by Debra Dunbar
“Pleasure yourself.”
I’d done enough of that over the last six months, and I opened my mouth to protest. But the thought that he was going to be watching sent a flame downward, twisting into aching need between my thighs. I could lay across the bed or sprawl in one of the chairs, but I chose to return to the sliding glass doors, pressing my breasts and cheek against them as I spread my legs wide and ran a hand up the inside of my thighs.
Suddenly there were other hands on the outside of my thighs.
“Thought you said I was to pleasure myself.”
I felt a sculpted chest against my back, fingers like a concert pianist as they made their way up my legs. His breath caressed my neck, silken hair tickled my shoulder. “I changed my mind and decided to help. You’re too tempting, and I’ve ached for you every day these last six months.”
Every part of me melted. He’d missed me as much as I’d missed him. All the angst of the last few months fell away, and I lost myself in the feel of his hands, the caress of his lips on the back of my neck.
“Get to work, elf-girl.” I felt a teasing smack on my ass and squealed. One hand remained against the glass, but the other moved further up my thighs to the hot, wet spot between my legs. I stroked, flicked and rubbed, but couldn’t concentrate on self-stimulation with Irix pressed against my backside.
“Am I distracting you? Should I go back to my dark corner and watch?”
“No!” It was a strangled protest, desperate for the closeness of the man I loved. I’d soldiered through our time apart, but now remembrance of the agony that our separation caused came roaring back. “I need you. I need you.” I spun around, throwing my arms around his waist. He looked just as he had six months ago, dark hair, golden eyes that flashed with desire, that full, beautifully sculpted mouth beckoning me to taste.
My lips crashed against his, my hands roving his flesh with frantic desperation. Irix was shirtless, but I soon discovered he still had jeans on. My breasts were tender against his chest, and with a quick motion of my fingers, his pants were loose around his hips. Irix liked to go commando, and my hand down the open fly of his jeans quickly confirmed he was naked under the pants.
He was firm in my hand, as his tongue re-acquainted itself with my mouth. I stroked him, gripping him then releasing to tease with light fingers. Our movements becoming a desperate blur of hands and lips. Then Irix’s hands dropped to my rear, hoisting me up against the sliding glass door as I grabbed his shoulders for balance and wrapped my legs around his waist. He drove into me and stopped. Time halted, and we were together, joined in perfect union. In that moment, all the worry of the last six months dropped away, and something warm surged up inside me.
Then I tightened around him. He began to move, slowly at first, then increasing speed until we were in a frenzy of fractured rhythm. I clutched his shoulder, nails digging into skin. Irix’s strength and the double-pane glass door all that was keeping me upright. Pleasure built like a wave approaching the shore, rising until it crashed through me. With a shudder, I came and he followed.
We panted, slick with sweat as we clung together. Slowly Irix eased us down, and I laughed when my back squawked against the glass.
“The maid is going to wonder about the ass prints on the door.” I gasped, still breathless.
He chuckled. “And the guests in the pool are going to wonder whose lovely ass they were watching.”
Shit. Hopefully they didn’t connect that naked rear end to me, or I was in for an embarrassing vacation. And no, the irony didn’t escape me — an exhibitionist ten minutes ago to hoping no one recognized me from my little peep show now.
Irix stood and offered me a hand. We grabbed our drinks and curled up on the bed, snuggling together amid half-a-dozen pillows and fluffy comforters. It felt so wonderful to be in his arms again. I breathed deep, feeling his warm skin against my cheek and his fingers as he pulled them gently through my hair.
“So, how’s school?”
It seemed awkward, this ‘what have you been doing since I’ve seen you last’ talk, but there was a lot to catch up on before we could ease into our old familiarity.
“Only a few more months.” I traced the muscles on his chest, needing to reassure myself he was truly there. “I’m still writing my thesis — brought it with me, in fact, although I’m hoping I’m too busy to work on it.” I told him about my various classes, about how Darci and our friends in New Orleans were doing. And then I asked him about Hel.
