She looked like a woman trying to dress in a pre-teen’s clothes.
I felt woefully inadequate. Especially since she still looked fantastic in my leisure wear.
She watched me with hungry eyes. I wasn’t about to give her what she wanted, and I needed some answers.
“Why was he feeding off of you?” I asked.
Incubi and succubi rarely, if ever, fed off each other. In fact, most sex between the two was strictly procreation. The Queen being the exception. Lilith wasn’t just a succubus, though, but the succubus.
None of her “children” came close to the power she had. She brought gods to their knees. Apparently, my father was her favorite delicacy. At least this century.
Her hand reached to her throat and stroked the silver circling it. “I am a siren.”
I had no idea what a siren was, but it sounded like a shit existence. “Is that why you ran from your master?”
I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around a non-cambion slave. Even the lowliest succubus had agency.
“It’s complicated.”
“Yeah, I bet. I’ve been hired to find you, but I have zero intention of returning you.”
“May I ask who hired you?”
“Assistant Prosecutor. Goes by Killian.”
She sighed dreamily like I had mentioned Brad Pitt or someone like him. “Pity.”
“Huh?”
“I had hoped he would have purchased my debt. I thought he had a liking for me.” She sighed, clearly disappointed. “Guess I’m not his type.”
“Why would you think he would?”
“Last time I saw him, he made implications. All in hypotheticals of course. It’s not like he could announce his intentions in front of Leab.”
“Leab made it sound like you were his favorite. What makes you think he’d have handed you over to Killian?”
“Killian is quite convincing.”
Is that why he hired me to find her? So I would hand her over to him, and he’d have his own personal sex slave?
“You would be okay with me handing you over to Killian? Why? How is he different from Leab?”
“I’m not sure there is anyone quite like Killian,” she said, her voice holding affection. “Sirens are rare, coveted.”
“Why?”
There was so much I still didn’t know about the demon world. Only a year ago Hazar Rayne had appeared on my doorstep claiming to be my father. A whole new world had opened for me. And like Pandora, sometimes I wished I could shove it all back in the box.
“Because no matter how deep they drink, we cannot die. They can take more from us than a room full of virgins. It’s addictive. Quite like your kind becomes to mine.”
“Do you enjoy it too?” From the alley, my thinking was no.
“Depends on the demon. Many are selfish and turn the pleasure into pain. Few find their pleasure in the pleasure of their lover.”
My curiosity continued to get the better of me. “And your master? What kind was he?”
She laughed bitterly. “Depended on who he was entertaining.”
I felt sick. It’s not like humans aren’t capable of being bastards, but at least some humans weren’t. It seemed like every demon I met was evil.
“So Killian was one of the non-selfish kind, I take it.” I don’t know why I said that. It’s not like it mattered to me one way or another.
“Killian never partook.”
“Oh.” My stomach did a small flip. My opinion of him raised. Not a good sign.
Chapter 8
Being uncomfortable with her staring at me like I was a gazelle, I had offered to pick her up some fast food. She agreed, rather reluctantly. I doubted she wanted a hamburger, but she’d never been in the mortal realm. Sheol lacked Wendy’s and Burger King.
By the time I got back, Flora was no longer alone.
Wes leaned against his desk, ankles crossed, a cocky grin plastered on his face. He didn’t hide the desire from his eyes. Flora looked back at him with even more hunger. Looked like I was interrupting something.
I cleared my throat and lifted up the bag of food. “Anyone hungry?” I mentally gave myself a clap on the back for my voice not cracking.
My lightheartedness didn’t dispel the awkwardness of the room when they noticed me.
Yep, I had interrupted.
Flora didn’t bother to mask her disappointment at my appearance, and Wes’ face looked like I’d just caught him with his hand in a cookie jar.
“Uh, hi, Lex,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Flora was just telling me about your heroics.”
“You know me. Killing demons is my day job.” This time I couldn’t hide my annoyance. I looked pointedly at Flora. “She give you anything else?”
Flora was about as forthcoming as a murderer to the police.
She smiled, like a cat with a canary and ran her fingers up Wes’ shirt. “Not yet.”
I rolled my eyes. “I meant information.”
She didn’t stop looking at Wes whose face had gone flush, and his lips had parted.
“You could always pump me for info in the back.” She purred, a pussy in heat.
I reminded myself that she was a succubus. Lust was her vice.
Wes, however, had no excuse. She wasn’t even using Charm.
She turned her back to him and then sauntered to the back door that led into my private quarters. She glanced behind her shoulder to look at me.
“I hope you don’t mind, Lex. If I don’t eat something soon, I’ll be no use to you.” She tilted her head to the side and gave me a demure look I knew was fake. “You could always join us.”
My eyes shot to Wes’ face, curious to his reaction to that invitation. He hadn’t looked away from Flora. Even if I had been inclined to join the fun, and I wasn’t, I doubted Wes would have even noticed.
“I’ll pass.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “My loss then.”
