by Jill Myles
“What is all this?” I asked.
“A surprise. Or it was.” He scowled.
I let the flap slide shut behind me and fanned my hand at my face. In the heat, with the humidity, no number of rotating fans could make the tent feel like less of a sauna. It seemed awfully odd to have an elegant dinner set up in the tent, but it looked like that was Noah’s plan. I was torn between thinking he was sweet or totally mad. “Where did everyone at camp go?”
“They went to town. Paid vacation day. A vacation day that I paid for,” he said irritably as he pulled another match out of the box. “Fred was supposed to keep you busy for another hour.”
I snorted and moved to the far end of the table, where a chair was set out. “If by ‘keep me busy’ you mean try to molest me, I’d say he finished early.”
Noah ran the match along the side of the box, and a small flame flared to life. He leaned toward the closest candle, and the match abruptly sputtered, then blew out, from the breeze of the fan. He swore again and pulled out another match.
Well, now. Noah seemed a little crankier than usual, but I blamed it on the bright blue in his eyes. The closer we got to the full moon, the more moody he became as the curse came over him and his need for sex rose.
Of course, the sight of those blue eyes and that delicious, bare sweaty chest gave me another idea—a rather naughty one. I moved to his side, my finger tracing one runnel of sweat down his chest. I dipped my finger in the damp bead and met his eyes, then tasted the droplet, a blatant suggestion if there ever was one.
“Not now, Jackie,” he said impatiently.
With a sigh, I dropped my hands, returned to the far side of the table, and sat down so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him again. Another symptom of the full-moon curse—Noah was completely and utterly uninterested in sex for the days preceding the full moon, upon which we’d stay in the tent the entire day and have sex until he passed out. I gave him a bright smile. “When are you due, so we can get back to normal and I can get laid?”
He pulled out another match, glaring at it with all the hatred in the world. “The moon is full in two days.”
Well, thank God for that. I did a little fast math in my head. We’d had sex yesterday morning and I would be due tomorrow morning. If I had to wait another day after that I’d be miserable as hell, but I wouldn’t die from it. An overdue succubus was an exceedingly horny one, so I’d have to avoid the other men in the camp for the day, or I’d have the men trailing me like I was the Pied Piper of Hamlin. “That day can’t get here soon enough,” I murmured. Just the thought of not having sex for another two days made me crave it, and I crossed my legs under the table.
Noah looked over at me, a hint of a frown marring the line of his eyebrows. The scent of sulfur grew strong in the small tent as he tried to light another match.
“Don’t worry about the candles,” I said. “They’re giving me a headache.”
His jaw was set in a stubborn line that I recognized about once a month. “Fine.” He put down the matches and placed the candles back in an orderly row along the table. “What were you saying about Fred?”
I glanced at the covered tray, my mouth watering as I wondered what was underneath. Was it someone’s birthday? My taste buds gave a little thrill at the thought of birthday cake and ice cream, though no ice cream would survive this heat. Maybe chocolate, to take the edge off my desire. Noah knew that I loved to eat. “Fred confessed undying love for me,” I said, distracted by the tray and my rumbling stomach. It had been a few hours since I’d eaten breakfast, and lunch sounded rather tasty now. “Though I promised him that I wouldn’t say anything to Mr. Gideon.” I gave Noah a pointed look. “Consider yourself out of the know, Mr. Gideon. And don’t worry. I used my Suck powers to draw him off and convinced him to visit town.”
Noah gave a little shake of his head. “Jackie, we’ve had this conversation before. You need to be careful around the men at camp.”
My jaw dropped. Careful?
Careful?
Me?
Steamed, I grabbed a steak knife off the table. With my other hand, I took off my dirty baseball cap and shook down one of my long, bright red braids. I held the braid out from my head at a straight angle and in fast, jerky motions I sawed at the base of my braid and hacked the entire thing off, then tossed it down on the table.
Noah rolled his eyes at my dramatic show.
“Watch,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, I felt the hair follicles on my scalp slither and the familiar tingling that told me my hair was growing back. I grabbed a handful of the sheared ends and watched in disgust as they grew, my hair pouring down my shoulders and over my shirt, returning to the lengthy, flame-red curls.
“Do you see this?” I jerked at my T-shirt. “I’m wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt, cargo shorts, and a baseball cap. Not exactly seductress material.”
“Zane’s shirt, I noticed.”
Grrr. He was missing the point entirely! “What I’m trying to remind you of is that no matter what I do, I can’t disguise how I look. I’ve shaved my head. I’ve worn thick glasses. I’ve done everything short of wearing a ski mask, and it’s no use. I could go out in a trash bag and someone would still hit on me.”
“Jackie—”
“You know,” I went on, angrily rebraiding my “new” hair, “I thought this dig would be good for my career. I could finally set myself up as a serious archaeologist. But it’s like I’m the Hooters girl at the church social! The men leer at me constantly. Someone tries to cop a feel if I so much as bend over. And all the women on the team hate me because they think I’m blowing you just to get you to sponsor the dig.”
