SCORCH: An Incubus versus Succubus Demon Romance

by Carlisle, Lisa

“Take it. Use my energy.” I gave her the last of my reserves, hoping it was enough to revive her.

  Her eyelids flickered. They opened a little wider and focused on me. “Daron?”

  My legs weakened as my vision darkened. I had to tell her before it was too late. “I love you, Selena. If anyone is going to survive this, it’s you.”

  As I collapsed, the dark fringes of the forest fell.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Selena

  “Daron,” I cried. “Daron!”

  He didn’t respond.

  I blinked and stared at him. My heart pounded with the speed of thrash metal. He lay unconscious and bleeding while his energy buzzed through my veins like I had drunk three Red Bulls spiked with espresso shots.

  “Oh, Daron. What have you done?”

  He loved me. Loved me! Not only had he said that, but he’d saved me from the hunter. He’d sacrificed his energy to give me a chance of survival.

  Survival. What I’d been running for since I entered this realm now seemed like a hollow goal. What good was living if I was shut off from feeling? I’d been doing that since I’d been on the run—until Daron made me feel alive again.

  But, at what cost? His death? His blood continued to flow in a dark pool over moss.

  “No!” We were immortal. His wound should have been on the mend by now.

  I wiggled in my magical cage, but it was useless. How could I help Daron while trapped in this prison?

  Would he bleed out and actually die? Or worse, be trapped in a lifeless body?

  With whatever this dark magic was affecting us, would we both rot in a meaningless existence trapped in these bodies?

  My muscles quivered with clenched rage beneath my trapped body. I screamed, but it ended with loud, ugly sobs.

  After a few minutes of despair, I dragged myself out of this tornado of frustration.

  Think. Use logic, not emotion.

  Right. Daron had sacrificed his energy so I could free myself, not cry at the injustice.

  I had to think of this as a game. Create a strategy.

  If I looked at this as a challenge, I’d come up with a plan to succeed, step by step. Not drown in a cesspool of vivid fears.

  What could I use to my advantage? I searched the surrounding forest area for any potential tools. Broken sticks, fallen leaves, harmless pine needles. Nothing—nothing I could reach, at any rate.

  First, I needed to break this damn spell. I’d done something like it before, although the other spell wasn’t as dark and complicated as this one.

  Second, I had to get Daron some desperately needed energy so that he could fight the magic that was poisoning him and heal his wound.

  I took ten increasingly deeper breaths and exhaled slowly before I began the complicated task. Then, I sought the pattern of the spell. The outlines of the dark forest fell away as I drifted into something like a reverie, a wispy tunnel full of mysterious light and shadows.

  This magic was wound with many threads of various colors—mostly dark reds and grays with vivid splashes of violet. I’d have to unravel each magical thread and knot, which had been intricately woven together to create a binding spell.

  The process of following each thread and untying each knot tapped on the precious resource that Daron had sacrificed. Would I have enough to get through?

  I couldn’t waste my mental resources on worries. It was critical that I focused on each step.

  Threads and layers and colors and knots. It seemed like eons had passed since I started with the first thread. And then centuries later, I faced the final knot.

  It was the most difficult and complicated one yet. It took thirteen attempts before I even loosened one thread. Then, I pulled it out slowly. It was as grueling as dragging an anchor through setting concrete.

  When I finally untied the final knot, I broke through the spell. I waved my arms and stretched my legs, untangling the stiffness that had bound me. I could move again! I pumped my fist.

  Something bounced against my chest. A necklace. I lifted it. It was the moon and stars amulet that I’d looked at while walking the Pedestrian Mall with Daron. When had he bought it? When had he placed it around my neck? That must have been what he was looking for before I left the safehouse.

  I groaned. If I hadn’t been so adamant about getting us food, would it have helped me avoid this mess?

  The moon remained at about the same level, so what had seemed like years might have only been minutes. I shook the last of the stiffness out of my limbs.

