by Jill Myles
“Don’t want to share?” His hands settled underneath my behind and lifted me up on the edge of the sink, cradling me against his erection. “Because I’m sure I could handle both you and Remy at once, if I had to.”
I smacked him on the arm, but it was obvious from the laugh on his face that he was teasing me. “You’re a jerk. I don’t know why I stay with you.”
“Because you need me, Princess.” The low, husky statement held a wealth of emotion. He put my arms around his neck and reached between us, unfastening my shorts. His fingers delved against my panties, and slid down to the wet, hot flesh underneath.
“Oh, yeah?” I meant for it to be playful, but when his fingers found just that right spot, it changed from a tease to a breathy “Oh, yeah.”
“You know the best thing about being a succubus?” His hand splayed across my back as he leaned me farther back. The back of my head rested against one of the mirrors and I was pretty sure there was a faucet digging into my back, just like I was pretty sure that I didn’t care. His fingers shifted again, touching my cleft and seeking the perfect spot within to stroke and tease. “They don’t have to give pleasure—they can take it.”
With that he slid a thick finger inside me, and I was lost. My cry of delight echoed in the bathroom, repeated again when Zane’s seeking mouth latched on to my breast and teased my nipple through the fabric. His fingers pumped inside me, his thumb flicking against my clit as he made love to me with his hand, and I spiraled out of control, my hips bucking against him as the crashing orgasm overtook me.
When my hips slowed their undulations, Zane helped me down. He kissed my cheek gently, then helped me pull my panties and shorts back around my waist like a solicitous lover.
“Zane,” I breathed, still feeling googly and panting from the hot petting. “What about you?” My hand slid down the front of his pants, molding the thick erection outlined there.
He pulled my hand away and deflected me with a quick kiss to my palm, his eyes bright red as he smiled at me. “Remy will be wondering where you are, Princess. My needs can wait for another day.” He swatted me on the bottom. “Go on back and I’ll catch up in a minute.” He leaned heavily against the sink, but the smile on his face was the same old teasing Zane.
Concern furrowed my brow, but I didn’t want to pester him. “All right.” I turned to head back out of the bathroom.
“Jackie,” Zane said, his voice soft.
I turned around to look back at him, curious. “Yes?”
“You’re sure you don’t know who did this?”
I straightened my clothes and pushed my hair out of my face, thinking that everyone could probably tell what we’d been doing. Lord. “I can’t think of anyone, no. I mean, who hates me enough to kill me? Other than the queen, but I haven’t seen her.”
He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.” His gaze roamed over me, looking vulnerable for a moment. Then he pulled out his cigarettes and tapped one against the box. “I just want to know, though . . . do you trust me?”
That was an odd segue. He’d asked me that before, and it had gotten me into trouble. But we’d come so far from the halo-hunting expedition that I felt confident in my answer. “I do trust you, Zane.”
“Good,” he said, his eyes intense on me. His serious look changed into a smile, and he put the cigarette between his lips. “I’m going to finish this and then I’ll head back.”
“All right.” A bit bewildered by his abrupt changes in mood, I headed out to the Hummer, propelled by the subtle compulsion in our conversation. First item of business—new shorts and panties, since mine were damp and uncomfortable.
Across the parking lot, Remy leaned against the hood of the vehicle, looking utterly bored. She perked at the sight of me and approached with a bottle of hand sanitizer. “Did you touch anything in there?”
I obligingly allowed her to squirt me with copious amounts of the sanitizer and rubbed my hands with it. I was still feeling a little boneless, but a lot better. Things were starting to look up. Even my appetite returned.
“So are we about ready to go?”
I nodded. “I think so. Zane just needs a moment and he’ll be back.” I gave her a bright smile. “Everything is cool. Do we have anything to eat?”
She eyed me. “You sure he’s okay with this trip? It doesn’t seem like Zane’s kind of thing, if you ask me. Vampires hate being dragged out of their territory.”
