by R. J. Blain
The next time he needed to do any work on me in a hurry, I would request the strongest sedatives money could buy and the sworn word of some divine I wouldn’t wake up during the procedure. I would also have the base common sense to specify I wake up without being influenced by an incubus on a mission.
Remembering his claims humans tended to lack the fortitude to resist when incubi came out to play, I got out of bed without jumping him, although I hissed at the burning heat insisting I indulge in his person immediately. “You’re pure evil.”
Before I learned the art of seduction, I needed a shower. I scowled, wondering which of the three doors out of the bedroom would take me to a bathroom or a hallway leading to a bathroom.
Jonas, who still wore his clothes and lounged on the spacious bed, grinned at me. “You deserve credit. You are already ahead of most influenced humans. Well done. You are exceptional. You’re also very hungry.”
No kidding. “Where’s the bathroom?”
With a sensuous chuckle, Jonas pointed at one of the doors. “How long are you going to leave me waiting?”
“That depends on several factors.” I cracked open the door to confirm it led into a bathroom. Apparently, Lucifer needed every creature comfort possible, and I debated making the spacious room my permanent residence, as it had a massive walk-in shower, a tub large enough for two with room to spare, and two vanities allowing for a couple to have space and only share if they wanted to. “First, it depends on if that tub has heaters to go with its jets.”
“It does.”
“Second, will that shower survive through an incubus’s naughtiness?”
“Lucifer broke it once, but it wasn’t due to naughtiness. It was due to my sister tossing in a grenade to see what would happen. She wanted a new bathroom, and he had annoyed her. She discovered grenades do very little to a fallen angel named Lucifer, and she got the renovation she wanted since she trashed most of the bathroom. While my sister threw the grenade, Lucifer takes the blame for that specific incident, as he was trying to rile her up because he likes her hungry.”
I spent a few moments pondering how satisfying it might be to fling a grenade at Lucifer. “She really got a good deal when she married him. He pisses her off, and she gets to throw grenades at him without doing anything other than some property damage?”
“Yep.”
“How is that even fair?”
“It’s really not. When I asked my sister that, she told me it was good to be the queen. Then she told me to go find something productive to do with myself because lowly brothers of the queen don’t get to be called princes. She broke my heart. I could have been a prince, but no. I’m just some pauper.” Jonas slid out of bed and joined me, peering into the bathroom. “Showers are a little more advanced than you want to start with, as there are tricks involved with indulging without cracking your head into the tiles. Baths are a wonderful place to indulge, as the heaters will keep us pleasantly warm for however long we wish to indulge. However, your virus will get very upset about the bath, because the water makes it more difficult for it to do its work, so it would be tested trying to tame me. As such, I recommend a quick shower or a non-indulgent soak before I take proper care of you in bed.” Jonas smirked. “Of course, we could take a non-indulgent soak together, as there’s nothing quite as pleasant as some extended frustration before I get to work my best magic on you.”
That smug, confident grin of his would drive me as crazy as the thought of him without his shirt on. I pointed at the tub. “That better not be all talk, Jonas. If that’s all talk, I’m going to be inconsolable.”
Striding into the bathroom, Jonas headed for the tub. “When I’m finished with you, you’ll be ruined for all other men. I have dessert to savor, and all that work has made me hungry.”
I tossed aside my common sense along with my clothes. “Ruin me, then. Do I look like I have all day to you?”
I learned a valuable lesson: only a fool challenged an incubus or tweaked his pride. Having done both in one fell swoop, I figured I had deserved to be reduced to an exhausted mess at Jonas’s mercy. Every time I attempted to escape to regroup and catch my breath, he caught me and made use of his wicked magic to banish my feeble attempts to restore my common sense.
Surrendering seemed wise, as I couldn’t manage to crawl away without him snagging me by my ankles and demonstrating yet another way an incubus could torment an unsuspecting woman in the best of ways. “You win.”