“You are blowing me,” he interrupted with a hint of a smile.
“Not to further my career,” I bellowed. “Remember that whole ‘have to have sex every two days’ thing? Hello? Succubus?”
He gave me a patient look. “I wouldn’t be out in the jungles of Yucatán spending a small fortune on sonar—”
“Radar—”
“Radar equipment if it wasn’t for you. So they do have a point.”
My eyes narrowed. “You are so not helping your case right now, buddy.”
Noah chuckled, showing me a glimpse of the good-natured, strong protector that I usually adored. He moved to my end of the table and pulled me up into his arms. “Poor Jackie. I’m sorry this isn’t turning out like you want.” His warm hand stroked my braids and down my back.
My bad mood rapidly dwindled now that I was pressed against his hard, sweaty body, and I slid my hands up and down his bare, damp skin. He felt so good against me. Really good. It reminded me that I was due for the Itch in a short time, so I reluctantly pulled away. “Unless you want to make out on the floor, maybe we shouldn’t touch.”
I wanted him to protest, to kiss me senseless and prove me wrong, but all he said was “You’re right,” and released me. Spoilsport.
I sighed. I hated the days up to the full moon.
“I brought you a few presents from town,” he said, returning to the other end of the table.
Sitting back down, I clapped my hands in delight. “Edible things?” In this part of Mexico you could get a lot of standard stuff from the big Walmart in Mérida or the local tedejon, but I missed the small luxuries, like Pringles or my favorite shampoo. Noah was constantly bringing me boxes of treats as a result. Last week it was foil-wrapped Ding Dongs, which I tore through in about five minutes.
Succubi weren’t known for their self-control when it came to food. Hedonists for the win.
Noah smiled at my delighted expression. “Part of your present is edible, yes.” He disappeared under the paper tablecloth and reappeared a moment later with a large cardboard box. The words “Pop-Tarts” was printed across the side of the box.
I squealed. “Oh my God! Pop-Tarts! A whole case!”
“I had them special ordered for you in Mérida. They’re chocolate.” At my second
squeal of delight, he chuckled. “Try not to eat them all in one day.”
I eyed the box with hungry, avid eyes. “They might last two days.” Maybe three, if I paced myself. It was so hard to find chocolate Pop-Tarts in this part of Mexico.
A radar discovery and Pop-Tarts. This day just got better and better.
Noah seemed pleased, his eyes so blue they glowed in his tanned face. “I never thought I’d see a woman get so turned on over a package.” His voice had dropped to a huskier octave, showing that he wasn’t totally immune to my charms just yet.
Encouraged, I leaned over the table, my voice turning into a purr. “Show me your package, and I’ll show you an even more turned-on woman.”
His eyes flashed and I recognized the interest there, fighting the lethargy that always set over him before the full moon. “Your other present first,” he said.
“Whatever floats your boat,” I breathed, clamping my thighs together so they’d stop quivering with excitement.
Hot diggity, I was going to get laid today after all!
He leaned over the table, placing his hand on the dome of the silver platter. I couldn’t wait to find out what was underneath. This was why he’d sent everyone away from camp to be alone with me—the reason behind the big production.
“If that’s a milk shake under there, they’re going to have to pry me off of you with a crowbar,” I warned, my eyes glued to the tray.
He lifted the lid.
A tiny turquoise box with a bow lay in the center of the plate. It looked like … a ring box.
“Shit,” I blurted.
CHAPTER TWO
“That’s not exactly the reaction I wanted to hear.”
I stared at the small box, unable to move my hand toward it. I knew—I just knew—what it contained. And the dreadful knot forming in the pit of my stomach told me that I didn’t want it.
“Jackie?”
Steeling my nerves, I forced myself to reach for the box. I owed Noah that much. The exterior felt velvety and thick, the last thing that someone wanted against their skin in the middle of the jungle. My fingers were trembling (not in a good way) as I flicked the box open. And stared at the ring inside.
A small, simple band of platinum clung to the biggest damn diamond I had ever laid eyes on. The size of it blew me away, and I pulled it out of the box to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things. It was the size of a large button, and stuck up from the setting like one of those candy lollipop rings. The inside of the band read “Tiffany & Co”. It even felt heavy. “Jeezus, Noah!”
“It’s four carats. I figured if everyone was going to stare at you all the time, they might as well have something else to fixate on.”
Boy, he wasn’t kidding. “It’s … enormous.”
“A guy loves to hear his woman say stuff like that,” he teased.
His woman—oh God. The anxiety and stress of it all came crashing down, and I carefully put the ring back in the box. I adored Noah. Had great affection for him. Loved spending time with him. We got along very well, and he was pleasant to live with.
So why did the thought of marrying him scare the holy heck out of me? Was it that eternity was such a very, very long time to be married to someone?
Especially when you still missed your ex-boyfriend?
“Well?” he said as I toyed with the box in my hands.