She gave Wes a come-hither smile. “Coming?”
He smiled, a smile he would never throw my way. “I’ll be right behind you.”
She slipped through the doorway and left it slightly ajar.
I sighed, a mixture of irritation and exasperation in my voice. “I thought you weren’t going to help.”
He cleared his throat before looking at me. “Jealous?”
I walked across the office and put the sack of food that was going to get cold on his desk next to him. He smelled like sandalwood and pine. No wonder she couldn’t resist.
“Of you? I already turned her down. You’re the second choice.”
He laughed, his face soft, genuine affection in his dark blue eyes. Sure, he’d never throw a sexy smile my way, but he also never looked at anyone the way he looked at me. Because I was special.
I was family.
He nudged my shoulder with his playfully. “Can you blame her? I’d be my second choice too.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as he went through the back door and then closed it.
I didn’t want us to be lovers. My heart had yet to mend after Lucas. My possessiveness wasn’t jealousy. It was fear.
Someday he would find someone he loved more than me. Then he’d leave me just as everyone else had.
Chapter 9
I tried to ignore the feeding frenzy happening behind my closed office door. I’d need to make Wes launder the sheets after. Hell, he owed me a full basket of clean laundry now.
If I’d been less of a masochist, I would have left the office altogether. But like a rubbernecker on the freeway after an accident, I couldn’t walk away.
I munched on cold fries and flavorless beef and tried to wash my disgust down my throat with watered down coke.
I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do with the freaking succubus.
Siren. I still didn’t know what that meant. Apparently, they were the energizer bunny of sexual energy. But what else made them special? I knew Flora was holding back. She didn’t trust me. Not that
I blamed her. I didn’t trust anyone either.
Except for Wes.
Maybe Wes could take her home and off my hands.
I felt like I was going to hurl again.
After what seemed like hours, Wes emerged from the room shirtless. His hair was mussed, and he had a ridiculous smile on his face.
I wanted to smack him.
Hard.
He pulled his arms through the sleeves of his now wrinkled dress shirt. Then he began buttoning it, starting at the bottom. I watched with morbid fascination as his defined abs and sculpted chest disappeared with every buttoned button.
He caught me staring and chuckled. “What?”
“Your shirt is wrinkled.”
He smoothed it down. It didn’t help. He gave me a lopsided grin. “Worth it.”
I snorted. “How’s Flora?”
“She’s gonna need some time to recover.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, lover boy. We need to figure out our next move.”
He frowned. “You return her to her master.”
“What?”
“She’s a siren. It’s where she belongs.”
I couldn’t contain my anger and disgust at his callousness.
“That is so incredibly fucked up. You can use her for sex, but helping her is out of the question. Who the hell are you?”
He rubbed his temple, looking like the father of a teenager asking to use the car again after hitting a stop sign.
“There would be nowhere safe for her in Sheol. The others would either give her back in hopes of a reward or use her for their gain.”
“I wasn’t going to bring her back to Sheol.”
“Lex, you don’t get it. She can’t survive here. If the sentinels don’t get to her, she’ll eventually succumb to her hunger. Innocents would die.”
“You’re right. I don’t get it. And no one feels like explaining it to me either.”
Wes came over and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. He smelled of sex and sweat and brimstone. I pulled away in disgust.
“Stop patronizing me. What makes her so different from a normal succubus?” I asked. I was tired of feeling like I was being left in the dark.
“Her thirst. She’s insatiable. Always hungry. Never satisfied.”
“Okay. So how would that be different in Sheol?”
“Demons, and to a lesser extent cambions, are hardier than humans. We can take more of a feeding. She would suck a human dry faster than she could stop herself.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hell, she almost didn’t stop with me.”
I punched him in the chest. Not lightly either.
“You put your life at risk for a little hanky panky? What the hell, Wes?”
He shrugged as if it were nothing. “I was curious.”
“Next time, I hope she drains you dry.”
“She won’t.” He smiled softly, a dreamy look on his stupid face. “I think she likes me.”
“You can keep her.”
He sighed, visibly irritated. “She’s not a dog, Lex.”
“How do you think her master treated her in Sheol? He passed her around to any demon he wished, like a toy, a possession. That’s the life you want to return her to.”
The muscle in Wes’ cheek twitched. “You're awfully judgmental to a woman you claim to want to help.”
“It’s not her I’m judging. She can’t help what she is. It’s you bastards who don’t see past the tits to the person underneath. Gods, Wes. I thought better of you.”
For once he actually looked ashamed. “It’s not like I don’t want to help, Lex. But if it comes down to you or her, there is no contest. Let this one go. Trust me, she’s better off.”
“That’s for her to decide. She has the freedom to choose.”
“Then set her free. You don’t have to do anything more.”
“If Damian thought like that, where do you think you’d be right now?”
“Dead. I’m under no illusions about that.” He lifted his hand and cupped my face. I didn’t push him away.
“Damian saved me, and I am in his debt for it.” His voice sounded strained. “He demanded only one thing in return.”
