by Lucy Auburn
I’d never been the type of person to make nice and have friends. That was for people who didn’t have important work to do.
“Take a seat,” Leon told me, motioning towards the chair on the other side of his desk. “I want to talk to you about something, not yell at you from all the way across my office.”
“So, what is this about?” I asked Leon, reluctantly sitting across from him. “If it’s that demon possession case, I’ve got my hands full with a dozen other things right now. Including tracking active possessions.”
“It’s not about that, at least not directly.” Leon grimaced. “You remember the girl you told me is a succubus?”
“That Selena girl from the other night.” Oh, I remembered her well. “She’s trouble. Hungry and surrounded by fresh meat.”
“I agree. She came by here today to be registered—her powers have just awakened after being bound for years while she lived in the human world.”
I frowned. Binding fae powers was a good way to wind up with a clueless adult fae who couldn’t control their abilities. These days, it was only done in the most dire of cases, when a fae child was born who was too powerful to be let loose on the world.
Leon continued, “She’s dangerous and hungry, like you said. I think she should stay here for training. Unfortunately Petyr doesn’t agree with me—he’s friends with her foster mother, a protection witch. They’ve rebound her powers and let her loose on the world, but I want to keep an eye on her.”
I sighed, knowing now where he was going. “And you can’t do it alone. So you want me to help.”
“Exactly.” Leon raised a brow, and as always I was struck by the fact that he and his sister had so many similarities—and so many more differences. “Do you think you could help me watch her? Just for a while, until I get through to Petyr that something has to be done about her. Like dumping her in the Realm of Light and leaving her there for a century or two.”
“I have other cases to take care of,” I pointed out to him dryly. “But I’ll help keep an eye on her. The last thing I need is a powerful darkside succubus to deal with, loose on the city.”
“Great. That was all.”
I shook my head at him. “Hardly. Before we do this, we have to ask Petyr for permission. He won’t take it well if we go behind his back, especially if he’s friends with this girl’s guardian. You know how he is when you get side projects going.”
Leon sighed. “Fine, we’ll talk to him. I’m sure he won’t object.”
Petyr was in his office with a few minor fae, but thankfully he was almost done with them so we didn’t have to wait for long. When he saw us outside his door he gave me a shrewd and knowing look. “Here to increase my workload, are you?”
“Decrease it, hopefully.” We walked in and ignored his motion to take a seat. “This won’t take long. We’ll make it fast.”
Leon was the one who’d made the plan, so he was the one who asked permission. “We want to make sure it’s okay with you if we keep an eye on Selena Pierce.”
“We?” Petyr looked over at me. “He roped you into this?”
“I met her the other night when there was that murder at a college party and a demon possession.” My knives seemed to itch in their sheaths just thinking about it. “She’s got the hunger, Petyr. You won’t be able to treat her with diplomat’s gloves. This is a fae to be hands-on with.”
“Her guardian is an old friend,” Petyr pointed out. “If she thinks we’re treating her daughter like she’s guilty of a crime, she won’t take it lightly. And she’s a powerful enough witch to make her displeasure known.”
“We’ll be discreet,” Leon promised. “If she’s at her classes, or sleeping at home, we’ll leave her alone. I’m only interested in keeping an eye on her when she feeds.”
“If she kills someone, it’ll be one too many suspicious deaths this month,” I told him. “All these demon possessions and rogue wildlings have got the humans nervous. The last thing we need is a succubus turned serial killer.”
With a sigh, Petyr gave me a little nod. “Fine, then. Keep an eye on her. But only until she’s matured enough that her powers are unbound, and I can take her to the Realm of Light to try to make a proper fae match for her.”
“Got it. And when will that be?”
“I honestly have no idea.” Petyr sounded frustrated. He looked back and forth between us before murmuring, “This next part, you can’t tell anyone.”
I glanced at Leon, who looked just as troubled as me. “What is it?”
Petyr picked up one of his fancy pens and started playing with it, which was a sure sign he was troubled. “She’s a Lightblood.” I sucked in a surprised gasp at that one. “So tread lightly, both of you. Selena may have been abandoned as a baby, but she has a powerful fae family behind her. And the Elders won’t be pleased if she turns to the dark.”
I nodded sharply. “Got it, boss. I’ll keep the knife play strictly consensual.”
Leon cut his eyes at me. “You better be joking. The last thing someone like Selena needs is getting involved with you.”
“Why is that?” I asked, my voice layered thick with faux innocence.
“You know why. A heartbroken succubus is a terror to behold.”
“Don’t worry, Hardass,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him. “I don’t do straight girls.”
“Good.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Leon was jealous. He sounded like he wanted a piece of succubus for himself.
Even Petyr seemed a little possessive when he added, “Not to pile on, Naomi, but Leon is right. Selena is a Lightblood. The Elders will want to pair her with a high fae family. Getting involved with her will mean trouble for both of us.”
“I can keep it in my pants,” I told them both. “But you better hope that girl finds a powerful fae to screw around with pretty soon, or we’ll be digging graves from here to New Orleans.”
Chapter Eleven
“I’m going out,” I told Maggie, grabbing my purse and heading towards the front door. “I’ll be back. I just want to relax for a while.”
