Heart of the Incubus

by Rosalie Lario

  He left her alone to curse her racing heart and shallow breath.

  Oh, no. Crap. They had just kissed. True, it wasn’t enough of a kiss to really even qualify, but still, their lips had met.

  Her and Dr. Playboy Taylor. Was she out of her mind?

  Damn incubus allure. That had to be it. She was finding him harder to resist than she’d thought, that was all.

  Why did he kiss me back?

  Genevieve scrubbed at her lips, fighting back the mortification that threatened to erupt when she reached the only possible conclusion. He’d kissed her back because she was there. A warm, willing woman in his house. It wasn’t as if the man had any standards. He fed through sex. He probably kept loads of the sex-demon vaccine in his little homemade lab, waiting for just such an occasion. When she’d given him that stupid dreamy-eyed look, he’d probably thought to himself, Great, don’t have to go out to eat tonight.

  Double crap. How was she ever going to face him again?

  A sudden sense of curiosity about who was at the door urged her to her feet. She crept down the long corridor, grateful that she’d chosen to wear her sensible flats with their quiet, rubber-sole heels. The murmur of voices at the end of the hall prodded her onward. When she reached the door leading out to the foyer, which was only slightly closed, she stopped dead in her tracks.

  Though the open front door partially blocked Genevieve’s view, she saw enough of who stood on the other side to make a connection. The tall, willowy blonde with the huge breasts and tiny waist was one of Cresso’s regular patients. A succubus. She was also one of the women Genevieve had seen Cresso leaving with the first time she’d spotted him back at Elcorp.

  The blonde tried to glide past Cresso but he blocked her way. He said something to her, but the only words Genevieve made out were “somewhere else.” Genevieve edged closer to the foyer door, sliding behind it and peeking out.

  “Come on, baby. I’m hungry.” The blonde ran her hand over Cresso’s chest, and Genevieve’s stomach gave an unpleasant flop. There was no mistaking that feeling. She was jealous. Damn it.

  When the blonde’s hand trailed down and closed over Cresso’s groin, Genevieve’s fingers curved into unwilling talons. She had no claims on him, but that didn’t mean she had to like watching another woman put her paws all over him.

  Much to Genevieve’s surprise, Cresso removed the blonde’s hand and stepped back. “Sorry, Samantha. Like I said, not tonight.”

  The blonde pouted. “You’ve been saying that for weeks, baby. I miss you. No one else does it quite the same.”

  Okay, Genevieve didn’t even know what to make of that statement.

  “How did you get up here unannounced?” Cresso asked.

  The blonde shrugged. “I told the doorman not to bother, that it was a surprise. He’s seen us enough times.”

  Us?

  Before Genevieve could process those words, another woman appeared next to the blonde. This one was a brunette and a little thicker than the blonde, though her curves were no less generous. She also looked familiar.

  “Don’t shut us out.” The brunette closed her fingers over Cresso’s hand. “We need you, baby.”

  Unexpected shock sent Genevieve reeling. She didn’t know why she was so surprised. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t expected or even seen from him before. Still, she couldn’t help but recall another night. Another man…

  The workday had been crazy, but that was no surprise. When one had to balance the demands of a stressful job as a chemist with wedding plans, every day was hectic. She was done earlier than she’d expected, though, and the realization that she’d hardly seen her husband-to-be all week had sent her to the hospital where Jeffrey worked.

  Wouldn’t he be surprised to see her? Maybe if they were lucky, and if he had a few minutes to spare for her, they could fool around in one of the break rooms. Anticipation tightened her stomach as she walked up to the nurse’s station. The head nurse, an older, gray-haired woman named Debra, seemed shocked to see her.

  “Hi Debra, I’m here to surprise Jeffrey. Do you know if he’s available?”

  Debra’s mouth tightened. She hesitated, looked like she was going to say something, then apparently thought better of it. “I think he’s in break room two, honey.”