He hesitated, and I knew he was weighing whether to keep me blissfully ignorant of the situation or not. “It’s not good, Amber. I know the Ha-Satan is your friend, but she’s got to do something about those damned elves.”
I winced, knowing those ‘damned elves’ would want me dead once they realized I was alive.
“Do you think they know about me?” My brief foray into Hel last August hadn’t been brief enough to hide me from an elven scout — one who’d escaped us, clearly knowing what I was.
Irix sighed. “Yes. There’s a contract out on you. They haven’t quite figured out how to sniff you out among the billions of humans here, but they’re working on it.”
I shivered and nestled closer to Irix, pretending for a moment that his strength could fend off every threat. “What do I do?”
“Grow stronger. Be wary and hone your skills.” He bent his head to kiss the top of mine, his hands moving lower, his caresses becoming purposeful. “Stay here, in bed with me for all eternity.”
I heard the smile in his voice, but I also heard the unspoken words — don’t live my life in fear, letting every waking moment be consumed by thoughts of demon hit men that could be after me. He’d glossed over his life in Hel, but I’d heard enough about it to know how demons lived. It was a violent, kill-or-be-killed life, but somehow they still managed to do the things that brought them joy. In spite of what he’d probably been through in his two-thousand years, Irix hadn’t turned into a hardened monster. He was tough, capable, and there was no one I’d rather have by my side if the shit hit the fan, but he wasn’t a monster.
And his fingers below my waist were making any further rational thought impossible. I sank deeper into the pillows and let myself drift away to a place where every sense came alive. We communicated in this raw, primal fashion. And this time when we came, more than just a physical orgasm rushed through me.
I murmured in protest as I felt the flow of Irix’s energy through my body, saturating every cell and tingling along my nerves. I’d been diligent about keeping myself sustained and taking care of my succubus needs, but what Irix shared was like a glass of the finest port. As wonderful as this intimate gift felt, I didn’t want him to think he needed to do this. I’d done a lot of growing up in the last six months and was determined to stand on my own — no matter how distasteful I occasionally found my endless hunger.
“You’ve not been taking care of yourself.”
His whispered recrimination was gentle, but it still stung. I had been taking care of myself. “I’m in college, facing finals and my senior thesis, along with applications for summer internships. I go out every weekend and have sex. Two or three per week is the best I can do right now. Give me a few more months and I’ll step up the pace.”
He sighed, and his lips traced a line from my mouth to my jaw. “It’s not the quantity I’m upset about, Amber, it’s the quality. Must you fill yourself with the equivalent of greasy cheeseburgers and diet soda?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. “The selection isn’t exactly great in a college town. And I’ve got some criteria I need to live by.”
Sex fueled me, but at the cost of my partner. I could take a quick hit, like a sugar rush to my system, or a longer, more sustaining approach. That last one tied the human male to me for the rest of his life. Each sexual experience he had gave me a trickle of energy; each partner he had was a desperate search to replicate his time with me. I only tied assholes, those player horndogs who never wanted more than a one-night stand
and refused to commit. I wasn’t hurting them. And the others were just a shot of sugar — one time and I was only a happy memory.
Besides all that, I had to be careful. My succubus side, pheromones or not, inspired rash decisions in men. And those had resulted in several very angry girlfriends at my door. Married men I stayed away from, and those who hid their wedding ring with the intention to cheat weren’t the problem. It was impossible for me to tell if the hot guy with lust in his eyes had a serious girlfriend or not. So try as I might, I’d become that tramp, the slut who would steal some other girl’s man. Tying them to me meant they left their girlfriend. Not tying meant they had a whole lot of guilt and explanations the next morning. I, on the other hand, usually wound up with a black eye. Fighting evidently wasn’t a skill my demon sire had considered necessary when she’d formed me.
“Mmm.” Irix eyed me with skepticism. “I won’t be putting up with that excuse here in Maui or once you’re out of college. You need to choose better partners.”
Sheesh he was bossy. I gave him my best ‘whatever’ shrug. “Yep. No problem.”