Jonas chuckled, although he didn’t release my ankles. With a sensuous growl, he dragged me back to his side on the bed. Instead of resuming his sinful work, he snagged the discarded blanket and tossed it over us. “You lasted hours longer than I thought you would. Spicy ponies with bite have good endurance, and I think I even managed to tame that rowdy virus of yours.”
“How are you not exhausted?” I complained, debating if I could worm off the bed to appease my growling stomach. Never again would I cast any blame on anyone ensnared by an incubus or succubus. Once off his leash, Jonas meant serious business. “Why aren’t you some limp noodle, incapable of moving at all? You just grabbed me and hauled me back to bed as though I weigh nothing.”
The treatments had done me a world of good, and while I could still count most of my ribs, a few had gone into hiding, and I even had the start of curves back. I had a way to go until I considered myself to be healthy, but I no longer winced when I looked in the mirror.
Best of all, a thick and downy layer of pale hair covered my head, promising good things to come in the upcoming months—or when I cornered someone capable of growing it back.
“Well, it helps I’m an incubus. The better it is for you, the better I feed, and the better I feed, the stronger I am. It takes a lot to tip the scales in the other direction—and it usually takes one of the unicorns in their prime or Lucifer out to prove a point or ensnare my sister. If Lucifer pulls out all of the stops, he reduces everyone to limp noodles except my sister, who is a very hungry kitty with endurance the match of her husband’s.”
“You win.”
“You won, too,” he replied in an amused tone. “Now that I’ve tamed your virus, I will feed you, tuck you in, and let you recover. Then, because I am a prankster at heart, we’ll test just how good your shrouds are. I have a few residences here and there, and Lucifer might not know about the one because it’s new. I have plans to take you there and indulge. Then, because I’m evil, we’ll indulge at some of Lucifer’s residences, too.”
Would I survive such indulgences? Would I care if I perished due to such indulgences? I liked the sound of having something to eat, and my stomach voiced its demand with a gurgle. I went limp on the bed and snuggled into the soft blanket. “I will cooperate and put in a token protest so you can call it a kidnapping. If you kidnap me, Lucifer won’t send me to some lab to rescue more animals. I like rescuing animals, but I’ve had my fill of labs.”
“I see you have a prankster’s heart as well.”
I snorted and groped for a pillow and dragged it over. “We have to steal the blanket and pillows. They’re ours now.”
“As I do quite enjoy stealing things I shouldn’t, I shall do as you ask. If Lucifer wanted to keep his pillows and blanket, he wouldn’t have invited me to use his residence.”
“Exactly.” I stretched, and my muscles protested the movement. Even my toes hurt, a rather unexpected inconvenience. “What did you do to my toes?”
“I showed you a toe-curling good time.”
Huh. “No one had warned me about aching toes. I’d gotten the other warnings, although it seems incubi can do a rather marvelous job of preventing generalized discomfort.”
“It’s good to be me, but yes. We feed better when our partner gets the best experience possible. Some women enjoy a little pain to go with their pleasure, but I prefer to take the more pleasurable route with a new partner, and then I test to see what she likes. A gradual exploration is more my speed. But now that I’ve successfully earned your complete sur
render, it’s time to get you something to eat so you can rest. I have plans for once you have enough energy to be an active participant.” With a low chuckle, Jonas got out of bed, dragged me out from under the covers, and tossed me over his shoulder. “You’ll regret it if you don’t soak, and I can feed you while you enjoy some basic pampering. I’m sure Lucifer stocked the kitchen, so I can cook us something.”
Right. He enjoyed working in the kitchen. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Well, I’m known to lie, steal, and even kill on occasion. The only sin I won’t indulge in is rape, and one of my favorite hobbies is hunting rapists and killing them in brutal fashions so I can visit them in hell and continue their punishment.”
“I am not seeing a problem with this.”
“For some reason, people seem to think murder is bad.”
I snorted. “It’s just a rapist. You’re doing the world a favor getting rid of those bastards. I feel that way about terrorists and pedophiles, too. I am really thinking about going into prosecution specifically to lock away rapists, terrorists, and pedophiles. That seems like my idea of a good time. Animal abusers are now on my list, although that’s a recent addition.”
