He took a bite.
John and I were so much alike sometimes it was as if I was looking in a mirror. “But I can’t love you. Not ever, I gave my heart to Val.”
“I know.” He caressed my breast. “I’ve never asked you to, but I wanted this at least one time before I drop my glamor.”
I fed him another cookie. “Why?”
He gave me a sad smile as his face shimmered and Amel’s replaced it.
Cold milk splashed my lap as the glass tumbled from my numb hand. I didn’t even flinch. My whole body seemed part of someone else’s. A scream remained stuck in my throat because deep down inside I knew it to be John. “What. The. Fuck.”
Dark wings hovered over us as John flexed them. Gone was my little geek and in his place sat a demon that looked exactly like Amel. Sharp claws traced my shoulders but didn’t dent my soft flesh. “See. I’m as much a monster as he is. You can run away now.”
Tempted, I glanced at the door.
He released his hold on me, setting his large muscular arms on the back of the sofa. “Boo.”
I jumped then laughed.
He joined me.
“You’re twins?”
“Yep.”
“I’ve seen his glamor. He doesn’t look anything like you.” I touched his cheek half expecting him to bite my hand. Amel would have.
“Glamor is what you want people to see.” He took my hand and kissed my palm. “I’d be furious if you loved me, Pia.” His whispered words sucked all my thoughts out of my head.
“Why?”
“Because you deserve better.” He swung my leg over his narrow hip so I straddled him. “You should be with someone like Val. He understands your needs better than I could.” With a thrust, he entered me.
I grabbed his solid shoulders and moaned, arching back at the sudden pleasant stretch.
“I couldn’t share you like he does. I’d kill every motherfucker who’d touch you if you were mine.” Grabbing my ass, he thrust harder, deeper.
“Oh my god.” If a succubus’ hunger could speak, I swear mine just whooped in glee. All I could do was continue to hang on and enjoy the ride as John took over.
He grunted with each lunge as he guided my hips to meet his.
Out of breath, I tried to keep up. Sweat made my palms slippery and I had to dig my fingers into his muscle just to keep hold.
Flinging back his head, he shuddered to the tips of his wings. “Oh, I’m so close. Takeover or I’m going before you.”
I leaned forward and took all of him inside me. This was no easy feat but evolution made it possible for me to mate with demons and whatever else I wanted to feed off of.
The orgasm hit me so fast I couldn’t make a sound. It swept over me and took control of my hips.
From the sounds coming from John, I’d say he came along with me. His claws scraped the fabric from his sofa as he barked snarls of ecstasy in a language I’d never heard.
I tried to breathe but my lungs had seized. Energy formed inside my lower abdomen as I climaxed with my feed. It tasted of desert wind and scraped me raw from the inside.
John may appear different on the outside but he still created the same energy, a small comfort after a shaky start. He pulled me against him, his chest heaving and his wings limp. “Wow, I sure missed this.”
Chapter Seventeen
Energy coursed through my body and finally collected in that secret place in my tummy where I stored it. Too many times, in the past two days, had I been starved. My body would go on strike if I kept this up. I hadn’t been joking with Rose when I said it was dangerous for a succubus to drain and feed like a yoyo.
Fill, empty, fill, empty. Something would give out. Knowing me, it would be my heart since I owned such a soft one.
I rested my head on John’s shoulder, listening to him catch his breath, and tracked a pulsing vein in his black wing. The color bled into his skin but faded around his shoulders. His hair and eyes matched his wings just like Amel. Funny how I found his brother repulsive but could snuggle with John.
If I wanted, I could seduce any male. Once I discovered this gift, I realized that the packaging didn’t really matter so much to me anymore. Luckily, I’d found the perfect combo in Val.
“What are you smiling about?” John rubbed my back.
I hesitated. “Can it be about you?” Couldn’t he be happy about the cookies?
He snorted.
“Fine, I was thinking about Val. Sorry.”
