Drained: The Lucid (32 page)

“I miss you so much.” Amber sobbed into Riley’s neck.

When she felt the wetness roll across her skin, Riley closed her eyes. Her breath became ragged as a flood of unresolved emotions overwhelmed her. Beneath the brush of her touch, she felt the slight tremble of Amber’s body and it weakened her resolve. Trained fingers popped open the buttons of Amber’s jeans and slid the zipper down. The lingerie had stayed in her closet that night. They didn’t need to talk. All she needed was to turn Amber on.

Amber pulled back slightly, but her arms remained thrown around Riley’s neck. Her emerald eyes searched Riley’s face for some explanation or show of emotion.

“Oh God,” she choked when Riley’s thumb ground over her underwear, rubbing her most sensitive parts.

Hands clawed at Riley’s back, branding her with fingernails that would have left a mark outside of the realm. “Just think,” she spoke softly into the other woman’s ear. “We could still have this if you hadn’t betrayed me.” She grimaced at her words the moment they tumbled out. Amber hadn’t been transparent about the Truthseekers, but that didn’t give her permission to be cruel. No matter how they may have ended their relationship, she did care for the human.

Amber’s hips jerked. “But I’m done, Riles. I’m done with them.”

“So you say.” The succubus’s brow furrowed, and she blinked back her tears. “And so I hope.”

When Riley moved the narrow patch of cotton between Amber’s thighs to the side and sought entrance, Amber’s breathing came in short ragged bursts. Her eyes struggled to stay open under heavy lids.

It didn’t take long for the wisps of sexual energy to emerge. Riley didn’t slow, and instead wrapped a free arm around Amber’s waist for better control. Energy was unpredictable. Even the same mark could emit a different brand or color of energy depending on their mood and the context of the dream encounter. The pink vapor intensified in color, hovering around Amber’s curves like the evasive wisps of fresh cotton candy. Amber’s breath hitched, and Riley opened her mouth and breathed in.

• • •

The lettering on the door said “kitchen,” an employees’ only area that she hadn’t been in before. She pushed through the private entrance and found Amber preassembling side salads for the afternoon rush.

“I don’t think I’ve seen your friends here today,” Amber said stiffly.

Riley inspected her cuticles. “I didn’t come to see them. I came to see you.”

Amber threw a final precut cucumber on a salad and wiped her hands on her apron. She brushed past Riley and left the back kitchen for the rest of the restaurant.

“That’s great. Are you here to finally talk to me?” Her hands snatched an empty tray and she tossed a cleaning rag on top. “Or are you here to guilt me for something I already regret?”

“You betrayed me,” Riley called out as Amber walked by. “You tried to use me to get information on my employer.”

“I know.” Her words came out soft, but gruff. “And I wish I could change that.”

“I want to believe that you’d never do that kind of thing to me again.”

Amber’s gaze cast to the tabletop she’d need to clear. “I wouldn’t, Riles.” She dropped the black bussing tray on the table with a loud rattle. “All I want is to have you back in my life again.”

Riley blew out a rough breath. She thought about Morgan. She thought of how dangerously attached she’d become to a mark with whom she’d be forced to lose contact in only a few visits. Dalliances in the realm weren’t enough. There was no future in that. Morgan had warmed to her company over time, but in some ways Riley still felt that she simply tolerated her presence rather than looked forward to it. If she felt more for the succubus, she hadn’t vocalized it. But with Amber, if given the chance, a relationship could possibly work. Amber had lied about the Truthseekers, but she’d never withheld her emotions. She cared. She loved her. And maybe that was enough. It was imperfect, but Riley had learned in her decades as a succubus not to expect more.

“What are you doing after your shift today?”

Amber’s face illuminated with hope. “Hanging out with you?”

A lopsided grin came to Riley’s lips. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

December

Riley flashed into the dream realm, dressed in a festive outfit that could only be described as naughty female Santa, but the amount of fabric found on her outfit would have only been enough to make a single pant leg on a real Santa suit. Her hair was long, curled, with subtle red streaks throughout to match the red of her costume.

She stalked down the long corridor of Morgan’s realm home, and found her seated on a worn couch in the living room. With legs tucked beneath her, she stared idly into the fireplace where a blaze crackled and snapped at half-charred logs.