She watched me go with her keen eyes. “Be safe. And Selena?”
“Yeah?”
“The binding I set on you only dampens your powers. Don’t lose control and hurt someone.” A chill settled in me at hearing those words from the woman who’d raised me into adulthood. “I know you wouldn’t mean to if you did, but that doesn’t change anything. You’ve got eyes on you now, and your powers will leak out of the binding I put on them before long. Don’t play fast and loose with what you are.”
I swallowed thickly. “Yes ma’am,” I murmured, because there was nothing else to say.
Her words put such a damper on my mood that I almost didn’t go out, but I’d committed to it now. I had to get my mind off what I was, what I’d accidentally done to Tae Min, and most of all off the thing that was missing in my life.
Because every hour that passed without Talia was harder than the previous. She was about to go to court to have bail set, but it didn’t look good. And I knew her parents—they wouldn’t be able to afford to get her out without winding up in debt. If the judge tried to make an example and set some six figure sum on her, she’d be in jail until her trial, and after that if they found her guilty.
And there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t even visit her; she was still being held in jail and could only be seen by her lawyer. Her mom had called me today and told me Talia wanted me to concentrate on studying, but my mind slipped away every time I tried to read one of my textbooks. Even worse, I had a final tomorrow during her bond hearing and there was no way I could skip it to be there for Talia when she went before the judge.
The entire court system went over my head, but I knew that it all came down to money, and there wasn’t enough to get Talia out of the trouble she was in. That meant it was up to the people working the case to get her out. I just hoped Leon Hardwick was a better detective than he was a nice, non-judge
mental guy.
Getting in my beat up old sedan that Maggie had given me the day I got into college, I drove downtown and headed to my favorite hole-in-the-way: Jolene’s Bar and Tavern. How it was a bar and a tavern I didn’t know, but their drinks were cheap, the bartenders were friendly, and there was always someone playing pool or darts in the back room. Talia and I usually went after finals, but she wasn’t here, and I wasn’t fooling anyone with my attempts to “study.”
There wasn’t any parking, so I found a spot around the corner near a cracked curb and a pothole. Walking down the old sidewalk, I crossed my arms over my chest to keep the warmth in as an ominous evening breeze picked up. For a moment I almost felt like I was being followed, but when I turned and glanced over my shoulder no one was there. It had to be my overactive imagination; refusing to indulge it, I crossed the street without looking back. The feeling of being watched vanished, and I headed towards the front door.
“I.D.”
Glancing at the guy out front, I pulled out the fake Talia had a friend of hers make when we were both sophomores. He gave it a cursory glance, looked at me for a long moment that seemed to stretch out forever, then grunted and handed it back. “Go on in.”
The bar was relatively tame right now; it was a weeknight, and early still. I wanted to have fun tonight, but I knew that I needed to be back before long, so I decided not to drink too much. I was here to relax, after all—and to test a theory of mine.
After all, I’d never managed to get that hookup I was craving the other night when Talia and I went to the house party. And judging by the way I’d practically eaten Tae Min today, I needed something to itch that part of me that was hungry. My powers were bound, so they shouldn’t be a problem. If there was any night for me to have a random hookup, it was tonight—and I wasn’t supposed to resist my sexual desires. Doctor’s orders and all that.
The crowd right now wasn’t great, though, so I sank into a stool on the bar and ordered a rum and coke. With any luck the crowd would change in the next thirty minutes or so—and if it didn’t get better, I would get tipsy enough that it didn’t matter one way or another.
As I sipped my drink, I made another vow to myself: that I wouldn’t become a monster. The night at the house, before the murder, I’d met Naomi and she’d given me something that filled the hunger inside me, albeit temporarily. I was determined to find that feeling again. After all, I hadn’t hurt her when we kissed, and it had been amazing. If I just controlled myself I could do it again.
And if her being a dark hunter was the only thing that protected her from my powers, I would just have to find someone here strong enough to handle me. That had to be possible. After all, the incubus at the Collective hadn’t looked like he was killing all his partners. There was some trick to feeding my sexual energy without killing people, and I had to be strong enough to find it.
The night wore on. I finished my first drink, ordered a beer to nurse, and walked around the bar looking for... something. I didn’t know quite what, but I would sense it when I found it, I somehow knew.
I played a round of darts with a handsome but boring man who bought me a beer only to promptly spend the rest of the evening talking to a blonde girl who was clearly just using him to get her and her friends free drinks. Rolling my eyes, I moved on to the pool table, striking up a friendly conversation with a couple who were here to play a round. They seemed like they might be interested in something else, but after my disastrous night with Jack and his girlfriend I was afraid to get in the middle of another couple looking for a threesome—the first hadn’t turned out so well after all.
I was about to give up on my hunt for the right target when I saw him walk in. Tall, but not too tall, and gorgeous in a mysterious almost-Spanish or Italian way. He had dark hair that was styled to sweep across his forehead just so, and a dark shadow of stubble across his jaw that accentuated its perfect curve. When he walked in, I wasn’t the only one who noticed him, but he only had eyes for me. The moment he looked at me I felt it—that draw. And when I tugged on it to make it stronger, I knew that I had him, because he looked at me with the same desire I felt growing deep in my body.