“He’s fine,” I assured her, thinking back to his reaction to the whole Noah situation. How troubled he’d been, and how hurt. I hadn’t expected that. “I think the curse took him aback. He didn’t seem too pleased when I told him.” Opening the back door, I climbed over the seat and dug into the luggage piled in the far end of the Hummer. At the front of the vehicle, Drake still snored, oblivious to his surroundings.
“I wouldn’t imagine so,” Remy said. “Considering that they can be passed by exchanging bodily fluids.”
I paused from my fishing around in the luggage. “Really?” As my fingers latched around a pair of khaki shorts, I felt an uncomfortable quiver. Our little scene in the bathroom was the first time that Zane hadn’t gone all the way with me. Sure, we’d gotten each other off before, but this it was the first time that our romps hadn’t ended with a major throw-down. Eyeing the snoring Drake, I shimmied out of my damp clothes and wadded them into a plastic bag, then stuffed it at the bottom of my luggage. “Zane’s fine with it,” I told her, my tone convinced if my body wasn’t. “He knows I need his help right now. He wouldn’t abandon me.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Remy said, her voice weary. “When will you learn not to trust vampires?”
Irritated, I slid back out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me. “He’s fine. I’ll go get him and prove it to you.”
Remy just gave me a pitying look. “I’ll be here.”
I stomped back to the bathroom, expecting to find anything. Zane feeding from another woman’s neck. Zane jerking off in front of the mirror. Zane smashing something because he was trying to get control of his body.
What I didn’t expect to find was his trench coat—the staple of his wardrobe, which concealed his beautiful wings from the rest of the world—in a heap in the middle of the floor.
And a note on top of it, written on a flyer for a nearby cavern.
Sorry, Princess. There’s a few things I need to take care of first. We’ll meet again soon. Promise.
He’d left me.
Flown away without even saying good-bye.
Dumped. Again.
I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for myself or angry. With slow-moving hands, I picked up his jacket, brushed it off, and crumpled the note into my pocket.
So much for all that talk about trust and how far we’d come. I should have known I couldn’t count on Zane when the chips were down. And with Noah out of my life, who did I have to turn to now?
Tucking the trench coat under my arm, I went out to tell Remy that she’d been right after all.
CHAPTER SIX
“Snap out of it, girlfriend,” Remy said, patting my knee. “You knew he was untrustworthy when you took him in. Remember? That whole kidnapping-in-Egypt thing?”
In the front passenger seat, I leaned against the window and stared out at the flat, flat farmlands around us, an empty can of Pringles cradled in my arms. God, Wyoming sucked. Even the beautiful sunrise couldn’t lift my spirits. “I thought he’d changed, Remy. I thought he loved me.”
“Well, do you love him?”
I gave her a dirty look and reached for a new can. If I loved Zane or not, it wasn’t anyone’s business but mine.
She just grinned at me. “That’s what I thought. So why’s it matter if he loves you? He’s probably all freaked out about the curse, darling. We’ll get rid of it and he’ll come crawling back to you in no time.”
“But that’s not the point,” I wailed, cramming chips into my mouth. “I need him now, and he’s abandoned me!”
A big, hairy-
knuckled hand clamped down on my shoulder from behind, the thumb stroking my arm through my sleeve in a rather repulsive fashion. “I’m here for you, sugar,” Drake said, his voice oozing sympathy. “If you need a shoulder to cry on, you just come sit here.” He patted his lap.
“Thanks, Drake, but I think I’m okay.” I shrugged his hand off my shoulder (damn curse—his touch actually felt pretty good). The last thing I needed was some porn guy thinking he could get an easy lay out of things.
He gave me a long, slow pat, his eyes knowing. “Of course.”
Remy shot Drake a warning look and turned to smile back at me, all cheerfulness. “Look, Jackie, it’ll be all right. Maybe he just had to leave for a bit. He could be coming back later tonight, when the sun sets.”
I gave her a dark look. “We both know he’s not coming back.”
She checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror, then shrugged at me. “Well, how long until the next time the Itch hits?”
I wrapped my arms around my waist and hugged myself. “About a day. Maybe less.”
