by Liza James
I slowly drift my hands to the hem of my sweater and pause briefly, waiting for his quick rebuttal. But it doesn’t come. Instead, his eyes lift to mine expectantly before he answers, “Take it off.”
I do as he says, quick and efficiently as I pull it up and over my wild hair. I drop it to the floor next to us, no use in trying to keep it now. His eyes fall over my body as a raging fire lights inside of them, sparking in my own chest and kicking up my heart rate. I’m sitting in front of him in a light pink bra that barely contains my tits at the moment. It’s a little small, but under my cropped sweater looked fine.
We both stand in heavy silence. Nathanial’s deep breaths graze across my neck as my body begs to be closer to him. But I don’t offer any movements, I don’t initiate anything that will give him the satisfaction of rejecting me. I wait for him to make any sort of move, which he does. For the fucking thin rag sitting next to my thigh.
I watch intently as he folds it into thirds and lays the now cold fabric across my leg. His eyes lift back to mine when suddenly, one of his hands drifts up the length of my arm. Shivers race down my spine and I gasp at the contact. Everything feels differently when he touches me.
His long fingers trail across my shoulder until they brush against the stream of blood that coasted across my chest. His thumb tracks through it, sliding higher and higher until it’s pressed against the wound directly.
I release a hiss and my eyes squeeze shut as he pushes against it and a sharp pain shoots through me. Abruptly, his lips fall to my ear as his hot breath skates over my flesh. “Does this hurt?” he asks, dark and rough when I’m left breathing heavily at his touch.
“Yes,” I choke out, but the stinging pain of his assertive grasp is also eliciting much stronger waves of pleasure. He drags his thumb across the cut, soaking his hand in my blood and coating my neck with more of it.
“But does it feel good?” he asks again, this time his tongue brushes against the shell of my ear and we immediately fall into our familiar milky haze that bears home to both of us.
“Yes.” A soft whimper escapes me, and his other hand grips my hip tightly as he drags me forward on the hard counter. He slowly rolls his own against mine and I ache when I feel his hard cock brush against my wet core.
“Taste it,” he commands as his thumb slips up and over my jaw, running the length of my lower lip. He tugs it down, ensuring my own blood is coated over my flesh. I hesitate for a moment, unsure of where this is going, but I’m far too turned on to ignore it. “Stella,” he barks as his heavy hand pulls away from my hip for a moment before coming back to crash against the outer edge of my ass in a rough reprimand.
I can’t help it, a surprised moan falls from my mouth as I jerk back in reaction. God, I love it. All of it, even the dirty, dominant part of him that demands control. He lifts his hand and grips my hair tightly, pulling my head back as I part my lips for him.
“Do as I say,” his voice is low, a sexual whisper that covers my flesh and infects my blood. I pull from it, automatically and without reserve as I feed from us together. I let my tongue slip from my mouth and over my lower lip, tasting the metallic flavor of my own blood. I watch his eyes flare in heat as they follow the trail my tongue leaves behind. I turn my head just slightly, taking his thumb further into my mouth as I let my red stained lips close around him. I don’t take my eyes from his as I suck him in further, circling my tongue around the tip and then dragging it slowly downward before coming back up again. I taste his flesh, I taste my own body on him.
My eyes fall closed as I suck him one last time before letting go and then pushing my face further into his palm. I savor the feeling of his skin against mine, of our breaths working and fighting with each other while the tension around us explodes.
“Fuck, Stella,” he says and just as his hands fall to grip my hips again, quick steps of heavy feet fly into the kitchen and interrupt our interaction.
“Oh! Oh! I’m so sorry, I had no idea anyone was in he—Oh! Stella, dear, are you all right?” Alf’s shocked face catches me off guard and I turn towards him. But his eyes instantly drop to my chest and suddenly his own face beams bright red. “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry. I’m going. Please, Nathanial, tell me if I can fetch anything for you.” Alf quickly turns on his heels and races out of the room, effectively shattering everything we had flowing between us.