  “Thanks.” With a happy wave, Genevieve made her way to the break room. She opened the door and stopped cold.

  Jeffrey was in there, all right. And he wasn’t alone.

  Two young, attractive nurses Genevieve vaguely remembered meeting at some point were with him. None of them had noticed her enter, and she supposed she couldn’t blame them for that. They were quite occupied.

  Jeffrey lay on one of the cots, his scrubs bottoms down around his ankles. One of the nurses, a perky brunette with small, firm breasts that were clearly visible in her state of disarray, sat on top of him, bouncing up and down like he was her own personal pogo stick. The other nurse apparently hadn’t wanted to feel left out, so she’d joined in on the fun, too. And she looked like she was having plenty of it, squirming around on top of his face.

  Shock and horror rooted Genevieve to the spot. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t even throw up, though that was what she most wanted to do.

  She must’ve eventually made some noise, because after a few more agonizing seconds, Jeffrey slid the nurse who was sitting on his face downward and peered toward the door. His eyes went instantly wide, as if they would bulge out of his face.

  “Genevieve!”

  A sound that was halfway between a sob and a whimper escaped her mouth, knocking her back into the present. Cresso stiffened and his head whirled toward where she stood. His brows drew together when he saw her there, and two patches of color marred his otherwise flawless cheeks.

  The blonde and brunette followed his gaze.

  “Oh, you’ve got someone else here?” The blonde shifted her weight and laid a hand on her hip. “Why didn’t you say so, baby? We’ll just call you tomorrow then, eh?”

  The woman’s oddly casual tone broke Genevieve out of her shocked paralysis. Her entire body flushed with bitter humiliation at being caught spying. She turned and fled down the hallway, barely noting when Cresso called her name. Moisture pooled in her eyes, blocking her vision. She stumbled back into the bedroom and slammed the door shut before taking her glasses off long enough to rub her eyes dry.

  Stupid. She was being so stupid.

  Why the hell did she feel so heartbroken? Clearly it had nothing to do with Cresso. Genevieve didn’t even like the guy.

  She must be projecting her old feelings of hurt and betrayal onto this situation. There was no other explanation for it.

  Be cool. Calm and rational.

  Genevieve pressed her glasses back onto her face. Her gaze settled on the suitcase lying on the bed. There—she could focus on that. After taking several deep breaths to calm her racing heart, she headed to her luggage and unzipped it. Tomorrow’s outfit would be hopelessly wrinkled if she didn’t take it out soon.

  A knock sounded on the door a split second before it opened. “Gen.”

  Genevieve gritted her teeth at Cresso’s familiar use of her name. When she looked up, he took a step into the room. For some reason the movement sparked another flashback of the moment when she’d caught Jeffrey in his very blatant act of betrayal. Her legs trembled, and she locked her knees to keep from swaying. “What is it?”

  His lips pursed and something that resembled regret flashed in his eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting—”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” She snatched up her trousers and unfolded them with a snap.

  Cresso rubbed at the back of his neck. “But I want you to know that… I mean, what happened earlier…”

  Oh God. He wasn’t going to bring up the almost-kiss, was he?

  “I didn’t plan for anything to happen. What I mean is… Fuck.” He flexed his hands. “I’m not usually so inarticulate.”

  “D
on’t worry about it.” She laid the trousers on the bed and smoothed them out. But when Cresso took a few steps closer, she couldn’t help but tense. Her hands clenched, bunching the cool fabric underneath her fingertips.

  “I don’t want you to think I was trying to take advantage of you in a moment of weakness. I would never do that.”

  Shit. Apparently he was going to talk about the kiss thing. Okay, time to lay it all out. Even if part of her wanted to die from embarrassment.

  Genevieve met Cresso’s gaze straight on. “Listen, I get that you feed off sex. It means next to nothing to you.”

  His brow furrowed. “That’s not tr— ”

  “But it means something to me, and I’m not interested in you. I could never be. So I would appreciate it if you stopped casting your allure out at me as if I’m your next meal.”