  Daron. As I rushed over to him, movement from the corner of my eye captured my attention. When I turned, I sucked in a breath. It was the other two hunters, each wielding a sword that shone with a dangerous glow under the moonlight.

  Their intimidating expressions made me freeze. The urge to flee grew so powerful, my body shimmered ready to teleport.

  No. I wouldn’t leave Daron. I might be able to run to him, and teleport us both to safety before one of the hunters sliced me. That chance was slim.

  Stop running. Fight.

  Daron’s words echoed in my mind as clear as if he’d whispered them to me. When he’d first suggested it, I thought he was nuts. Why would I fight when I could flee to safety?

  But, wasn’t that what I’d been doing for years? Running. Hiding. Escaping. Yet, they had caught up to me.

  Daron was right—I was stronger now. Wiser. If I didn’t stop running, I never would.

  I moved into a defensive stance. “Stay back or you’ll end up like him.” I motioned to the headless hunter, part of their twisted trio. The decapitated hunter wasn’t my kill, and the threat was more bark than I could bite considering there were two of them and they were armed. But, they were also mortal and didn’t have my abilities as a supernatural.

  “You fuckin’ bitch. I’ll kill you for what you’ve done.” The brawny one with dirty blond hair raised his sword.

  “That’s all you have for a threat?” I taunted with a dismissive grunt. “Then again, I’ve heard all your boasting before. Far from original and far less effective since I’ve escaped all your amateur bullshit attempts.”

  A fake-it-til-you-make-it mantra seemed to be a better option than cowering. I wouldn’t let them see how terrified I was. Not this time.

  “Look at you both in your horrible true forms—proof you are not the humans you masquerade as!” The taller, bearded one with dark hair spat as his lips curled with revulsion. “How do you figure you’ll get out of this one? Looks like Colton took out the demon you’ve been fucking.” He sneered as if already victorious.

  They thought Daron was dead. He better not be, but I couldn’t stop to check on his vitals.

  After raising my chin, I fixed a death stare on each of them. “I’m immortal, fuckers. I’ll go on for centuries after you’ve rotted and turned into worm shit.”

  I shifted on light feet. At least I had the high ground. Whether that would help me with two hunters rushing to attack me with swords was questionable. I had zero experience in a situation like this in real life, but countless attempts in video games. Never did I think the many hours developing or playing those would have any real-world relevance, but it was the only reference from which I had. In life, the consequences were far more monumental, and adrenaline raged with pinpoint focus.

  The blond one laughed. “We’ve destroyed many so-called immortals. You’re next, whore.”

  I tuned it out, not letting him intimidate me, and focused on how this would play out. If it were a video game, they would likely charge me and swing the sword. I had to avoid being hit and then counter-attack. That’s how I had to think of them—simply opponents in a game. If I could remain analytical, it would keep me from freaking out and losing my head.

  Literally.

  The blond one rushed first, releasing a whooping war cry as he raised the sword. I anticipated the arc where he’d aim at my neck and ducked as he brought it down. Then I curled into a ball and rolled into him, knocking him off his feet and b
ack several feet down the hill.

  I had a mere second to breathe at the minor victory. My flesh had been his target. If he’d been successful, my insides would have been out.

  No, I wouldn’t think of that now and let fear incapacitate me. I had to remain focused on the fight.

  I launched myself to my feet, just in time. The bearded hunter approached with his sword ready. He swung low, aiming at my legs, as if to counter the defense I’d used with the other hunter. I jumped back, evading the blade. He followed me up the hill and I leapt back at each swing.

  The blond hunter recovered and joined in on the pursuit, each approaching me at almost a 45-degree angle closing me in. I backed up. When I stumbled into something and almost fell, they jeered. It was the headless hunter. I gagged on scenting his dead odor, and then forced myself to ignore it.

  Two hunters were coming for me. What the hell could I use to protect myself?

  Holy shit—the scythe.

  It lay a few feet from where I had been bound. Daron must have dropped it after he’d killed the hunter.

  If I reached it in time.

  If I ran fast enough.