He gathered me close. “I’m serious. There’s a price on your head. You need to be in peak condition, have strong energy reserves, just in case.”
Eventually there would be a demon who decided to make a quick buck by bringing my head back to Hel. With roughly seven-billion humans in the world, I was hoping they’d have a hard time finding me. Hoping.
“Okay. I promise I’ll take your guidance on partners. But no women or married men. Not too young or old. And I’m not tying anyone this trip — it’s just too worrisome.”
“Uh huh.” It was the sound of someone who had suffered mightily and was at the end of their patience. “Tying is what keeps you from having to spend so much time finding partners. It’s long-term energy as opposed to a quick fix. Amber, you can’t live on quick fixes, not if you want to do something with your life beyond have sex a dozen times a day.”
“A dozen times a day sounds wonderful if the sex is with you.” I ran my lips over the ridge of his collarbone, nipping with my teeth as I reached the curve of his neck. Maybe if I distracted him, he’d quit with the lecture.
The attempted seduction worked. Irix rolled me on top of him, gripping my ass to keep me in position. Our lovemaking was slow, giving me time to reacquaint myself with every inch of his body. Then I fell into the best sleep I’d had in months, nestled in his arms.
Chapter 3
What’s that?”
Irix and I were on our balcony at sunrise, my hair lifting in the breeze as we sipped a sinful concoction of mango juice and seltzer.
“A palm tree?”
I shook my head, smiling as I looked at the sky. He’d been pointing at a Pandanus tree, not a palm. A member of the Screw pine family, the bracts and roots were perfect for weaving and rope making. But that wasn’t what I’d meant.
“No, the smoke cloud inland. If you lean over the balcony, you can see the plume in the distance. It’s concentrated and dark. Do you think something’s on fire?”
It was Irix’s turn to shake his head and look at the sky, a grin on his face. “Oh no, darling. It’s actually a smoke creature. Very useful when preparing meats or trying to keep insects at bay.”
If I had a pillow handy, I would have tossed it at him. “You know what I mean. Do you think it’s a forest fire? Or the dormant volcano about to erupt? Or just someone burning garbage?” I didn’t know anything about fire. I was all about plants. Not that I could really do anything about it, but I did worry this fire might be taking out a national park, or some other landmark.
Irix squinted at the dark cloud. “It’s probably just the sugarcane fields burning.”
I frowned. “Are you sure?” I didn’t mean to be rude, but he’d told me he had never been to any of the Hawaiian Islands before. I was still worried about the forest preserve.
“Pretty sure. They burn cane fields in southern Louisiana, and they have hundreds of acres of cane here. We can always go check it out later.”
I knew Irix wasn’t suggesting we take a bus. He had a thing about stealing — especially cars. It bothered me but was something I’d chosen to just accept. I was in love with a demon, and he was bound to be... well, demonic. If grand theft auto was the extent of his evil, I was counting my blessings.
“Let’s go now. I don’t know how long the smoke will be visible enough for us to locate the fire.”
“Nope.” Irix finished his drink. “Later. You have a paddleboard lesson in ten.”
Huh? I was a decent swimmer but not a watersports maniac like my stepsister Nyalla. What in the world would have given him the idea I’d want to learn paddleboarding? And there was another question in my mind.
“I take it you’re not joining me in this lesson?”
His smile conveyed a world of meaning. “No, I need to do something else. From eight to ten every morning, Enakai at DreamWaves will be teaching you to paddleboard while I head off to seduce both tourists and residents.”
Just because my ‘nutritional’ needs fell pretty low on my to-do list, didn’t mean Irix’s did. I could tell from the tone of his voice that it wasn’t just for him. I know sharing his energy was his way of showing how much he cared, that he wanted to take care of me until I was able to truly stand on my own two feet as a half-demon, but it still made me feel guilty. And jealous. Which was ridiculous. He was an incubus. These were one-time-only sources of energy, where we had so much more going on between the two of us. Still, it was hard to get past twenty-one years of culture that told me monogamy was the only proof of love.