“With any other woman, I’d be insulted. I saw the love thing going on between you when I met him. He’ll be a good husband.” He kissed me on the head. “I mean it.”
I sighed. “I wish we could find you a pretty demon to settle down with.”
He groaned. “Not you too.” Picking me up, he set me down next to him. “My whole family is trying to marry me off. Don’t you start.” He tapped his amulet. “That’s the whole point of this thing.”
“So they can’t summon you to your wedding?” I grinned at the face he made.
“I have a confession to make.” He began to shimmer.
“No, leave the glamor off. I want to talk to the real you.”
He blushed. I didn’t know demons were capable of doing that. “Promise you won’t get angry.” His wings curled around his shoulders almost as if he wanted to hide.
My grin faded. That sentence always led to my being furious. “That’s an unfair promise. What did you do that could make me angrier than abandoning me on my day three and vanishing for three months?”
He rested his head in his hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose. How was I supposed to know you’d get engaged to Valerio Hunan? I didn’t even know who he was until yesterday.”
I gathered my clothes and dressed quickly. If I was going to get pissed off, I didn’t want to be stuck storming out of his apartment naked. So far, it seemed like there’d be a pretty good chance of me blowing my lid.
He peeked at me between his fingers. It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen. A mazzikim demon the size of a small car peering at me in fear.
I crossed my arms. “Spill it.”
“It’s my fault.”
Nausea hit my gut. There couldn’t be too many things that John could feel guilty about that concerned me. “How are you responsible for Val’s missing packages?”
“It’s this.” He held up the amulet. “I heard through the grapevine that my mother had found some female to bind me with. I—I panicked.”
“And fled the city.”
He nodded. “Before they could think to summon and bind me to her. I would have asked Zur-Sin to make me one but he always charges an arm and a leg for anything with black magic.” He shuddered. “Sometimes literally.”
I paced the room. “So you went to another black magic practitioner?” Sin had killed all the local ones so that meant John had to go far away… “You went to New Harper city.”
He nodded. “There’s an incubus who lives there.” John gripped the amulet so tight in his hands that I feared he bend it. “He made this for me but in exchange for succubus energy. Lots of it.”
I groaned. “John.”
“I knew about vials from you. I bought as much as I could afford off the streets then one of them told be about a succubus named Roxy. She mailed vials of the stuff to a place on the west coast.”
I hung my head. Roxy was one of Val’s wives who lived in the southwest and she would kill John if she ever found out he was responsible for the stolen vials.
“I didn’t know it was affecting you, Pia. I swear it. When I left you hadn’t even met Valerio.”
“What did you do?”
“I tampered with the shipping. All the packages went to a P.O. Box in New Harper as payment.” Glamor shimmered over John and he got dressed. “I don’t blame you if you hate me. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting you to come over hungry.”
I poked him in the chest. “If you have the amulet then why are the packages still going to New Harper?”
<
br /> “Because I’m on a payment plan.”
“What the fuck? He has financing?”
“He’s more flexible than Zur-Sin but there’s a catch.” He stared at his feet. “If I don’t pay him the amulet will blow my head off.” With both hands, he showed that he couldn’t remove the necklace over his head.
“Well that’s just dandy.” I flung myself face down on the sofa. Did I look like the Bank of Succubus Energy? Between Daddy, Val, and John I’d be dead by the end of the week. Going back to being Sin’s little slut was sounding better and better. Or maybe I could join Cooper’s pack and be their pet, which reminded me I’d have to call him to reschedule.
“I’ll fix this.” John knelt next to me. “I promise. I’ll contact him and see if he’ll take money instead. Maybe Val could lend me some?”
Slowly, I raised my head. “We can’t tell him. He’ll kill you. I just know it. He’s so pissed right now. You’ve really fucked him over.” I punched John in the shoulder. “He almost killed me because of you.”
John rubbed the spot where I hit him absentmindedly. “I already hacked the shipping company and from now on all shipments will go to your suite.”