  I’d be faster with my supernatural abilities, but I had to bolt without hesitation.

  They both charged me. I lunged for the scythe and fell as I grasped it with one hand. I let momentum roll me onto my back. As the blond hunter swung his sword over me, I countered with the weapon and sliced right through his kneecaps. He fell to the ground screaming.

  I couldn’t ignore the other hunter. Not sure I could deflect his blow in time, I tried something else—something I’d never attempted before. I tapped into my strength as a succubus—a strength he loathed, which made it all the more appealing. Curling my left hand, I grasped onto his lifeforce. Would it work from a distance?

  Yes. It flowed to me. I yanked on it with a vicious grip, not the usual minor siphoning as I brushed humans, which was like a whisper of a kiss. This tug was forceful enough that it made him stumble.

  With him momentarily stunned, I silenced the other blond hunter’s cries. I crashed through his chest with the scythe, a violent blow that carved up his torso.

  The bearded hunter paused, gauging me. “What have you done, demon?”

  “Payback.”

  How would he proceed now that the fight was on a more even level? Especially since he’d witnessed the bloody end of his companion. Would he run?

  “We’re one-on-one now, each with a weapon, you coward,” I snarled.

  Well, I also had supernatural abilities—and a clutch of his horrid life force now fueling me. After the three of them had teamed up on me and bound me with dark magic, I chalked it up as a fair fight.

  “Go to hell, whore!” The bearded one lunged at me with the sword.

  Guess he wasn’t going to run.

  I raised the scythe like it was a shield. He clashed it and the clang of metal on metal rang in my ear. We continued in this way for several blows—him attacking and me staving off the force with an awkward use of a weapon not intended for this purpose. At least it kept the blade from reaching my flesh.

  He raised the sword overhead and with the next blow, knocked the weapon out of my hand. Shit. I rushed him and pinned him on his back, clutching his wrist so he couldn’t aim the sword at me.

  We struggled and fought for dominance, each striving to control the sword. I tried to gouge his arms with my claws to get to him while not releasing him, but his damn clothing had some sort of protective layer. With his revolting body below me and face near mine, I recoiled at his human scent, full of sweat.

  Then, an idea occurred to me. It was nothing like the video games, but something that came naturally to me as a succubus. Although my body revolted at the next step, I had to try it. Our arms were locked together, struggling for dominance, but my head was free. I fixed my mouth on his, ignoring the putrid breath and rough abrasion from his beard.

  He gasped and turned his head away, but I latched on. With this physical connection, I clamped onto his lifeforce with vigor. I didn’t slowly savor the energy as I did when I seduced humans, but viciously sucked it out of his body.

  Bit by bit, he weakened and finally dropped the sword. I didn’t stop until the last drop of his energy was gone. It reeked with vehemence and rage. I didn’t want it inside me, or Daron, or anywhere in the universe.

  I projected the energy out into the open sky. It glowed in between the trees like a miniature flash of lightning, and then died like a snuffed candle.

  The last hunter was dead.

  He didn’t deserve any more of my attention.

  I rushed over to Daron. He lay pale and unmoving under the moonlight, a viscous pool of blood on the moss beside his gashed side. I touched his cheek, the rougher red demon skin. It was cool beneath my fingers.

  “Daron?”

  When he didn’t respond, my body trembled and swelled with grief.

  “Daron, please hang on.” I bent down and kissed him, offering a breath of life as he had sacrificed for me. Then I lay across his chest, careful not to press down, and wrapped my arms around him. The dead weight of his body made it difficult to slide beneath his back and dirt slid beneath my fingernails.

  Once assured I had a solid grip on him, I exhaled, and then teleported us back to my safehouse.

  Was it too late to help him?

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Daron

  I dreamed of Selena again. We were back beneath the fire escape while the rain fell in a steady rhythm around us. She took me in her mouth and my cock thrummed, delirious with excitement.

  Wait, was this a dream? It felt too real. The sound of the rain faded as I became aware of seagulls calling and the roll of the ocean tide. The scent of sea life wafted in. When I opened my eyes, the sultry vision confirmed it was more than another sensual fantasy. Selena was licking me.

