Demons of Desire (25 page)

“You guys are awesome.” Jordan beamed at my compliment. “I’m leaving it all in your hands. Text me any time, day or night, if you need me.”

“Got it.”

Jordan jogged off to consult with her friends, leaving me with Ourson. I narrowed my eyes as I gave him the stare–down.

“Okay, spill it. You don’t look twice at a human unless it’s to check their blood type,
never
speak to them beyond persuading them into a back alley — why the sudden buddy–buddy with Jordan?”

The vampire shuffled his feet, looking sheepish. “Well … she’s a witch.”

“And?”

“We have a long history of working with witches and magicians. They provide us with valuable services, and we partner with them in business or provide support to them in other ways.”

I took a deep breath, wondering exactly what “services” Jordan would be expected to provide, and what exactly a
vampire
could offer a group of Wiccans. I might be half demon, but I was very protective of my friends, and I absolutely counted Jordan in my inner circle of protectiveness.

“What would you want her and her friends to do?”

Ourson’s eyes widened in alarm. “Things like camouflage and look–away spells, or attraction charms. Some of our family aren’t physically appealing, and they have difficulty attracting humans. We don’t condone forced feedings. A good witch or coven can make all the difference to these vampires.”

Okay, that wasn’t so bad. I glared at Ourson, just to make sure, and got the feeling from his expression that he was being honest with me. Biting me aside, he’d always seemed like an upfront kind of guy.

“And what sort of support would you provide to them?” I forced my voice into a neutral tone, to prevent my disbelief from showing. Slight distrust aside, Ourson was my friend, and I didn’t want to insult him or his family.

“We can assist them in funding business ventures, or in funds for coven activities. It’s not just money, though. There have been times in the past when being a witch or a magician was dangerous. We’ll protect them, shield them from groups or individuals who may do them harm.”

This didn’t sound too bad. My fears laid to rest, I gave Ourson an impulsive hug. Surprisingly, he returned it, ruffling my blond hair as we parted.

“I’d rather work with witches,” he confessed with a quick glance at Jordan and her friends. “Mages are powerful, but they tend to be self–serving. Modern witches have more honor, especially those that follow the Wiccan path.” He frowned. “You do think this Jordan witch is honorable, don’t you? I trust your opinion. Succubi are good judges of character.”

I bit back a laugh. I’d never thought myself particularly skilled at determining motive or the character of anyone — human or otherwise. Ever since I’d found out what I really was, I’d swam in a sea of suspicion. Still, I trusted Jordan, and if
I
did, then a vampire could certainly trust her too — as long as they didn’t get bitey.

“She’s honorable, but if she suspects you’re not, all deals are off. Got it?”

Ourson’s eyes were serious as they met mine. “Got it.”

Everyone quickly scattered to their various posts after exchanging cell phone numbers, and Irix drove me back to his beautiful brick house. We didn’t exchange so much as a single word the entire way there, and it was bliss. I nearly dozed off in the passenger seat, my head against the cool glass of the window, feeling the soothing rumble of the Audi through my tired muscles. Once there, I staggered up the steps, shedding clothes as I climbed.

After freshening up in the little hallway bathroom, I headed straight for the bed. Irix was there, putting a bottle of water and what looked like a plate of cookies on the nightstand. I swear, this guy was better than the service at the Hilton.

“I’ve got to run out for a few hours,” he said, his back to me. “I’ll make reservations for tonight and text Darci the details. Call me if you need anything.”

Yep, definitely better than the Hilton. Something in me twinged with disappointment that he wasn’t going to curl up with me in bed. I yearned to feel the strength of his arms around me, the long length of his thigh draped across my legs, the brush of his hair against my shoulder. It was probably for the best, though. I doubted we’d get much sleep if we fell into bed together, and I desperately needed rest.

“Thank you.”

He turned, his eyes shadowed and somber. “After dinner, we’re going to find you someone. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, Amber.”

I knew exactly what he meant, and my stomach plunged. This thing between us was so new, and I wasn’t sure what would happen introducing our demonic needs into the relationship this early. Somehow I had hoped it could just be the two of us, no matter how impractical and impossible that situation would be. We needed others, the pair of us. Monogamy would never be part of our lives.