I needed to get over it. Falling off a fiberglass board into the surf for a couple of hours would probably keep my mind away from obsessing about what Irix was doing with these tourists and residents. And two hours wasn’t much time to be separated from him. I needed to not be the clingy, anxious girlfriend, or I’d drive him away. Glancing at my watch, I summoned a casual smile and stood to kiss him. “Ten minutes, huh? Well, I better get going then.”
***
DreamWaves was a shack on the beach with a thatched roof and a row of boards lined up out front like a tall, colorful fence. I eyed them, looked at the gentle waters of the inlet, and then went in. Better get this over with. Maybe after today, the instructor would tell Irix I was hopeless and he’d have me do manicures or a massage each morning instead.
Mmm, massage. My mind immediately wandered to images of a tanned man applying warm oil to my skin using long firm strokes. Now, that was more up my alley. Although, this whole paddleboard thing might not necessarily be a wash. If the instructor met my criteria, I could get some morning action in. Hmm, maybe if I worked my pheromones, I wouldn’t even have to get on the damned paddleboard.
The moment I laid eyes on the instructor, that idea went right out the window. I did a quick back and forth between the business card Irix had given me and the woman waxing a board in the shack.
“I’m looking for Enakai? I’m the paddleboard lesson.”
“Just call me Kai.” She pronounced it ‘Kah-ee’. “Aloha! You must be Amber?”
She was tan. Really, really tan with muscles that stood out, beautifully defined. I doubted she had more than an ounce of fat on her. Her pointed chin, high forehead, and exotic dark eyes all created a face and figure that would have dropped jaws back home in Maryland.
“Yep, I’m Amber. And I have to ask, is that ‘Aloha’ thing only for the tourists? I mean, do you all run into each other in the grocery store and say ‘Aloha!’? Do you say ‘Mahalo’ to the cashier?”
Her lips twitched. “It’s for tourists. Yes, I speak Hawaiian, but I greet people with ‘hi’ and tell them ‘thanks’. I also listen to Rap and don’t own any floral-print shirts beyond what I have to wear at work.”
I thought so. “I have to warn you that I’m going to be the worst student you’ve ever taught. My boyfriend arranged this, probably not realizing I’m more at home on a four-wheeler than the water.”
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br /> Her eyes flashed disappointment, but she quickly hid it behind a warm smile. “You’ll eat those words by the end of the day; I promise. Paddleboarding is addictive.”
Kai reached down to grab a board by the centered slot, tucking it under her arm and picking up two paddles with the other hand. “Take that one over there, and we’ll get started.” She went to walk past me, and we did that little dance thing, trying to get out of each other’s way. Then we both stopped, waiting for the other one to move.
I laughed, met her eyes, and the world tilted. Wow, she had the most beautiful eyes — almond-shaped and dark brown, like sunshine on melted Godiva chocolate. They widened, and something in them flared — a spark of attraction. I sensed it, knew in an instant how her skin would feel against the tips of my fingers, how her lips would taste.
Then she laughed and broke the spell, turning her head and darting around me to the door. Had we... had she...? Damn, it was like my heart was trying to beat right out of my chest.
“Hurry up. Get your board and let’s go.”
I took a deep breath to clear my head and curled my fingers around the edge of the slot in the board. Then I lifted and nearly fell on my face. Kai was walking out the door, her back to me as she rambled on about today’s lesson, while I yanked and pulled, finally muscling the board upright. Supporting the underneath part with my other hand, I staggered out the door and hustled to catch up.
“We’ll start out in a calm, sheltered section to let you get the hang of things before braving the chop.”
I opened my mouth to question how this was going to work on a beach filled with splashing kids and adults but was too winded to speak. Shit, this board had to have weighed a hundred pounds. No wonder she was buff if she slung these things around all day. CrossFit my ass; just lugging this thing across the soft sand was a day’s workout for me. I practically ran in an attempt to keep up with her, struggling to avoid banging my board on the heads of sunbathers and their young children.
