by Unknown
He got on behind me.
“You’re not going to make me drive like this.” I tossed him a curious glance over my shoulder. I wasn’t shy about being naked. After having to undress in front of strangers every three days, the timidity got old.
“No, I’m going to ride you. Take hold of the handle bars.” He unzipped his pants and moved around a little behind as if positioning. “Put your feet on the foot pegs and lean forward as if you were racing. Become one with the bike, Pia.” He chuckled.
I did as told, a little nervous about balancing, but Sin had his feet planted on the ground.
He lifted my hips and aimed his cock at the edge of my entrance.
I hissed in anticipation and arched my ass into him. I needed him so badly. His early teasing just pissed off my demon nature. If Sin didn’t feed me soon, I’d be forced to storm the parking lot for someone who would.
With a gentle push, he entered me slowly. He didn’t thrust. He just kept pushing deeper and deeper.
I cried out at the burning ecstasy. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.” I squeezed the handlebars, the muscles in my arms trembling.
Only when he was completely inside me did he draw back just as slow until he was all the way out. “Again?”
“Yes.” It came out needy and breathless.
Repeating the act a few more times, he kept me on my toes, just on the edge of orgasm but never letting me reaching my goal.
“Sin, please.” My skin was coated with the sweat of my desperation.
“I love it when you’re like this.” He set his hands next to mine on the handles, his cock still deep inside me. Then he began to thrust like he meant it. Sin was powerful and used his strength, plunging with a demanding beat. He leaned against me, pressing me along the bike. “Oh yes.” He groaned. With one hand, he reached between me and the seat, massaging my breast.
Sin knew how to touch a woman. I’d expected that with an old vampire, but his face always made me forget we weren’t the same age. Hands of experience caressed and fondled all my girly places until I raised my hip and mewled like a cat in heat. I clung to the edge of completion and listened to Sin’s hoarse breathing. He mumbled things in a language I couldn’t understand that sounded so harsh. I did this to him. I brought him to the verge of losing control. I squeezed my inner muscles and let the sensation of Sin’s cock take me over the cliff of my orgasm.
Energy swelled inside me. He tasted spicy and stung my succubus sense. The power in what he added to my energy sizzled and crackled. He didn’t relent or hold back his strength like in our other encounters. He took me hard, his balls slapping against my pussy and fingers digging in my hips.
“Fuck, Pia.” He cried out for anyone in the park to hear.
I rolled my hips over and over until he plunged his fangs into my neck.
He came inside me and drank at the same time as my orgasm struck. His moans were music to my ears. I’d never heard him make such pleasurable noises before. He let me go and withdrew from my body. With a gentle nudge, he guided me off his bike then back on the seat to spread my legs. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped me clean.
“Thanks.”
He kissed me. “No, thank you.” He retrieved my clothes and helped me dress since my limbs still trembled from the force of my orgasm. It would be an interesting ride home. I hoped I didn’t fall off the bike.
I settled behind him and he guided my arms around him. He kissed my fingertips before setting them on his chest. Resting my head against his back, I absorbed his strength. This seemed more than feeding. It felt like we were crossing lines.
It felt like love.
Chapter Twelve
Day one of my cycle
The sidewalks were filled with people this sunny afternoon. Cafes had their outdoor tables available for the shoppers bargain hunting through the boutiques, flower baskets hung on every street lamp, and the smell of cinnamon overwhelmed all other scents. This district was my favorite in Lake City. I took a risk being here. My mothers and sisters loved this part of the city as well.
I set my sunglasses back on my face and pulled the brim of my sunhat lower. After months of living in the dark, the sunlight hurt my eyes and stung my skin. My accessories had nothing to do with hiding or anything.
Sin had escorted me to my bedroom last night, after our ride to Mount McGregor, and had crawled into bed with me for a nap. I’d fallen into such a deep heavy sleep that when I woke in the late morning, alone, I couldn’t return to my slumber.