  Cresso flushed. “I would never do that.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Then how do you explain what almost happened between us?”

  His mouth snapped shut and he stared at her for so long she feared he was going to call her on what she’d said. But in the end he only turned away with a muttered curse. He raked a hand through his hair before facing her once again, his movements stiff. “I’m sorry. I can only say that my body has a will of its own at times. I never purposely intended to proposition you.”

  For some reason his words and his tone made her feel guilty, as if she’d hurt his feelings. It was ridiculous, given that he was the one who’d tried to lure her in. She ruthlessly tamped down her errant emotions. “Whatever you do with anyone else—or with a whole group if that’s what does it for you—is none of my business. I appreciate that you’ve helped me out as a colleague, but that’s the extent of our relationship.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I understand.”

  “Good.” She turned away before she could give in to the temptation to take back her words.

  The fabric of Cresso’s pants rustled as he moved toward the door. “Good night, Dr. Russell.”

  His professional tone stung her more than she cared to admit. Only once the door had clicked shut behind him did she let herself collapse onto the bed. The incubus was getting to her. What had she expected? Staying here with him was going to be torture.

  Genevieve had to find her stalker, and quickly. Before she gave up more than just her dignity. Because something told her Cresso was the kind of man who’d be so easy to lose her heart to.

  And she knew from prior experience just how disastrous that would be.

  Still, she couldn’t help but whisper the words, “Good night, Cresso.”

  …

  Sometimes he could really be a dumb asshole.

  Cresso stalked into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. He yanked off his clothes and left them on the ground, cursing at himself all the while. How could he have allowed his emotions to cloud his judgment? He’d known Genevieve was feeling vulnerable, but she’d smelled so good sitting right next to him, and she’d looked so beautiful. When she’d brushed his hair off his face, he’d lost all sense of reason. Nothing had mattered more than the feel of her lips against his. And what an amazing experience that had been. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been as affected by a simple kiss. Surely it hadn’t been since his adolescence.

  Now she thought he’d tried to take advantage of her, and Samantha and Vanessa hadn’t helped matters by showing up like that. Genevieve probably thought he’d tried to use her just because she was here, and there wouldn’t be anything he could do to convince her otherwise. Not when he needed sex to live.

  I’m not interested in you. I could never be.

  Her cold words made him long to destroy all the furniture in the room, especially since he knew she was right. She was strong and intelligent and innocent, while he was nothing more than a killing machine. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t overcome that part of his genetic makeup. His mother had tried, and in the end she’d failed. Spectacularly. The best he could do was treat the disease sex demons carried and hope to find a cure someday. Even so, he didn’t hold out any hope he’d ever prove himself worthy of a woman like her.

  No two ways about it. When it came to his feelings for Genevieve, he was totally fucked.

  Naked, he stomped to the bed and tossed back the covers. When he lay down and pulled the sheet over him, the fabric tented over the stiff arousal he’d probably be sporting until he fed again.

  Stupid dick. It only wanted Genevieve. Even now, his body was consumed with hunger at the memory of her jasmine scent, the feel of her soft lips touching his in a butterfly kiss.

  A hunger cramp knotted his stomach. Part of him longed to close his fist over his cock and alleviate the ache, but it would do nothing to calm his body’s cravings. Only sex could do it. That was the curse sex demons faced. Many people thought it was all fun and games to derive one’s sustenance off sex instead of food. Maybe he’d thought that once, too. But it wasn’t.

  Not if he couldn’t have the one person he wanted.

  “Go to sleep.”

  Agonizing over this no-win situation would solve nothing. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax.

  Cresso didn’t know how much time passed before his eyes reopened, but when they did, he was in an unfamiliar place. A long, narrow hallway with a foreboding, sterile feel to it. Though it was dark, there was enough light to see that white terrazzo floors gave way to off-white walls.

  He was in a hospital.