Remy brightened. “That’s not so bad. We’re about to cross over the Colorado state line and we should be in Denver in a few hours. I have my first appearance at the Big Porn Barn there, and that should take your mind off things.”
Ugh—that’s right. I had to go on the porn tour with her as her assistant. “Do I have to go?”
She gave me a wounded look. “All the big stars have assistants.”
“All right, all right,” I said, feeling guilty for not sharing her enthusiasm. “But I’m going to be a very low-key assistant. Don’t boss me around, and I’ll try and look busy the whole time.” I had a baseball cap and sunglasses in my bag. I could wear those, hide my hair, and let Remy have all the attention. I sure as heck didn’t want any.
“That’s great!” She glanced back at Drake and smiled. “Show her the T-shirt we got for her!”
“T-shirt?” The words were barely out of my mouth before a bright pink baby tee was pressed into my hands by Drake’s sweaty ones. I shook it out, then stared at Remy with horror. Porn star’s assistant blazed across the chest in bright green lettering. “I have to wear this?”
“It makes it seem like a bigger deal if I show up with an assistant,” Remy said, giving me a sheepish look. “This was all sort of last minute, so the budget wasn’t that hot.”
“Show her the matching hot pants,” Drake said, a bit too close to my ear. “They say porn star’s ass on them. Get it? Assistant? Ass?”
“No,” I said firmly. “No hot pants. I’ll wear the T-shirt, but I will die before you get me in porn star hot pants.”
“You’re no fun,” Remy sulked.
“That’s what I’ve been told,” I agreed, pulling out my BlackBerry and checking my messages for the ninth time in the past fifteen minutes. Still nothing from Zane. And since the sun was high in the sky, I wouldn’t get anything for the next several hours. I sighed, my spirits plummeting. He’d really gone and abandoned me after all.
“Why don’t you call Noah?” Remy’s voice cut into my thoughts.
Not such a good idea, even though I’d been thinking the same thing. “And what should I say to him? ‘Hey, miss you lots. Zane dumped me, so we can be solo now. Oh, and I’m cursed, and a demon needs me to go and visit Delilah in New Orleans. How are you?’ ” I shook my head, rubbing my thumb along the side of my BlackBerry. “Somehow I don’t think that would go over so well.”
“Noah’s an understanding sort,” Remy said. “Maybe you should give him a chance.”
Maybe she was right. I hesitated for a moment, then hit the speed-dial button for Noah’s number. The phone rang seven times, and just when I was convinced that he was ignoring my call and I’d have to leave a message, the line clicked and picked up.
“Yes?” Noah’s deep voice caressed my ear, turning my insides to liquid.
“Hey,” I said, eloquent as always. I felt suddenly shy, realizing the others could hear everything we said. I turned toward my window, trying for any privacy I could get.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Road trip. With Remy.” I left out the fact that there was a greasy porn dude hanging over my shoulder, listening in to my conversation. “We’ve got something we need to take care of in New Orleans.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell Noah I was cursed. My pride still stung from the look of disgust that Zane had given me.
“I see.” A pause, then, a low question. “You’re not in any trouble, are you, Jackie?”
Me? Trouble? I laughed—perhaps a bit too gaily—to show him that I had no cares in the world. “Nah, just a road trip for the girls. Just fun.”
“Ah.”
Man, he sure wasn’t very talkative. “You still mad at me?”
His tone grew decidedly colder. “That depends. Have you decided?”
“Decided on what?”
“On which one of us you choose. You can’t have it both ways, Jackie. You can’t have both a vampire and a Serim at your beck and call. I can’t stand to be around that bastard, much less know that you’re running from my arms to his.” Vehemence filled his voice, surprising in its intensity. He’d never said anything like this to me before. “I’m tired of fighting for your attention, so you have to choose.”
“Choose!” I sputtered into the phone. “Not this again. Why—”
I found myself talking to the dial tone. He’d hung up on me.