I sat up. “What about the one she sent yesterday?”
He made a pleading face. “It’s too late. It was already delivered to New Harper by the time I checked.”
“John! I called you yesterday afternoon. Don’t tell me Cecile shipped a new box minutes after I called her. I’d never believe that.”
“You’re not the only person with problems. I didn’t get to my computer until last night. That’s when I made the connection. My head might explode now that I’ve stopped the shipments.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Each word grew louder than the last. “We have to go to Sin. He’s the only one who can manipulate that thing.” I pointed to the amulet. “Hope you’re prepared to sell your soul.”
John met my glare. “I don’t think it’s my soul he’s going to ask for.”
Annoyance flashed across my heart. “Well, it better not be mine because it’s not for sale.”
“Not even to save Val?”
I slapped John across the face. After we settled these issues with feeding, I was going to take a break from my suitors. I could only last three days but it would be a glorious vacation from the jerks in my life.
He rubbed his cheek. “I deserved that, but you should be prepared.”
I shook my head. “Uh-uh, you better be prepared mister. This is all your doing.” I held up my hand to stop his answer. “I don’t care about this being an accident. Your mess, you pay. Now let’s see a vampire about saving your brains from becoming pudding.” I yanked the apartment door open and strode out into the hallway.
Amel leaned against the corner where I had left him. “Hello, John.”
John squeaked behind me. I didn’t know a demon could make such a high pitched noise. “You brought my brother here.”
“I didn’t have a choice. Sin made him my bodyguard during the day while Val is off his feed. He has to follow my commands and I ordered him not to harm you.”
Amel strolled toward us. “Been awhile.”
“Yeah.” John breathed so heavy I feared he was having some kind of demon heart attack.
“I have this problem. Maybe you heard? This dumb bitch gave a vampire my name and he blood bound me to him.”
“Hey, watch the name calling.” I eyed him. “That’s an order, not a request.”
He gave me a sharp nod.
“I’m sorry that happened. It wasn’t my intention to get you enslaved. I wanted Pia to have protection if she needed it.”
Amel roared and the window at the end of the hall rattled. “And your name wouldn’t have done just as well?”
“I protect my real name. Unlike some idiots in our family.”
Amel reached past me and grabbed John by the shirt. Both of their glamor vanished and I stood trapped between two pissed off mazzikim.
“I ordered you to do no harm, Amel.” I tried to squeeze pass them.
“Your exact meaning was physical harm. I’m not going to hurt him. I can’t promise what our mother will do though.” He pulled John into an embrace and they poofed into thin air.
“Holy shit.” I twirled around and scanned the hall.
One of John’s neighbors looked out into the hall. “Keep quiet out here,” he shouted.
I ran, taking the stairs two at a time, and exited the building. Scanning the skies, I couldn’t see them anywhere. Did Amel mean to take John to their mother? How could I get them back?
My knees gave out and I knelt on the cold wet pavement of the sidewalk. Oh my god, Sin was going to kill me when he found out I lost his pet demon. I glanced at the setting sun. Another hour before he woke? I didn’t have time to make it to the airport and grab the first plane out of the country. Maybe there was a cave system deep enough for me to hide—
A black sedan parked along the curb in front of me, squishing the slushy snow under its tires. Dark tinted windows prevented me from seeing who was inside. My heart belly-flopped into my stomach. Did Sin own a fancy vampire-mobile that allowed him to travel during the day?
I rose to my feet on shaky legs and wiped the dampness off my knees. Even if that were possible, daytime caused him to sleep. He still wouldn’t be capable of being here. So who was in the car?
The driver side door opened and a tall, dark haired male climbed out of the vehicle. From his appearance, I would have guessed he was of Greek descent.
I retreated to the apartment building, tossing glances over my shoulder, and praying he truly wasn’t here for me.
Tall, dark, and fast beat me to the door. He grabbed my upper arm and dragged me to the car where he proceeded to toss me inside.