  When he saw the figure in front of him, his heart dropped to the vicinity of his stomach. It was Genevieve, walking down the hall away from him. Since this couldn’t be happening for real, that must mean he was dreamscaping.

  Demons had an ability to communicate telepathically with humans through their dreams, something most demons didn’t actually know about. Cresso had never done it before, and he could only imagine that Genevieve’s physical proximity had acted as some sort of trigger for it tonight. Based on what his friend Taeg had told him about dreamscaping, he was in for one hell of a ride. Being in the dream realm liberated one’s emotions, and he desired Genevieve while she clearly did not feel the same for him. He might end up professing his love for her while she let off steam by kicking his ass.

  Cresso glanced down at his body, relieved to see he was no longer naked. If he were going to get beat up by the woman he loved, at least he’d be fully clothed.

  Genevieve, who wore one of her conservative suits, stopped in front of an open door about fifty feet away from him and stared inside with an expression of horror on her face. Curiosity overwhelmed caution. He strode after her and came to a stop right beside her. When he peeked inside the room, his mouth dropped open. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see, but it most certainly wasn’t this. A stranger in hospital scrubs lay on a cot, getting a joy ride from two young nurses.

  Cresso’s shoulder brushed Genevieve’s and she stiffened, tearing her gaze from the scene before her. When she saw it was him, she let out a groan. “Great. As if this weren’t bad enough, now I get to have you around to witness it.”

  He glanced at her. “You know you’re dreaming?”

  She nodded. “I hate this dream.”

  “You have it often?”

  “Often enough.” Her forehead wrinkled. “First time you’ve been in it, though. Guess I’m stooping to new lows.”

  Cresso fought back the agony her words elicited. Wow, she really did hate him. He turned his gaze to the figures in the room before he could embarrass himself by asking why. The plain fact was she was too good for him. He’d always known it. “Who is he?”

  “My fiancé. Asshole.”

  Oh, hell. “You caught him in the act?”

  “Five days before the wedding.”

  Shit. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize him for what he was. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  Something in her tone made him freeze. Sudden comprehension
smacked him in the face with all the force of a WWE wrestler. “You think I’m like your ex-fiancé.”

  Her laugh was bitter. “I know you are. Worse. You’re way sexier than he ever was.”

  Cresso sucked in his breath at the overwhelming sensations her admission caused. He turned to face her head-on. When her eyes grew wary and she tried to step backward, he placed his hand on the doorjamb to block her retreat. He couldn’t believe this. “You want me?”

  Genevieve backed into his forearm and stiffened. “I also want ice cream, even though I know it makes my thighs fat.”

  He leaned toward her, brushing his lips against the inner shell of her ear. The simple contact made his knees go weak and his body inflame with lust. She smelled so fucking good.

  “Is that why you treat me like shit? Because you think I’m bad for you?”

  Her hand crept up his chest and she pushed him away. A brief flare of anger sparked in her beautiful green eyes, and she pointedly turned back to the scene in the room. “At least he tried to hide his true colors. He pretended to be a devoted lover. With you, I know exactly what I’d get, and it’s not anything I could ever settle for.”

  “No.” Cresso brought his hand to her chin and forced her to look at him. “It’s not true. You don’t know anything about me. Your ex, he was clearly an asshole. He should have known what an amazing woman he had. If it were me, I would be faithful to you. More than that, I would treasure you.”

  She made a soft sound, a cross between a laugh and a sigh. Slowly, her fingers closed around his hand and tugged it to her side. With her free hand, she traced the curves of his face, down to the small indentation at his chin. “You’re telling me you would give up every other woman for me?”

  Her touch and her words made his heart flutter inside his chest like a butterfly on steroids. Maybe she was starting to believe him, to see him as something other than a carbon copy of her ex. “Yes.”

  A sad smile twisted her lips. “Now I know I’m dreaming.”

  Genevieve’s words startled him into taking a step back. “No. I swear I wou—”