“He shouldn’t have. You don’t owe him that much.”
He kissed me gently on my forehead.
“Silly, girl,” he chided. “You really don’t know me at all.”
He moved away and went toward the door that led outside.
“What about Flora? You going to help?” I crossed my arms. “Or do you just hit it and run?”
“I’ll see what I can do, okay?” He looked behind me at the still closed door and smirked. “And yeah. I tend to hit it and run.”
“That’s deplorable.”
“Trust me, Lex. When she’s worth it, not even death will drag me away.”
“Still deplorable.”
“No one’s perfect.”
I watched him leave the office, leaving me alone with the sated siren. At least I hoped she was sated. I didn’t know what I’d do if she got hungry again during the night.
I kept Gladys unsheathed, laying in front of me on my desk, the entire night.
Chapter 10
A loud knock on the door jolted me awake. Every muscle in my body ached. I had fallen asleep in my chair rather than risk interrupting the snoozing succubus.
Never again. I would feel like shit for the rest of the day now.
I grumbled as I dragged myself to the door. Wes had a key so it couldn’t be him. New clients were as rare as water in the Sahara.
Which meant I probably wasn’t going to be too happy when I opened the door.
Killian stood outside, the morning sun creating a halo around him, making him look like a harmless puppy. He had a smile on his full lips that disappeared as soon as he saw me.
He bent close, sniffing my hair. Disgust appeared on his face.
“What do I need a shower or something?” I asked, irritated beyond belief.
Also scared. Hopefully, Flora was smart enough not to come out of the back office while he was here.
“It’s not wise to fuck your business partner.”
What the hell was with his possessive jealousy?
It also creeped me out that he could smell sex on me, especially since I hadn’t even gotten any.
“My sex life is none of your business.” I moved from the doorway to let him in. Making him stay outside would just make him think I was hiding something.
Instead of coming inside, his eyes raked down my body. My cheeks heated up.
A slow smile spread across his face, his eyes smoldering. “It could be.”
I swallowed sharply, trying to regain my composure before all dignity left me.
“I’m not interested.” And I wasn’t. Not in him. I didn’t care how great it would be in the moment, and I had no doubt it would be the best two hours of my life, he would ruin me.
Don’t ask me how I knew that. I just did. And time would prove my intuition right.
He smirked. “I like a challenge. Nothing worth having ever comes easy.”
“Prepare for disappointment then. You’re not my type.”
His teasing stopped. His gaze turned ferocious, like a tiger eyeing a yummy, bouncing rabbit.
“Have you considered that the prejudices you wear like armor keep you from finding something you didn’t know you couldn’t live without?”
I rolled my eyes. “Poetic, but no. What-ifs don’t keep me up at night.”
I expected a sharp comeback or cocky teasing. Instead, he looked disappointed.
“Luckily for me, I’m not here to have my heart broken. Have you had any luck in finding her?”
Killian, no matter how alluring, was not to be trusted. He’d already lied to me once that I knew of.
“You said she’s a cambion?”
I needed to be sly getting information out of him without showing my hand. Too bad I had only a few years of experience, and he had hundreds.
A look of ge
nuine confusion colored his face. “Did I?”
Yes, he had. I remembered, but I decided to play his game. No need to let him know how much I knew.
“I spoke to Leab. He wasn’t expecting me.”
“He’s a proud demon. Asking for help would be seen as weakness.”
“Then why do you care? What’s in this for you?”
“It’s my job. I don’t have to like it.”
I’d never heard of a prosecutor caring about an escaped slave or two. They usually had more pressing matters.
Like making sure no one cheated on their taxes.
Killian either had ulterior motives, which was most likely, or Leab had connections he couldn’t ignore. Which was frightening.
“Do you keep slaves, Mr. Blackstone?”
He paused, looking like he was considering his next words carefully. “My family does.”
“I didn’t ask about your family.”
“Would it change your opinion of me? Or are your preconceived notions too firmly set? Would you still see me as a monster?”
It probably would change my opinion. And that galled me. Most demons had slaves, even my father did. If Killian didn’t, I’d be impressed.
“Why do you care what I think?”
His nostrils flared. Green eyes glowed. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or aroused.
He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing before opening them. I think he was counting to three before he tore my head off. Or my clothes.
“So you spoke to Leab,” he said, his voice calm again. “Was he any help?”
“What do you think?”
“Have you given up then? How disappointing.”
I laughed at his audaciousness. Given up? He didn’t know me very well.
“It’s been less than a day. I’m not a magician.”
“True. You don’t strike me as someone who turns tricks.”
Typical incubus. Everything was a sex joke.
“How do I contact you when I find her?”
I probably should have established a way to get ahold of him when I’d accepted the job. Wasn’t very professional of me. I blamed the fact that all this was new to me. Plus it’s not like I had wanted to call him. Ever.
Killian approached me cautiously, his gait slow like he didn’t want to spook me.
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