“You can’t exist solely on the energy I transfer to you, elf–girl.” He smiled, but it was a tight, grim sort of smile.

“I know.” My mouth was like dried cotton as I replied. I did know, but the reality of our situation didn’t make me feel any better.

He was in front of me in two quick paces, kissing me quickly on the forehead. “Sleep. We’ve got a busy night ahead, and eleven more spots to repair tomorrow.”

I watched him leave, closing the door behind him. His parting words were like a shot of adrenaline, leaving me exhausted yet filled with restless insomnia as I crawled between the cool, soft sheets. Eleven more. Shit, how was I going to do that?

25

I
floated into consciousness with the warmth of skin pressed along my backside. An arm curled around my waist, angling upward to cup my breast with a long–fingered hand. I rubbed along Irix’s body like a cat, purring as sleep fell from my mind.

“Better?”

The hand at my breast slid gently around the base, a finger flicking lightly at my nipple. My breath hitched, and I leaned into his hand, enjoying the languorous feeling of waking in a man’s arms.

Irix chuckled. “I take that as a yes.”

His lips trailed down my neck and across my shoulder as his fingers tortured my breast with feather–light touches. I reached a hand behind me, trying desperately to reach an equally sensitive part of his anatomy, but my position only allowed me to stroke along the lower part of his waist and across the hard planes of his hips to the powerful thighs pressed against mine. He murmured in appreciation, and I caressed the length of his leg, feeling the springy roughness of sparse dark hair and taut muscle.

“Ah, my elf–girl, you tempt a demon beyond every rational thought. I’d love to spend the evening driving you to the edge so you make that little squeaking noise, but we have dinner reservations.”

Only one thing penetrated my fog of sleepy desire. “I do
not
make squeaky noises!”

“You’re right.” His fingers stroked the sensitive flesh on the side of my breast, and a serpentine shift of his body brought the firmness of his erection against my ass. “It’s more like a whimper. The kind of noise a little puppy makes when it’s rooting for its mother’s milk.”

That wasn’t much better, but by this point I didn’t care. He could have compared me to a shrieking harpy and I would have ignored it.

“Of course
I
look and sound like I’m having some kind of cardiac event. Or possibly being eviscerated by another demon with horns. Did I ever tell you how much I hate horns?”

It was hard for me to reconcile the sultry demon who drove me to orgasmic insanity and this playful, funny one. He seemed to be both at once right now, his hand roving lower to stroke tantalizingly close to where I really wanted it to be. My body lit up with sensation like a sparkler on the fourth of July, and I struggled to keep my mind on his words.

“How do you know what you look and sound like?” I couldn’t imagine one of his entranced humans would have had the nerve to make such an unflattering observation of the incubus.

“Oh, I know. Some demons are very fond of mirrors — humans too. Walls of them, sometimes on the floors and ceilings. It’s rather a mood breaker to watch yourself during
la petite mort
, let me tell you.”

My laugh came out as a very unsexy snort, and we both snickered.

“Oh, I like that as much as the puppy noises,” Irix teased, tickling me lightly across the stomach. “But we need to get going. Darci will be there soon, and you’re leaving in a few days. I know you want to spend time with her.”

I did. Sighing, I pulled myself away from his warmth and slide out of bed, looking for my clothing. Crap. I should have gone to Darci’s. None of my clothes were here besides the jeans and t–shirt I’d worn all day. With the heat, I’m sure they were a bit ripe.

“No, in the closet. While you were playing Sleeping Beauty, I picked up a few things.”

I opened the closet door, convinced there would be a miniscule black dress, or a skin–tight backless number in fire–engine red. Instead, beside a row of shirts and pants, hung a flowing white dress. It seemed to be one long, thin piece of fabric, wrapped halter–style across the bodice, cinching the waist, then widening into a knee–length skirt that slit up the side to where my hip would be.

“Ooo, pretty!”

“It’s as close as I could come to what elven women wear in Hel without causing you to be arrested for indecent exposure. Not that you couldn’t smile your way out of that.”

I’d been told that the elves generally felt more skin should show than cloth. My stepsister had to be strongly persuaded to cover her breasts and rear end after spending her entire life among the elves.