“Jerk!” I tossed the phone into my purse, resisting the urge to stomp on my handbag for good measure. “Who does he think he is?”
Remy shrugged, staring ahead at the open road. “When you live for a couple of thousand years, you tend to get cranky when someone else plays with your toys.”
The Big Porn Barn was a converted barn on the highway just outside of Denver, sandwiched between a liquor store and a feed barn. I perked up at the fact that it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it wouldn’t be too busy. Maybe no one would be around to see me in my tight, neon “Porn Star’s Assistant” T-shirt. Maybe we could get this over with relatively quickly.
But as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I knew this would be bad. Every space was full, and there were cars parked along the fire lane as well. A big banner hung from the door. Today only—remy summore & drake le serpent signing autographs!
Drake the Snake? I should have guessed.
Remy pulled up in the middle of the parking lot and looked in the mirror, smoothing her hair. She wore a white sundress that consisted of spaghetti straps, a few frills, and not much else. It showed off her lovely dark olive skin and the dark jet sweep of her hair admirably. “Isn’t this exciting?”
I jammed a baseball cap over my bright red hair and put on a pair of sunglasses. “Not really.”
She refused to be brought down by my sour mood. Giving me a cheeky grin, she slid out of the car and started for the store. Then, she paused and looked back at me. “Can you walk behind me?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Like a real assistant? You can hold my bottle of water.” She stuck her lip out, begging. “Please, Jackie? Pretty please please please?” She punctuated each please with a little hop.
“Okay, okay,” I said, taking the water from her and eyeing the hopping. “Just don’t ever do that again.”
Remy beamed at me and headed for the store, and I reluctantly followed a few steps behind, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
The store was an absolute crush of men. As soon as Remy walked through the doors, a cheer went up and cameras began to flash. Drake seemed unsurprised, his expression unchanging as he held the door open for me. I quickly followed behind.
From there, the place turned into a madhouse. For hours, Remy posed with people for photographs, winked, vamped, and generally made every single horny, middle-aged man there fall in love with her. Her eyes were a sparkling blue, which told me that she was just as turned on as the crowd was. I did my best to slink around the back of the throng, nursing
a water bottle and scowling at any man that got within ten feet of me.
Drake wasn’t nearly as popular as Remy. He had his own table for autographs and photos, but there were no women in the store. A few men came up for an autograph, which made me eye him in a new light. Meanwhile, Remy continued to sign a stack of calendars as high as my arm, and flirted and kissed every single man that came to her table.
I checked my watch for the ninth time in as many minutes. Four hours, and it didn’t look like the crowd was dying down yet. I was hungry, but the only thing in the store were edible underwear, and I wasn’t about to eat that in front of this mob. A few of the men had given me interested looks, but I shooed them toward Remy’s table. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I headed over to Remy and bent to whisper in her ear. “It’s half past noon, Remy. When are we leaving here?”
She pouted at my weary face. “I promised I’d stay for a few more hours and sign. We’re selling a small fortune here today, and just think of all the publicity.”
I groaned. “You lick men’s schlongs on camera, Remy. If you really wanted publicity, you’d make out with one right here on the sales floor.”
Remy brightened. “Do you think that would work?”
“Forget. It.”
She gave me sad eyes. “Please? Just a little longer?”
“Oh, all right.” I could never win with her. “One more hour, and then we’re leaving. Remember my curse? The one we’re supposed to stop before I starve to death?”
“I remember.” She waved her hand at me. “Go do something assistant-ish.”
“Excuse me,” said a man to my side, pushing ahead with his calendar. “You need to wait in line, just like everyone else.”
I pointed out the helpful job title emblazoned across my chest. “See this? It says Assistant. I’m busy right now assisting Miss Summore.”
Remy put a hand on my arm and smiled brightly to the man. “Ignore her. It’s her time of the month.”
Irritated, I retreated to the far side of the room and planted myself in the metal chair between the bondage videos and gay porn. I watched the proceedings with bored detachment, trying not to think about how much time was slipping through our fingers . . . or how much it hurt that Zane had abandoned me.