I had the afternoon all by myself. Sin was asleep with the rest of the vampires, Gigi never left protection of the nest, I hadn’t made friends with any of the humans, and Cooper worked. That left me and the credit card my dad had given me when I’d left for college. What to do, what to do?
Grinning, I set my four shopping bags by an outdoor table of the best pastry/coffee shop in the city. I’d spent a good portion of my time in a lingerie shop that was off the main strip and catered to those with more kink in their tastes. If Sin wasn’t too busy tonight, maybe we could play fashion show. These kinds of things needed to be tested.
The waiter took my order and I leaned back into my seat and soaked in the noise of the city. I watched humans move around in their small herds. Some laughed, others whispered, and oh, one young couple were making out at the table across the street. I shifted my chair so I could observe without placing a crick in my neck. Young love was the best. No baggage, all full of wonder and experiment, totally unaware that they were making a scene. I grinned.
My coffee and cinnamon bun, smothered in icing, arrived. I picked at it with my fingers and savored the extra cinnamon this place added. After all the energy I burned on Sin’s bike last night I deserved extra calories. I hoped to burn more tonight.
Sin treated me differently than the others of his nest. He wasn’t exactly mean to anyone but he wasn’t tolerant either. He gave orders, expected them to be done without question and he demanded results. Those who failed were punished. I’d seen the damage on their flesh. When I first came to the nest I’d expected to wear the same kind of wounds and walk with that pained waddle at some point, but Sin never disciplined me with pain. He used withdrawal and pleasure instead. I could grow used to being his bad girl.
I swallowed my cinnamon bite whole and washed it down with my hot coffee before I choked. That last thought bordered dangerously on lines I shouldn’t cross. Sin wanted to be one of my three suitors but if I allowed things to continue on this same path then my heart would be in trouble sooner rather than later. I couldn’t afford another heartbreak. I was just mending the last one with Scotch tape. It would take more time and a lot more work before the tape became glue.
I continued eating without taste. Did I love Sin? I poked at my heart with an internal finger. Things seemed so muddled inside. I’d been so numb lately that any emotion, besides lust, seemed almost overwhelming. I’d have to tread lightly.
The couple across the street broke apart and I was about to raise my cup to them in gratitude when I recognized the man. My damaged heart pulsed, breaking away all the mending I’d done, and shattered into dust.
Pierre?
I set my cup on the table on its edge and it spilled across the blue tablecloth. The hot liquid dripped on my thighs but I couldn’t move.
Pierre.
He’d found another woman already? I couldn’t stop staring as he set his hand on her knee like he used to do with me. The oxygen around me seemed to have vanished and I couldn’t draw in enough air. What should I do? I was torn between marching over there and kicking him where the sun didn’t shine and crawling under my table until they left.
My chest constricted and the cinnamon bun rolled in my stomach. I was not going to vomit in public. I’d choke on it first. He attracted my gaze like the pull of a thousand suns and turning my head took epic inner strength that I hadn’t known I possessed.
I clutched the table and caught my breath before I passed out. I thought he’d loved me as much as I’d loved him. Yet he o
bviously had moved on. Maybe I had loved him more? That didn’t help. It only made the pain worse. I tossed some money on the table and grabbed my bags. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me. What was he doing in Lake City?
On weak knees, I hurried from the shopping district back to the car I had borrowed from Sin. I could make it. I could get home before falling to pieces. It was the weekend, so Pierre must have taken his new love on a romantic getaway here. I tossed my bags in the trunk then ripped the hat off my head and threw it inside as well.
“Pia?”
Dainty, well-manicured hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me. I’d inherited my birth mom’s height so we could see eye to eye. She ran her hands over me as if checking if I were real. I’d never seen her so quiet.
A tear spilled along my cheek unchecked. I was so raw inside it wouldn’t surprise me if I was bleeding to death. “Mom,” I whispered. She was one of my three moms but she was the one who’d actually carried me in her womb. They all treated me with the same amount of love but nothing was thicker than blood.