“Noted. Rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and animal abusers are your preferred prey.”
“No, you’re my preferred prey,” I replied. “I just seem to have run out of energy to hunt you again.”
Jonas chuckled, and he lowered me into the tub before turning on the water. “In reality, I will check in with Lucifer to see if there is anything important on the wire. He hadn’t expected that place to be a lab, and there might be intel we need to act on immediately. If there is, I’ll adjust our plans and make sure you’re appropriately tended to at least once a day.”
“This bed buddy arrangement is quite possibly the smartest move I’ve made in my life.”
“Honestly, I’m thinking your act of arson is the smartest move you’ve made in your life. I mean, you torched the Devil’s house and got away with it. His brothers adore you now because of it. Every time I’m alone, some damned archangel checks in to make sure you’re doing well—and warns me I best not stray if I value my masculinity.”
“Ouch.” I stretched out in the water, snagged the bubble bath, and added some. “If this breaks the Devil’s fancy tub, he deserves to pay for the repairs.”
“Normally bath oils and salts are not to be used in fancy tubs, but Lucifer is spoiled and would rather replace the tub and enjoy the salts and the oils, so go to town. Just don’t use too much soap, else you’ll flood the entire place with bubbles.”
“That could be fun.”
Jonas laughed. “But dangerous, as bubbles on tiles are slippery. Don’t fall asleep in the tub. Any preference on dinner?”
“Hot and in my stomach as quickly as possible?”
“Any problems with rare steaks?”
“No, but I’ll be a little sad we can’t make potatoes bake faster.”
“I am not above going to hell and making Lucifer bake you a potato. He can bake them in seconds, and they come out just as good as from the oven—probably even better. His turn out really fluffy and tender inside with crisp skin. I hate him for his potato baking skills. Well, I mean, that’s just one extra reason I hate him.”
My eyes widened. “Lucifer can bake potatoes?”
“He can. Being a divine is convenient at times.”
“Fully loaded, with extra crispy bacon. Please. I will beg, Jonas.”
The incubus leered at me. “After you’re fed and rested, I will come for my payment of your begging.”
“If it gets me crispy spinach on the side, too, you can even tell the Devil I love him.”
Shaking his head and snickering, Jonas replied, “I think he’ll send extras over if you play that card. I’ll hold that close to my chest unless he resists my request for a good baked potato. I’ll be back shortly. No napping!”
“I won’t nap,” I promised, making myself comfortable while waiting for his return. “Goose the Devil for dessert while you’re at it.”
“You are the dessert,” he reminded me.
“Dessert for me, you fiend!”
He smirked at me before he shrugged and vanished.
Shaking my head, I could only hope the Devil didn’t kill the incubus for showing up naked and with a ridiculous amount of bounce in his step.
Jonas waged war with Lucifer over me, and as I enjoyed the thrill of the chase, I played the damsel in distress who received sexy benefits from my incubus captor. The first week, I learned my virus wanted me to drag the incubus to bed at least once a day, and she preferred making her conquest in the morning. I enjoyed her logic, as it meant I started the day with a spring in my step. As he went out of his way to make himself appealing, I hunted him at night to make sure he stuck around to give me and my virus attention in the morning.
The rest of the day, we played a game of cat and mouse. Whenever the Devil came close to finding our trail, Jonas teleported us away to one of his other residences or we hit up a nearby hotel or motel. I stopped asking or worrying about the cost of our little adventure, determined to enjoy the fun while it lasted.
A week and a half later, an ice cream parlor lured me out of hiding with cash pilfered from Jonas’s wallet, which in turn brought the Devil out to play.
Oops.
He grabbed me by the collar, although he didn’t prevent me from continuing my quest to get a hit of frozen chocolatey goodness. “I see my spicy pony with bite has been having a good time.”