I bring my eyes back to Nathanial, but he’s already stepped away and I hate to see the immediate walls that have slid back over his features. He clears his throat without meeting my gaze, reaching for the rag and tossing it to me casually. “Use that to clean up, the cut should heal, if it hasn’t already from what just happened.”
Confused, I tentatively raise my fingers to my neck and brush over the area that should have the injury. The skin feels smooth and flawless, absolutely no pain—as if it never existed.
I glance back to him, my brows furrow, and my eyes narrow in his direction. My heart kicks at the idea that maybe what just happened was as simple as a clinical transaction for him.
“How did that happen?” I ask, fearing his answer.
“You healed, after a slight feeding. Your body draws what it needs from the tension to restore itself.” His voice is steady and calculated.
I pause a moment, readying myself to ask the question I don’t necessarily want the answer to. “Is that why you just did that? Simply to heal me?”
His eyes focus on mine, ripping through me in detached discipline. “Of course.” He steps back and wipes my blood from his hands on a separate towel. Erases me from his body. “Why else would I do anything like with you? I’m a healer, Stella. I’m trained to heal people.”
I drop my head in irritation, sighing before I jump down from the counter and straighten my shoulders to face him. I step forward, coming only inches away from his bare torso and lift my hard eyes to meet his.
“Let me give you a bit of advice,” I bite out. I trail a single, slow finger up the length of his arm and across his wide chest, keeping my eyes on the track of goosebumps I leave behind. “Don’t touch me.” My hand drifts higher, until it’s my own that reaches up and grips the back of his neck so he’s forced to look at me. “Don’t fucking help me.” I can see the aroused heat flare in his gaze, and I arch my back so that I’m pressed tightly against his body. That milky haze slowly slips back over his eyes and I know I’ve got him exactly where I want him.
“And for Christ’s sake, stop fucking feeding me. You won’t even tell me how that’s possible. I don’t need you. Stop playing this game with me where you pull me along and then shove me away.” I release my hold on him and step back, turning on my heel before walking out of the room. “I’ll find someone else. I’m not your burden, remember?” I move to take a step forward but his authoritative voice cracks around us.
“Stella,” he steps up behind me and dips his head so that his lips brush against the back of my ear. “Find someone else. Fuck someone else. Feed from someone else. I don’t care.” His quiet voice is anything but timid. It’s powerful and painful as he speaks the words I threw in his face. “But you will never escape me.”
His hand slides forward and brushes across the exposed skin of my stomach, moving lower until his fingers barely slip under the waistband of my jeans. “So, while you’re fucking another Incubus, while you feel him moving inside of you, remember who’s actually claiming you in that moment. It’s not him, it will always be me. No matter who you’re with.” His teeth bite my lobe as he sucks it into his mouth, and I gasp at the painful pleasure while his fingers dip lower. I place a warning hand over his, halting his movements before he goes too far. “I know who you see whenever you’re with anyone else. I know the pattern in your choices. You can deny it all you want, baby girl. But I will always know the truth.”
Fuck.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say as I pull his hand off of me and step away. He scoffs, laughing to himself as he slides his hands into his pockets, crossing hi
s ankles and leaning against the counter.
“All right, Stella.” He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, he simply steps around me and out of the kitchen. I’m left alone in the space, drowning in our deranged war of power. We’re toxic and uncontrolled, an evolving chaos that will only leave destruction before it could ever conceive beauty.
Stella digs under my skin and constantly grates against my flesh. One second, I want to tear out her hair and tie her up by her wrists, fuck her, and leave her begging for more. The next second? I’m ready to ditch her and head to a bar, get trashed, and forget I ever met her.
It’s always a war of power between the two of us, twisting and ripping until the other is left in pieces. My mind is already clouded with countless possibilities over how Elijah and Luna’s declaration could go tonight. People will surely be receptive. The council has already had their sights on Luna since she began showing up around the Capital. But there will always be concerns, such as safety and political changes towards the fight, that continuously rages through the Fallen Angel and certain factions of Demon races.