Just when I needed a guard to save me, mine went missing. I landed on the back seat, knocking my forehead on the edge of something hard. I sat up while rubbing the small bump forming on my head and blinked as my gaze met a familiar set of warm, chocolate brown eyes.
Nikademos had his legs crossed, exposing the tips of his shiny black hooves. I had landed against his knee. “Ms. Blyton, you haven’t returned any of my messages or at least thanked me for the flowers.” He knocked on the window separating the front and back. “Drive.”
Flowers? Val had mentioned something about roses. “I haven’t been home since I met you.” I huddled at the far end of the car bench which gave us a whole two inches between our bodies. Nik was a big boy. “Are you kidnapping me?”
He leaned his strong chin against his hand, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Hardly.” He pointed to the bump on my forehead. “This should heal in a day.”
“Then how did you find me?” I hadn’t told anyone but Amel where we were going.
“To begin with, I wasn’t looking for you. I own some property in the area and had to check in on a situation. Then you appeared in the snow like an angel.”
Obviously Nik didn’t know too many angels or he would have run the other way. From what Hoel told me of his people, I wouldn’t be asking any of his family over for dinner. And mortals feared demons. Ha!
I breathed a sigh of relief then tossed him a questioning look. “Then where are you taking me?”
“To supper where we can discuss our future together.”
If my jaw hadn’t been attached to my face, it would have hit the floor. “We don’t have a future.” I wanted more confidence in that statement but my voice shook.
Chapter Eighteen
Back to day one.
Nikademos raised his eyebrow and leaned back into his seat. “You don’t even know what I have to offer you. I’ve made inquiries about your kind. Interesting culture.”
Inside, I cringed. “I’m not like most succubi.” No one knew where I’d gone today. With the demon twins missing as well, my family and Sin would conclude I’d been abducted to demon land. Where in truth I would be held captive on some Greek island living in a pasture with Nik’s other co
ws.
“I can offer you whatever Valerio does and more. Security, money, power; I have all these things.”
“Don’t care.”
“Truly? I heard this about you.” He rubbed his chin. “My herd would accept you with open arms. There are no favorites in my family.”
I snapped my mouth shut. He really had done his homework. “I understand you mean well.” I set my hand on his muscled thigh. “But I can’t ever be your one and only. As a succubus I have to feed from different males. The more the merrier.” Somehow I kept the pout off my face. Nik needed to forget about keeping me. There had to be a way I could mend things between us so he’d be willing to work with Val again.
Think, think, think.
He frowned, making his chiseled features sharper. “This has been explained to me. I am willing to allow you to feed from my security as long as I’m your main source.”
“Really?” I hadn’t expected that response. Most alpha jerks would have been pounding their chests shouting mine at this point of the conversation. “We don’t even know each other.” This offer was not even under consideration but maybe I could get him to see I’d be a terrible addition to his herd. “I can’t cook, I hate cleaning, and I barely passed high school. Shopping is my favorite sport, I’m chronically late, and I consider chocolate a major food group.” I gestured to myself as whole. “And these are my good qualities. If you want a succubus toy, I’m sure you’d find one who’d be thrilled to play the role.”
While I talked his frown had turned upside down and he grinned at me. “You’re honest, kind, and beautiful. These traits are difficult to find together in any person let alone a succubus.” He ran a cool knuckle over my cheek. “What am I missing? What does Valerio have that I don’t?”
“My heart.”
Tilting his head to the side, he gazed at me as if puzzled. “Are you saying you love him?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“I was led to believe your kind can’t love.”
“That’s a common misconception. We can do it, but most choose not to. Val and I are very much in love.” When he wasn’t trying to kill me, at least. “Look, Nik. You’re very sweet but I’m not joining your herd and I have so many problems right now I can’t do this without hurting you. Really. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have climbed those stairs to that meeting.”
Sinful Cravings: Erotic Paranormal Romance (Lake City Stories Book 2) Page 12