She didn’t look away from the fireplace. “Working so close to the holidays?”

“I’m one of Santa’s helpers, and it’s the busiest time of year.”

Morgan blinked and pulled her gaze away from the fireplace. Her eyebrows arched when she finally regarded the succubus and her outfit. “Really?”

Riley looked down at her ensemble. “What? You’d rather I show up in some ratty old pajamas?”

“I wouldn’t mind that. But I don’t hate what you’re wearing either.”

Riley licked her lips. She might have been imagining it, but she thought Morgan’s voice had lowered an octave with her confession. “Well, it’s a special day,” she returned. “I figured that some eye candy wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Not even your girlfriend?” Morgan’s lips pursed. Riley didn’t miss the way her voice faltered over the final word. “Although I have to admit, you’ve been rather good the last few times.”

Riley and Amber had reconciled, but Riley had been transparent that things wouldn’t simply return to the status quo. They’d been on a few dates, but hadn’t done more physically than a few stolen kisses. She was committed to taking things slow, to the bewilderment of her friends.

This thing she was doing with Morgan had no future. She knew that. In a few short weeks, their six months would be up. She’d be able to reaccess Morgan in the realm in a year’s time, but a lot could change in twelve months. Riley’s own time in Los Angeles was similarly limited. There was an expiration date to every relationship she pursued outside of the cubare community. That was the price of immortality. But for another couple of years, she could at least continue to explore her relationship with Amber. What they had was tangible, and she knew how Amber felt about her. Morgan might have been physically attracted to her, but Riley was a succubus. Beyond lust, the woman’s feelings continued to be a mystery.

“You sound like you’re complaining.” Riley set down the box she had been holding and kneeled down by the active fireplace.

Morgan stood from the couch to join Riley. “No. Not complaining. Just … surprised, I guess.”

In recent visits, Riley had forced herself to take a step back both physically and emotionally whenever she felt herself being drawn to Morgan’s thrall. It wasn’t that she had an obligation to Amber. Their relationship was still tenuous at best. Both were working to recover what had once been between them, dating with no vows of exclusivity. Instead, she resisted Morgan because relationships confined to the realm couldn’t bring her fulfillment. But the lucid human, perhaps through no fault of her own, continued to pull Riley in, little by little.

Morgan plucked a glass ornament from the box, and her eyebrows furrowed together. “I get your outfit, but if
this
if your idea of kink, I must admit that this is new, and I’m passing.”

Riley rolled her eyes and took the ornament away. “Ha. Ha.” She deadpanned. “They’re decorations. Since you’re the biggest Scrooge I know, I figured that I’d bring you some Christmas joy.”

Morgan looked amused by the sentiment. “So you’re here to de-Scrooge me?”

“There are
so
many ways I could respond to that.” Riley smirked. “But I’m going to practice some self-control.”

“For once,” Morgan added. She inspected the other contents in the box. “I told you before that I don’t do Christmas.” She shook her head. “Not in real life, and not in the dream world.”

Riley’s lower lip slipped out. “What if I say please?”

“How badly do you want me to do this?” Morgan’s gaze lifted and she raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t have cast a box of decorations and conjured a movie if I wanted to force this on you. If that were the case, I could have just shoved a lit tree in your living room.” Riley picked up a glass icicle and tapped it against her lips before pointing it at the other woman. “But if you’re asking me to beg, that’s not gonna happen.”

Morgan’s face was unreadable. “I’m not asking you to beg. I might just be implying you could try harder.”

“I’ve never had to work this hard.” Riley scoffed and set down the glass ornament.

“And yet you keep coming back for more.”

Riley threw her hands up in dramatic flair. “If you don’t want me here, Morgan, all you had to do was say so.” She scrambled on her feet and reclaimed the box from the ground. She was on her way to a grand exit but was stopped when long, feminine fingers wrapped around her bicep.

“Hey, are you really leaving?”

“Yeah.” Riley shrugged, nonplussed. “Why not? You’re not going to appreciate this, so why waste my time?”

Morgan looked down at her feet. “Is it that? Or, would you rather be somewhere else right now?”