I slid into the dress after searching in vain for clean undergarments. There was no way to wear my bra with the backless style, but a pair of panties would have been welcome. I eyed the ones crumpled on the floor with my dirty jeans and wondered if I had time to wash them in the bathroom sink and blast them with the blow dryer.

“Oh no you don’t.” Irix watched me intently from the bed, the sheets a tangle around his legs, his chest bare in the orange glow of sunlight streaming through the windows. “It’s commando for you tonight, my elven princess.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and sashayed into the bathroom, fully aware that his eyes followed every move of my hips. A spare hair tie from my purse gave me a tousled up do, but I’d have to go without makeup. I glanced in the mirror, thankful I’d always had a clear complexion and that my eyelashes were a few shades darker than my golden hair.

Irix was shrugging into a shirt when I walked back into the bedroom, his pants unfortunately already on.

“Well, this is as good as it’s going to get.” I announced.

He glanced up, his eyes warm as they did a slow tour of my form. “Good thing, or you’d be leaving a trail of dead bodies in your wake. You’re beautiful enough to stop a man’s heart, little half breed.”

I laughed, flattered and a bit embarrassed. “Well, the sneakers are going to ruin the effect, unless you intend for me to go both commando and barefoot?”

“Dear girl, never doubt my attention to every detail.”

The demon grinned as he lifted a shoe box from the end of the bed and handed it to me. Inside was a gorgeous pair of peep–toe pumps — cream with gold soles and heels. I slipped them on, marveling at the comfort even though I stood on my tiptoes, a good three inches taller than I had been.

We stood for a moment, admiring each other. The incubus was breathtaking in simple slacks and shirt, his sable hair loose and brushing his shoulder. Even in jeans, he looked like he should be standing on his yacht as it drifted on a turquoise sea. The perfect fit and high quality of his clothes emphasized that air of casual wealth. But it was his face that really captivated me. A wayward lock curled from his forehead along sculpted cheekbones to tease the corner of his mouth, and I could hardly tear my eyes away. Part of me wanted to bail on Darci and have Irix slowly slide the dress from my body. A vision of him on top of me, my legs around his waist, gold heels digging into his hips flashed across my mind. Delayed gratification always made sex all the better, and we had all evening to let the tension build to its crescendo. With a little luck, we’d be so frenzied we’d never make it to the bed. Sex on the staircase was one of my favorites.

“We better go.” My voice husky with desire.

Irix extended his arm gallantly, one corner of his mouth quirking up in a lopsided smile. “Only if you promise to tell me all those naughty thoughts going through your mind just now. I nearly changed my mind watching the look on your face.”

I snaked my hand inside the crook of his arm, laying it lightly on his hard bicep. “Tell you? I plan to show you.”

Lust danced in his golden eyes. “Oh, even better!”

26

T
here’s a storm alert.” Darci’s tone was excessively casual as she popped a shrimp into her mouth. A drop of garlic butter hovered for a second on her full lower lip before she licked it off with a sexy swipe of her tongue.

Gavin’s eyes snagged on his girlfriend’s mouth before he reluctantly tore his gaze away to his own meal. He’d gotten off work early and joined us to make the evening a couples’ date. “No worry. It’s just a tropical storm, and it looks like it’s going to clip southwest Florida and peter out in the Gulf.”

“Wasn’t this one of the tropical depressions over the Bahamas yesterday?” I didn’t know much about hurricanes, but something moving that fast seemed a bit concerning to me.

Gavin shrugged. “It’s hurricane season. This kind of thing is regular as rain. Unless there’s a change in the storm track, or an upgrade in status, it’s just business as usual for us.”

Darci and I exchanged a quick glance. Something about this storm bothered me — badly.

“That is fast.” Darci stiffened, lowering her voice. “Katrina went from a tropical storm to a category three in one day, then four the next. This could be nothing, but we should be prepared in case there’s an evacuation announcement. Even if this turns out to be nothing, there’s another one right behind it.”

She was skirting the issue because Gavin didn’t know about our paranormal status, or the magical sabotage of the bayous, the levees, and at least one dam. I ran the numbers in my head. A tropical storm near southwest Florida could easily veer into Mexico, die in the Gulf, or slam into Galveston or Louisiana. My skills were in plants, not weather. I was totally out of my element.