She hugged me so hard against her tiny frame I thought I would snap in half. “Oh my god, Pia.” She kissed my head. “I’ve been sick with worry.”
I sobbed, one loud awful sloppy noise, before I gained control again, even by the tips of my fingers.
She yanked away. “What’s wrong?”
I pushed her away and stumbled against the trunk. My sunglasses fell off and she saw my tears. “Leave me alone.” I scrambled to close the lid and hurried to the driver side door. The last thing I needed was her understanding. Didn’t anyone get that? I didn’t deserve it.
She dogged my steps, almost tripping both of us. “No, don’t you dare leave me again.” She slammed the car door closed and almost took off my fingers. She’d dropped her bags in her chase, her eyes wild and desperate. “What is that vampire doing to you?”
“Nothing. He’s good to me.” I stared at my feet. My tears trailed along my nose and dripped slowly one at a time.
She stroked my crazy curls, trying in vain to bring order to them. She’d done this for as long as I could remember. “Please come home. Please.” Her voice shook.
Unable to speak, I opened the car door again and she let me. I climbed inside and drove away. Blinded by my tears, I’m not sure how I returned to the nest without crashing. I parked and made it through security.
None of the shifters said a thing to me as I hid behind my hat and bags doing my best to cover my distress. I bypassed my bedroom and took the second elevator to Sin’s apartment. He’d given me the code.
I dropped my stuff on his leather couch, undressed as I walked and crawled into bed next to his cold, unconscious body. It spoke how much he trusted me that he’d give me access to him in his most vulnerable state.
Curled in a ball, I had an ugly cry on his shoulder. Pierre wasn’t the only reason for my anguish. Seeing him only dented the dam I had used to bottle my pain; my mom sledge-hammered the rest away, and realizing I didn’t love Sin crashed through the rubble like the Kool-Aid man. Oh yeah.
If it were Sin I’d seen at the café kissing another woman, I would have asked to join him, not fallen to pieces. I was in lust with Sin. I was in gratitude with him but not in love. Part of me wished I could be in love with the vampire. He wasn’t possessive. He didn’t mind sharing me. Open relationships existed, so why couldn’t I make this one work?
I traced his beautiful face. It was only a mask. The man under it was someone I feared too much to trust with my heart. A creature as old as Sin couldn’t possibly see me as more than just a toy.
Chapter Thirteen
Day two of my cycle
Most of the nest was out either hunting or having fun, which suited my needs. I wanted time alone. I loved my day ones and twos. It was the closest I came to feeling normal, almost human.
Seeing my mother yesterday had left me feeling more hollow. Like someone had cut me open and used an ice scream scoop to scrape me empty. I hadn’t spoken to any of my family members in months. Did I want to spend the rest of my life shunning them? It had accomplished nothing so far but hurt feelings. They deserved better, but once they found out what I had done they’d shun me instead. I guess in a sick way I had subconsciously decided to do it first.
My people took the sacred vows of marriage very seriously. Our whole culture depended on the symbiotic relationships between incubus husband and his succubus wives. If a wife had sex on a non-feeding day for non-feeding reasons it was considered cheating and punishable by divorce. She’d lose all her assets and his protection. The same went for a married incubus if he fed from a succubus he didn’t plan on marrying. Seducing that married mailman was disgraceful. My being out of control wouldn’t help my defense. Another of my many mistakes. Losing control of our demons could lead to humans discovering our existence, an even worse crime.
I hung my head and curled into a tight ball on the couch of the common room by the security area. People passed but no one used it or stopped. I’d discovered that if I wanted to be alone it was the best place to sit.
Once I explained my shame to my family, I’d be done with the guilt hanging around my neck. The ball would be in their court and they could decide if they really wanted to pursue my return home. Then my father could stop this ridiculous idea of suitors. I wasn’t sure how to confess, though. Writing them a letter would be the easiest since I didn’t have to respond to any accusations, but it was too impersonal. I sure as hell didn’t want to call a family meeting. Maybe I should just confide in one of them first and go from there, but who?