  We were in human form in the four-poster bed in the safehouse. The pale blue sheets and white down comforter were pushed down near my ankles. The window was cracked open and sunlight drifted in from a gap in the blue drapes.

  I breathed in her scent. It was her. I wouldn’t mistake that vanilla and rose fragrance for anyone else. I ran my fingers through her silky black hair, which fell like a curtain over one side of her face. “And I thought demons weren’t allowed in heaven.”

  She pulled her mouth away and glanced at me from her amazing eyes, now a warm golden brown. “We’re still in Salem. At my safehouse.”

  “Wherever we are, almost dying was worth it.”

  “I’ve been trying to wake you for days.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Figured that might capture your attention.”

  “Fuck yeah, it did.” I pulled her up along my body and she straddled me. The silky black negligee revealed an enticing glimpse of her thighs.

  She gazed at me with a worried expression, reminding me of how bad things had been the last time I saw her. She’d been bound; I’d been wounded. I glanced at my side. The wound had healed and no longer pulsed with agony.

  “What happened with the restraints? The hunter?” I asked.

  “Your energy helped me fight them.”

  “Them?” I repeated. “As in more than one? And you fought them?”

  “Yes. Thanks to you.” She thanked me with the warmest smile I’d ever seen her give anyone. “I didn’t run. I fought them and—won.” Her voice sounded wondrous as if still in awe of her victory.

  “Shit, Sweetness.” I pulled myself up. “Tell me everything.”

  She pushed my chest, leaning me back onto the bed. “No, not yet. You’re still healing. How do you feel?”

  I skirted my hands along her sides over the satin. Her nipples pebbled beneath the material. I couldn’t resist the urge to touch them, caressing her soft breasts and running the pad of my thumbs over the hard peaks.

  “Hungry for you. If this is what it’s like to wake up after transferring my energy to you, sign me up to drain myself again tonight.”

  “No
way. Don’t scare me like that ever again.” When she leaned forward, she pushed the negligee up. “I didn’t know how to help you. I’ve been so careful, heading out to gather energy and then transfer it to you. But, we both know that a physical connection is the best way.”

  She did some circular grind that made me groan with aching need. Although I was moved by how she’d nursed me back to health—again—her sensual distraction was potent.

  “Selena,” I growled. “You’re right. Fuck now, talk later.”

  Her smile turned victorious. “Welcome back, Daron.”

  “I’m awake now.” I pumped my hips, brushing my cock against her wet pussy. “Does that feel like dead demon dick?”

  She moaned. “Hell no. It feels like my perfect partner is back.”

  I sucked in a breath, stunned. The succubus who’d detested our bond so much that she’d severed it had said that.

  “Partner? Did I hear that correctly?”

  “Yes, Daron. I was an idiot. Everything I did that hurt us, I regret. If I could take it all back, I would.” She bent down and kissed me. “Forgive me?”

  It was a gentle caress, but once her lips touched mine, a stirring roared in me like an inferno.

  “Of course, but no regrets. Whatever brought us together, brought us together in the end.”

  I kissed her with a ferocious need to feel her here, alive. All the terror from that moment when I saw the demon hunter ready to behead her rushed before me. Never had I felt such an immense sense of loss. If I ever lost her, a part of me would die, too. A part that she had awoken—one with the capacity to cherish, to protect, to love.

  The kiss continued as our mouths clashed and tongues parried. It was messy and raw and passionate. I touched her body like I was claiming her.

  “I need you inside me.” She stroked my cock and guided me in.

  We lost ourselves in the wild, torrid desire that always ignited when we were joined. Because we were good together. I’d spend eternity trying to prove that to her.

  As the pace increased, our mouths fell apart. She reached out with her magic and drew the energy of others back to us. The more she gathered, the quicker her pace. The rapt expression on her face signaled her pleasure. That’s what I wanted—to bring her pleasure, never any pain.