And then there’s Amelia. We knew there would be backlash keeping her with us. But we’ve kept an eye on her, usually ensuring weapons and anything that she could use against the girls is out of her reach. She’s collapsed within herself, most of the time nothing but an anxious mess. She keeps to her room, quiet and lost in her thoughts, or personal nightmares.
But every once in a while, that confident, sadistic monster breaks through and takes over, reminding us just how dangerous she can truly be. Stella holds her own though, and she was right in saying the two of them are curiously similar. Two sides of the same succubus coin.
I stormed out of the kitchen and found Elijah and Luna curled together on the couch. Luna’s small frame is wrapped tightly within my brother while his fingers trail circular patterns across her arms and shoulders. Their quiet conversation comes to a quick end as I stalk towards them and take a seat in the opposing leather chair.
I drop my head to my hands, scrubbing across the scruff along my jaw as I try to clear my mind in preparation for tonight’s events.
“It shouldn’t be a huge crowd tonight,” I say as I drag my fingers through the long strands of my hair. “I alerted the council members, and obviously the meeting is open to everyone, but I doubt many will haul their asses out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“We’ll see. It’s clear that dynamics are beginning to shift within the race. We might be surprised at the turn out.” Elijah’s hard voice rakes over me. He brings up a good point. Word of Amelia and Danner’s attack on Luna has made it through the community. It was hard to keep everything under wraps when Camden worked so closely with all of us at the Capital. Everyone knows of Elijah and his past blood bond with Amelia as well. It was arguably clear that Luna must be special to have caught his attention for longer than a fleeting moment.
Stella, on the other hand, has remained a bit more inconspicuous. I intend to keep it that way, ensure that no one knows just how important she truly is.
“True, we’ll have to see how everything plays out. You’ll be maintaining the same council, yes?” I ask, trying to focus on the technicalities and duties that he will be taking over as leader. We’ve talked about this before, switching out a couple of the advisors for others he was closer to.
“Yes, for now. Unless something changes and I don’t trust them, we’ll keep the four who’ve been advising you.” Elijah sits up, shifting so that Luna is now sitting next to him as he lifts his eyes to meet mine. “Stella will meet with Leon tonight. It’ll be a safe, public place for them to be introduced.”
I fight to keep my heart rate steady and my eyes from narrowing at my brother. Immediately, an angry heat sears through me and I have to remind myself that I don’t claim her, I don’t own her, despite the words that inadvertently slipped from my mouth just moments ago. This is for the best, the right decision, and when all is said and done, I need Stella to be strong and healthy in order to continue her fight against Danner. I’m quickly reminded that he didn’t visit her last night, a fact that she hasn’t bothered telling me, but one I simply know because I keep a close eye on her.
I don’t miss how tense Luna is as she sits next to my brother, her small hand clasped tightly within his. They’re always touching, always drawing and seeking from each other through their Fated and blood bonds.
“You’re right. This will be the best place for their initial meeting. I have several guidelines I need to put in place for Leon as well. This isn’t a fucking free for all, he’s clinically instructing and feeding her.” The tail end of my sentence grinds out of my teeth and tears out of my throat on a husky growl. The corner of Elijah’s mouth kicks up in a sadistic grin and Luna simply looks disappointed as she listens. I’m sure he’s told her about Stella being my Fated, but she knows all too well how you can’t force a bond between two unwilling parties.
“Whatever makes this easier for you, brother.” He stands, pulling Luna up with him as they begin walking out of the room. “At the end of the day, she’ll still be fucking someone else. No matter how many useless rules you place between them.”
My body reacts involuntarily, launching from the chair just as Stella rounds the corner and finds all of us basking in tension. She’s still lacking any top, but she’s clutching the ruined yellow sweater at her side.