Tossing my head back, I closed my eyes and tried my best to pretend I was on a beach far, far away. Sin wasn’t any help. He thought I should just call my father and blurt it all out. Like he said, family wasn’t his thing.
Someone entered the nest from the security room.
I cracked my eyelid open and spotted John.
Faded bruises shadowed his face and he walked with a slight limp.
I cringed. He must have taken quite a beating to still show signs of injury two days later. That, or demons didn’t heal as fast as vampires.
He stared at his phone as he walked and didn’t even glance my way. C’est la vie of a succubus. Fuck me and forget me.
“John?”
He startled and caught his phone before it hit the floor. “I didn’t see you sitting there.” His eyes darted around the room. “Is Zur-Sin around?”
I shook my head. “No, he’s deeper in the nest. I’m really sorry about...” I pointed at his face. “If I’d known…” Well, I had known. John had plainly said that Sin would kill him. I hung my head and stared at my lap. “I’m sorry. I was really hungry and you looked delicious.”
Crushing silence filled the room. I glanced up.
John still stood on the other side of the room. “I knew Zur-Sin would want to kill me.” He rubbed his chin and winced. “At the time, I didn’t care.”
“Those are my pheromones. I can’t help that when I get hungry enough.”
“I can see why my people avoid yours.”
I nodded. How could I argue? He was right. My people were a danger to everyone. “You should have listened to your mother.”
He snorted. “If I listened to my mother, I wouldn’t be hiding from her.”
“Families.” I meant it as a joke but it came out more choked with emotion.
John hurried to my side and sat next to me.
The sudden dip in the cushions sent me falling against him.
He looked a little shocked at how I almost landed in his lap. “The cushions didn’t look that soft.” He tried to help me sit up but his hands ended up on my breasts and he yanked them away as if stung, then went for my shoulders only to manage elbowing me in the eye.
“Ow.” I clutched my hand over the swelling orb.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Pia.” He raised his hands up in defeat. “Really, I’m not doing it on purpose.”
I pinned him with a glare from my one goo
d eye. Mazzikim fed from pain and despair. I was an all you could eat buffet for John. “Sin told me what you are. You’re very good at what you do.”
“Hacking computers? Of course, I am. How else could I afford someone like Zur-Sin’s protection?”
“I mean feeding from others.”
“It was an accident. I swear.” He set his hand over his heart as if that meant something to a demon, but it still made me laugh.
I rubbed my sore eye and straddled his lap. “Will it turn black like yours?”
He leaned forward. “I wouldn’t know how to tell, but it’s swelling. We should get some ice on it.” With little effort, he picked me up in his arms and carried me down to the kitchen. I could have walked but I liked being carried by wiry and witty John. He set me on the counter and returned with an ice pack wrapped in a clean dishcloth.
“I thought you were supposed to put raw steak on a black eye.”
“I don’t think you want to smell like bloody meat with so many werewolf guards coming on later.”
“Good point. I’ll have to remember to ask Cooper if he would consider the smell an aphrodisiac like vamps do blood.”
John’s smile faded. “Who’s Cooper?”
“My—my friend.” I didn’t want to say suitor. It held so many bad memories for my people and reflected my unhealthy state of mind.
“You’re a terrible liar.” He picked at a small hole developing on the knee of my jeans. “It’s okay if you have a boyfriend. You just left so fast the other day that we never had a chance to discuss what happened between us.”
My heart flip-flopped. “I thought you’d never want to speak to me again.” Sin had almost killed John after I’d fed from him. Or was this some ploy for John to get revenge? The demon stood between me and the only exit out of the kitchen. Was this where John went full-blown mazzikim on me and stole me away to his hellish home? I hadn’t realized what I’d been getting into when I jumped him to feed. “He’s not my boyfriend in the way humans consider it. He’s more like a friend with benefits.”