to tell Ben about. I’m going to work in the guard. This is my dream come true.”
Ben just shakes his head. “That seems impossible. All of this sounds like a joke.”
“It’s not,” Damien states. “It’s very real. You have to understand that you’ll be held accountable if this gets out. It would be treason.”
“I’d never tell anyone,” Ben retorts harshly. “It’s my sister.”
“I just need to be sure,” Damien says. “I’m not trying to insinuate anything.”
“So…can I see?” Ben inquires.
Tilting her head, Claire says, “See what?”
“You turning into someone else!” Ben exclaims.
“No, we aren’t being monitored,” Claire replies. “It could be dangerous.”
“Damn,” Ben exhales. “That would be cool.”
Kayla sticks out her hand. “Go ahead.”
“No,” Claire snaps. “We shouldn’t do it.”
“It’ll be fine,” Kayla retorts.
Jackson puts his hand out next. “Take a little from me.”
“Me too,” Alex interjects.
“Okay.” Claire sighs. She takes all their hands and extracts energy from them. Finally, holding it in, she asks, “Who do you want me to turn into?”
“Grandpa,” Ben replies. Claire shifts. “Holy crap!” he yells. Jumping up, he comes over by her. Touching Claire, he exhales. “Dude, you’re grandpa.”
“Yup,” Claire says. “Creepy huh?”
“Do you have any idea how much fun this could be?” Ben quips, with a huge grin. “We could screw with everyone!”
Claire shifts back. “Ben, really?”
“Think about it!” Ben yells. “We could totally mess with people we hate!”
“Like who?” Claire rolls her eyes.
“I don’t know,” he retorts. “I’ll think of someone.”
Scoffing, Claire says, “Whatever Ben.” She goes and sits down next to Damien on the couch. “So, now you know everything.”
Ben looks at Alex. “I could have gone without knowing some of it, but I’m glad that you told me.” He continues to stare at Alex. “Dude, it was my little sister!”
“I know!” Alex emphasizes. “I’m not going to say sorry because I’m not sorry! I love her!”
“Will you stop saying that?” Claire snaps. “I’m dating someone else.”
“I love you, Claire,” Alex states. “I always have and always will. I know you’re with Damien. I’m dealing with that the best I can.”
Claire exhales and says, “Sorry.”
“You know what?” Kayla interjects. “I’m starving. Who else is starving? Let’s get some pizza. I want pineapple!”
Laughing, Ben replies, “Alright, we’ll order pizza. Let me get the phone book.”
“So, Alex,” Claire starts. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, why?”
“I’m taking you up on what you offered,” Claire says. “We’re going to the race track.”
Alex raises an eyebrow. “You know everyone is going to be there tomorrow.”
With a huff, Claire says, “Great. I have to see Phil and Sunshine. Maybe she’ll bring her stripper pole with her.”
“Claire, my beautiful girlfriend,” Damien interjects, patting her leg. “You have a boyfriend who adores you. I don’t think this Phil should matter.”
Giving him a look, Claire finally states, “You’re right, screw both of them.”
Alex says, “It’s supposed to be a wonderful day. Great weather for riding.”
“Awesome.”
“Alright, what do we want on these pizzas?” Ben asks, opening up the phonebook.
Chapter 17
“So, what are you going to wear?” Damien asks. “I don’t know what should I wear.”
Claire walks over and rifles through his clothes in the suitcase. She pulls out a pair of dark designer jeans. “Which shirt shows off your body the best?”
“The white button up,” Damien replies. Claire pulls it out of the suitcase and hands it to him. “Now, what are you going to wear?”
“You wanted to see leather,” Claire states. “So, that’s what you’re getting. I know exactly what I’m wearing. It should be here in a few minutes.” The doorbell rings. “Felix is here! I’ll be right back.” Claire turns and runs downstairs. She swings the door open and yells, “Hey, you!”
Felix smiles and says, “Hey, beautiful.”