“Who will be fucking someone else?” she asks, that sexy little lilt dancing across her voice. She isn’t ashamed of walking out here half-naked. She has no reason to be. She’s fucking gorgeous, and confident, and every single thing I could ever want in a woman. She’s also my entire destruction and complete ruin wrapped up in one pretty package.
Elijah looks to me expectantly, assuming he’s pushed me into a position of facing this most recent impending disaster with her. Luna glances to her sister and then back to me, clearly awaiting my response as well.
I clear my throat, sliding back into my casual, give no fucks demeanor. “Me, of course. Haven’t you heard?” I step forward, moving around each of them as I head toward the staircase. “I need to get laid tonight, and you’ll be busy with Leon.”
Elijah physically chokes on my words, doubling over in mock hysteria while Stella’s eyes widen with anger. “You’re asking for it, Nathanial. Every fucking thing that’s coming to you.” He slaps me on the chest as he walks away, tugging Luna behind him.
“Leon, the Incubus?” she asks, her eyes quickly clearing of any emotional response.
“Yes. He’ll be there tonight. You can meet and I’ll lay out the ground rules.”
Stella’s quiet for a moment—just one moment—before she breaks out into laughter. She bends over, her small arms clutching her incredibly naked waist as her wild hair falls forward and over her gloriously bouncing tits. “Ground rules?” she laughs, standing back up to catch her breath. “You’re kidding me, right?”
I stare, completely controlled as my eyes narrow on hers. “Absolutely not. You’re not losing control with someone you don’t even know.”
“Aren’t I supposed to be getting to know him? Isn’t that the entire point of this?”
“No. The point is to keep you fed and healthy, while teaching you about your Succubus nature and how to control it.” I step away from the staircase, turning to her fully, challenging her again already. Fucking fighting for control again.
Her smile quickly falls into something much sadder, something tainted with disappointment. “Control it,” she says sarcastically. “Because there’s something wrong in the first place.”
A genuine sharp pain scratches through my chest at the realization of what I said. I should have known how that would sound, especially with my own personal Demons. “No,” I start. “That’s not what I meant, Stella.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She steps past me, careful to keep a gap between us as she moves up the staircase and towards her room. “You’re an Angel. It’s only natural for you to see what I am that way
. It’ll be good to work with Leon. He’s like me, my kind, and at this point I need someone who understands what I’m dealing with.” She doesn’t turn around before she disappears down the dark hallway and I don’t see her again until the meeting that night.
I’ve been to the Capital a few times over the past months. Not often enough to really know where I’m going though, so I sit here in Nathanial’s office while everyone else prepares for the meeting.
Truthfully, I’m not ready to be around everyone yet. I’m not ready to meet Leon, not ready to meet others of the race, and definitely not prepared to spend any more time around Nathanial than what is absolutely necessary.
My mind is racing with too many conflicting thoughts.
I’m frustrated with Nathanial’s dismissals of me. I’m angry with myself for continuously falling into his dark words and dominating aura. I’m so uncomfortably, unquestionably drawn to him and for some reason it’s so much easier for him to deny whatever is between us.
I’m also curious about Leon and what he can teach me. I don’t want to control this in the way that Nathanial implied. But I do want to learn how I can maximize the benefits, how I can manipulate what I am into advancing me instead of hurting all the fucking time.
Amelia came with us tonight, obviously. Elijah and Nathanial have been on high alert since her fiasco in the kitchen. I’m not worried about it. Strangely enough, I feel a sort of kinship to Amelia. I hate her for what she did to Luna, but the more I’m around her, the more I hear her crying in the darkness of her room, the more I begin to realize that she may be as much of a victim as the rest of us are. A direct reflection of whatever it was she had to endure growing up.
I drop my feet from resting on the edge of Nathanial’s large, black oak desk. I’ve been reclining in his chair, my fingers intertwined across my lap as I made myself comfortable. I figure I might be alone for a little while longer and why not make the most of this opportunity?