Riley hesitated as she mulled over her response. “No.” She should have lied. “Nowhere at all.” The admission made her feel vulnerable.

Morgan’s smile was gentle and encouraging, and Riley hated the butterflies that assaulted her stomach whenever it appeared. “Then shall we begin to decorate?”

The succubus was unconvinced, but she wasn’t going to fight it. “You’re gonna let me de-Scrooge you?”

“I have no idea what I’m agreeing to if I say yes.” Morgan’s lips twisted. “Maybe you should be a little more specific.” She carefully traced the tips of her fingers over the hemline of Riley’s outfit.

The curious touch made Riley laugh. “You, my friend, are a strange one.” Her watch jangled with an incoming message, and she paused long enough to inspect it.

“Yeah. Friend,” she thought she heard Morgan mutter.

“Pardon?” Riley asked, still looking at her watch.

“Nothing.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “Okay, let’s figure out where the tree will go.”

Riley stepped out of the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. “The coffee’s done. I’d make it for you, but I don’t know how you like it. I didn’t even know you drank coffee,” she admitted. “I figured you for a tea girl.”

Morgan looked over her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll be in there soon. I’m putting on the finishing touches.”

Riley watched Morgan delicately place a few strands of tinsel on a branch. “It looks good, don’t you think?”

Morgan took a step back to inspect her work. “Yeah. It all looks nice.”

Riley pushed herself off the door jam. “Well, I think my job here is done. You’re officially de-Scrooged.” She fiddled with her watch. “Besides,” she said, tapping at the watch face. “My time is going to be up soon.”

“You really have to go?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Riley weakly smiled. “You know that.” The last of Darren’s present was gone. She’d wanted to make the extraneous energy last longer, but she’d taken the final vial earlier in the visit.

Morgan crossed the room and folded her arms in front of her chest. “I know. I’ve caught on to that part by now.”

“So don’t seem so sad about it.”

Morgan’s eyes moved around the room, anywhere but at the succubus. She glanced up at the archway above them and, looking back down to Riley, let a dimpled smile escape.

“Well, don’t seem so excited by it either,” Riley huffed.

“We’re standing under mistletoe.”

Riley’s eyes went to the ceiling. “Huh. Look at that.” She took a step backward so she was no longer standing under the archway.

“Do you know the stories behind that?” Morgan wrung her hands. “One revolves around betrayal and death. And another one I know is about the berries being the seeds of the gods. Fertility and stuff.”

Riley cleared her throat. She hadn’t known the history of the innocuous plant. For as long as she could remember, mistletoe had been used as an excuse to kiss people. “Well, we don’t have to follow any stupid traditions. The decorations were more than enough.”

“What if I don’t want to skip it?” Morgan took a step forward. “Traditions are around for a reason. We have to uphold them, don’t we?”

Riley’s eye caught on a bright bit of yellow. The hallway vase now contained flowers; she hadn’t noticed when that had happened. “The yellow woodsorrel.” She recalled the plant from the backyard.

“Weeds are flowers, too,” Morgan breathed.

Riley swallowed, not knowing what to say or do. Morgan looked a bit unsure, but she collected herself enough to lean forward for a kiss. She closed the final distance, not giving Riley the opportunity to back out. Even though the kiss was soft and closemouthed, Riley felt her composure slip. She placed her palms against Morgan’s shoulders and reluctantly pried herself away.

“I can’t do this.”

Morgan’s mouth twitched. “
Still
? I have to say, you’re not a very good succubus.”

Riley didn’t let herself be affected by the words. She knew they were the product of frustration and confusion. “It’s … I can’t, Morgan. It’s wrong.”

“But I trust you, Riley. I’m at one hundred percent. And I think I have been for a while now.” Energy rippled through Riley’s body at the voiced confession.

Riley shook her head. “I can’t.”

It should have been easy. It was her job to fulfill a mark’s sexual desires. But she knew it would be too painful for her to have Morgan in that way for only a single night. It wouldn’t have been enough. Anything short of them being together in the waking world would have been torment. As a succubus she could accomplish her duties and satisfy Morgan’s needs, but as a person with real emotions and feelings, she refused to do that to her heart.

“You’ve been wanting this since the day you barged into my dreams. Now that I’m ready, you’re no longer interested?”