“Did you bring it?” Claire squeals.
“Yup,” Felix replies. “It came a few days ago.”
Damien walks up next to them.
“Oh, Felix this is Damien Blakely.”
“Master Damien,” Felix starts, “is hot as hell. The rumors are true. Wow, baby, you’re gorgeous.”
With a jerk, Damien steps back and looks at Felix and then Claire.
Claire laughs. “Felix and I have a lot in common, and that includes our taste in men.”
“Well, that’s true on a normal basis, except for Phil. Ugh, girlfriend, I still have no idea what you were thinking.”
“You’re…” Damien starts.
“Gay? Oh, yeah,” Felix finishes. “Very much so. Why, are you interested?”
Playfully, Claire punches Felix in the shoulder. “Hands off, he’s my boyfriend.”
“What?” Felix gasps. “Woman…I’m jealous. You didn’t just snag yourself a hottie but a royal, at that. Good job.”
“Come on in,” Claire says, stepping aside. Felix walks in and thrusts out a box to her. “Yeah!” Claire cheers.
“What’s that?” Damien asks.
“You’ll see in a few minutes,” Claire replies excitedly.
Felix smiles at Damien. “Are you sure you aren’t in the closet?”
With a hearty laugh, Damien states, “No, I’m definitely straight.”
“That’s so disappointing,” Felix sighs.
“I’m going to go put this on,” Claire giggles. “Alex should be here in a few minutes.”
“You guys aren’t ready!” Kayla exclaims, coming down the steps.
A huge grin passes over Felix’s face when he sees Jackson. “Oh, please tell me…”
“That’s Kayla’s boyfriend, Jackson,” Claire says.
“Double damn,” Felix groans. “You’re surrounding yourself with all these hot men. Why can’t you find one that swings my
way?”
“I’ll try harder next time.” Claire laughs. “Damien and I only need to get dressed.” She looks at Damien. “Go get dressed in my room. I’ll get ready in the bathroom.”
He nods. “Sounds good. You know, we can get ready in the same room.”
“Not if I’m putting on that lingerie I promised,” Claire whispers.
Damien grins. “Well then, do whatever you need to.”
“Let’s go.” Claire grabs his hand and pulls him up the stairs.
“What’s in the box?” Damien asks.
“Something you’ll like,” Claire promises. “Get ready. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
They enter her room and Damien says, “Alright.”
Claire walks over and pulls stuff out of a drawer. Bending over, she then grabs her boots. “Okay, see you in a few minutes.”
Damien laughs as she leaves.
Ten minutes later, Claire finishes putting on her make-up. She slides on her jacket and zips it up. With a smile, Claire whispers, “Perfect.”
She quickly leaves and runs down the steps. Everyone is waiting by the front door, including Alex. When they turn to look at her, everyone’s jaw drops. Claire grins because she knows she looks hot as hell. She has on her brand new riding suit, which is hot pink and black leather. It’s tight and perfectly form-fitted to her lean body. Damien stutters, “I’ve never been so turned on in my life.”
“Ew, Damien!” Kayla scolds.
“She’s sexy!” Damien exclaims. “She belongs on a poster above teenage guys’ beds!”
“Pisha!” Felix scoffs. He walks over to Claire. Pulling down the zipper, Felix says, “Got to put the girls up front.”
“Felix!” Claire snaps, pulling the zipper up a little bit.
Giving her a look, Felix retorts, “I’d like to remind you that you’re going to run into your douchebag of an ex.”
“True. So, will this make him turn his head?”
“That will make every guy turn his head,” Jackson states.
“Jackson!” Kayla laughs. “I can’t believe you said that!”
He gives her a soft smile. “Baby, I’m just giving her a compliment. I would much rather have you in an outfit like that. Now, that would be an ultimate turn on for me.”
Claire says, “I have my old one. It would fit her. I’m a bit taller, but it should fit.”
“Yeah!” Kayla cheers. But then she frowns.