Ignoring Lucifer amused me, but as I wasn’t a complete monster, I ordered him a cone, too. Once I had my treat in hand, I said, “I fully understand why you were using Jonas for therapy now. I’m enrolled, and it’s going to take me at least a hundred years to be cured of my various ailments, I’m sure. Maybe longer.”
“As the goal is to evict Jonas from the therapy pool, I am pleased you’ve been enjoying his company.”
“I escaped fair and square for this ice cream. I think I finally wore him out. Or you wore him out. Somebody wore him out. He passed out.”
Lucifer chuckled, and he kept a hold on the back of my shirt while eating his ice cream. I headed for the seedy motel Jonas had picked as our latest hideout. When the Devil offered no commentary, I asked, “Does your appearance mean we’re done playing games?”
“For now. I need you and your bed buddy to do some investigative work. I had Diana and Darian going over the files while they recovered from serving as your donors, and as Jonas hasn’t voiced any concerns, your virus must have stabilized, but it’s time for you to get checked to make sure. I have a list of calls for you to make, and I want you to familiarize yourself with the operations we’re looking to bust. You were mentioned in the files, as were Diana and Darian. We haven’t figured out why the outfit has been looking into you, but I suspect it’s because you’re registered in the CDC’s database as having an unknown lycanthropy strain, just like them. They’re nightmares, so their strain will remain blank. Their breed prevents them from attuning to another animal, and their blend of magic sustains the virus. You’re different, but I’m sure my father has reasons for attuning your virus. You’re a dual species.”
“Dual species?”
“Your lycanthropy virus is the same strain as your new species. This is technically a dual species. Diana’s virus doesn’t really have a species, so it’s just a helpful infection reproducing in her blood. Yours has all of the benefits and disadvantages of being attuned, although you’re attuned to your new species. In the future, I expect dual species will be those who have an attuned virus of a different species than their natural shapeshifting ability, but we have not yet seen this occur in the wilds. It’ll happen soon. Diana bent the rules without breaking the universal laws, so it will start happening in nature. I’m excited to find out who the first shifter-lycanthrope will be. Anyway, He attuned your virus at the same time he made you into a spicy pony with bite. I refuse to peek to discover what a spicy pony
with bite is. He isn’t the kind to make a bad choice, not with something like this.”
“Well, I was given several options.”
“He probably couldn’t decide, so He left the choice in your hands. No matter how much I argue and bicker with my father, I recognize his nature.”
Interesting. “So Jonas passing out and sleeping like a rock isn’t something to worry about?”
“Not at all. He finally has had reliable enough meals his guard is down, so he’s resting. Incubi can get fidgety if they go a long time without feeding like he does. Truth be told, I’m surprised he was willing to dodge me so fresh after having his first few meals. His last succubus strayed earlier than I wanted. He didn’t feed as well as he should have, either. But, that’s not her fault or his. She’d been under restriction for a long time and wanted to hunt after many years of poor feeding in captivity. Jonas is an excellent meal for a starved succubus, but I try to avoid putting him in that situation unless there’s no other or better options. She’d been starved long enough I either needed to toss her to an incubus or to a determined lycanthrope, and a lycanthrope would not have wanted to let her go. Jonas didn’t, but he understands a succubus’s position better than lycanthropes tend to.”
“My virus enjoys establishing her territory at least once a day. Then I end up establishing my territory once a day,” I confessed.
“Spicy ponies with bite are probably wired like unicorns, and you have a double dose of it from your virus. Good. That will keep Jonas on his toes. I will just remind you that while incubi can purge the virus at their whim, once tamed, they will only do it during an emergency, or if they feel they’ll endanger their lycanthrope, and they will hunt for their lycanthrope to reestablish the virus as soon as it is safe. Jonas doesn’t need the virus’s influence to be dedicated, and once he’s been fed for a while, he won’t want to surrender his meals without a fight. You’re stuck with him, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he purges the virus every now and then to rile you up and get caught again. That one enjoys drama more than is wise sometimes.”