This was the one. I would taste him, and have him, until I was full. I wouldn’t go too far this time—my powers wouldn’t betray me. I felt sure of it as I approached him from across the bar.
“Hello,” I murmured, putting my hand on his chest and staring up into his eyes. “I’m Selena. What are you drinking tonight?”
“Jack and ginger.” For a moment I thought that was his name, before he added, “My name is Salvatore. It’s nice to meet you, Selena. Beautiful name.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. “It runs in the—in the family.”
I’d forgotten, as I said it, that I’d just learned the truth: the name Selena might have run in a family, but it wasn’t mine. Because my parents weren’t really my parents; there were just people who took me in when I was a baby, because I was too much for anyone else to handle.
My glass was empty. I needed another drink. Smiling at Salvatore, I told him, “I’ll get you that drink of yours. You can get mine.”
We chatted as we moved towards the increasingly busy bar. Salvatore was visiting from London, which was perfect for me. That meant he had a hotel room—the best, least dangerous place for a hookup—and he would be gone before he even thought of starting drama. It was also nice to find out he was a businessman who worked for one of the world’s leading international banks; that meant he was old enough to know what to do with his hands and his tongue. The college boys I’d slept with so far had often been wanting in that department, none more so than my ex-boyfriend, who I had to beg to go down on me more than twice a year.
Salvatore was nothing like my ex, though. He was smart, and sophisticated, with a slight accent that grew rougher the more we drank. We laughed together about politics and pop culture. When he was passionate about something, he would bang his hand against the bar for emphasis. And when he put his hand on my hip and drew me close, I knew that I wanted to climb him like a tree—and I didn’t care who was watching.
But it would be nice to get at least a little privacy. “Salvatore,” I murmured, “did I tell you there’s a back room here, with a pool table?”
“Oh, Selena. Your words are music to my ears.” Leaning forward, he brushed my lips with his own, pulling back just before we crossed that line of publicly intoxicated affection. “Let’s go.”
Grabbing his hand, I tugged him through the crowd and towards the room. There were a few guys playing pool back there, but when I barked, “Get out!” at them they fled. It felt strange to do that—almost like I was using something inside me that made them want to go more easily than they normally would have. But I didn’t understand it, so I just closed the door behind us and did something that I understood quite well. Wrapping my leg around Salvatore’s, I grabbed his shirt and drew him down to my mouth so I could kiss him.
He tasted like the Jack Daniels and ginger ale he’d been drinking all night, oaky and musky on my tongue. I felt his growing passion as he reached down to grab my ass and pushed me against the pool table, his mouth working against mine. We didn’t bother to say anything, our tongues and lips doing all the talking necessary as he eased me onto the green of the table and pushed his hands up under my shirt.
For a moment I thought about Jack, and Naomi in the room with the pool table, then Talia being stuck in jail. But I dismissed those thoughts just as quickly as they came. Salvatore kissed nothing like Jack, and when his hands brushed against the clasps of my bra he knew exactly what to do to open it. Easing underneath, he massaged my breasts in each hand and gently flicked my nipples. I moaned into his mouth, heat gathering between my thighs.
I wanted more. So much more. The desire to have him in me was overpowering—and just like that, I felt it rise in my body, a sleeping thing that woke so easily. Startled, I forced myself to break off the kiss and push Salvatore away from me, panting heavily as
I broke our connection.
“What is it?” he asked, brows knitted with confusion. “Did I go too far? I’m sorry, Selena. I thought you were into it.”
I almost told him it was okay, I loved it, he didn’t have to apologize. But—if I did he would touch me again, and kiss me again. I wasn’t sure I could say no a second time; I wasn’t that strong yet. Reaching up, I fastened my bra again and smiled at him weakly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just, I uh—I have a final tomorrow and I have to get up early.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He sounded frustrated, and I didn’t blame him; we’d both known what we wanted from each other the moment our eyes met out there in the bar. “Selena, don’t—”
Just then the door to the back room opened. Scrambling off the pool table, I stared at the woman standing there, who had a knife in one hand and was looking back and forth between Salvatore and I with a suspicious expression.
“Naomi!”
Glancing over at me, she said, “Selena. Everything good here?”
Based on the look on Salvatore’s face, he’d noticed the knife in Naomi’s hand too. He shot me one more look, then snapped out, “You’re crazy! Crazy American girl!”
As he rushed through the door past Naomi and her knife, I couldn’t really blame him. I probably would’ve done the same thing.
Naomi raised her dark brows at me and muttered, “You’re welcome, Suck.”
“For what?”
“Stopping you before you drained the life out of him.” Shutting the door behind her, Naomi sheathed her knife and gave me a judgy look that I really didn’t appreciate. “There are security cameras here. You do know that, right? If you’d killed him, there’s nothing even Leon could’ve done to keep you from winding up in the same place as your friend.”
That stung—both the fact that she thought I was about to kill him, and the jab about Talia being in jail. “I had just stopped it when you came in, so it’s not like you’re some hero.”