I hesitated. There was no good way to put this, really. “Noah, I don’t know. It’s just such a big step.”
“Jackie,” he said patiently, “we’ve been living together for six months, most of that in this jungle. We work very well together. We’re very fond of each other. I love you and you love me. Despite the fact that both of us are compelled to have sex on a regular basis, we’ve both been monogamous for the past six months. I’ve been monogamous since I met you.” His head tilted slightly as he continued to study me with those intense blue eyes. “Why not take this a step further and commit to each other? Show our commitment to everyone? If we’re married, I can protect you.”
“From what?” I had to ask.
“Everything.”
Even that blanket statement didn’t make me leap to put the gigantic rock on my finger. I gazed at the small box and flipped it back and forth in my hands, as if one sudden move might make me change my mind or make me suddenly okay with all this.
“Noah, you’re four thousand years old. I’m barely pushing twenty-seven.” I needed to express myself to him, but how to do so without hurting his feelings?
“I’m prepared to spend the next four thousand with you.” He made it sound like a challenge.
“What if circumstances forced me to cheat on you?” I recalled with vivid discomfort my trip to New Orleans, and my run-in with an incubus named Luc. Cursed to want sex within hours, stranded apart from Noah and Zane, I’d had no choice but to make out with Luc, and our brief rendezvous had had dire consequences.
His jaw flexed. “We’d work through that. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
“I know you won’t,” I agreed. “It’s just that … I’d hold it against me.” I placed the ring box on the table and nudged it away. “Maybe I’m still thinking too traditionally, despite being a succubus, but … to me marriage means commitment. Forever commitment.” The kind that scared the hell out of me now, and I pressed my hand to my chest. “Commitment to me means that I’d never desire another. And right now I don’t think I could make that commitment in good faith.”
I expected him to make an excuse for my nature, to assure me that it would be all right. Noah was always so supportive.
But his jaw clenched. He stood up, glared down at me for a moment, and then turned away, moving to the back of the tent. As I sat at the table like a helpless lump, he began pulling a white shirt over his head.
I frowned at his back. “What are you doing?”
He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled the shirt down and gave a small, hard laugh as he stepped into a pair of pants. “You know, Jackie, with everything that we’ve gone through over the past six months, I thought we could at least be honest with each other.”
“I am being honest with you,” I said, bewildered.
Noah shoved his shirt into his pants, then crammed his wallet into his pocket. “No, you’re not. You tell me that it’s about cheating with Luc, when we both know it’s about Zane.”
My mouth went dry. “No, it’s not.”
“Oh, come on.” His voice took on a cold, hard edge that I’d never heard before. “You can stand there in his shirt and tell me that with a straight face? You even smell like him.”
I flushed in embarrassment. Like any other lonely ex-girlfriend, I occasionally sprayed my boyfriend’s shirt with his cologne. I hadn’t realized that my current boyfriend was quite so observant.
Guess that made me a bit of a jackass.
“Just tell me, Jackie,” Noah said, approaching me. He took my hand in his and clasped it against his chest. “Tell me honestly that the reason you’re saying no isn’t because of Zane, and I’ll let the whole thing drop.”
My throat closed, and I stared up into his beautiful, hurt blue eyes. I wanted to reassure him, to go back to the easy companionship we had before, but that was gone. He wanted more, and I wasn’t sure I could give him more. Even though Zane had been gone six months now, I still thought of him every time the sun went down and I was left alone.
I missed him dreadfully.
“I can’t tell you that.” I pulled my hand out of his. “I’m sorry, Noah. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
He leaned in and kissed my mouth softly. “Then don’t refuse.”
I remained silent. I couldn’t say the words, even though he wanted me to say them.
Noah pulled back and studied my face. His mouth hardened and he released me, lifted the tent flap, and walked away.
I followed after him. “Where are you going?”
“To town. I need to clear my head.” He didn’t look back at me.
I glanced up at the sk
y. “It’ll be dark in a few hours.” Every twelve hours, the Serim were cursed to go into a deep hibernation from which they couldn’t be wakened. Serim took the daytime hours, and vampires ruled the night, with a little bit of overlap between worlds. “Don’t stay out too late.”
Noah glanced back at me, a wealth of pain in his eyes. “Don’t expect me back tonight.”
He’d rather spend his vulnerable nighttime hours alone or with strangers than to be with me. That stung. I watched him go without another word of protest.
To ease my hurt feelings, I tore into the Pop-Tarts. Eating half a dozen of them made me feel better. A few more, and I’d stopped glaring long enough to get up. I was hurt, but I’d be damned if he was going to make me weep into my pillow.
I chewed angrily, my cheeks full of chocolate crumbly goodness. I’d head to town, too, except that I’d given my keys to Fred. Damn. I glanced down at the table and frowned. The ginormous ring inside the ring box made me nervous. The full sum of my worldly possessions wouldn’t even be a fraction of the cost of the ring.
Stupid ring. Stupid Noah for trying to propose. I muttered a few choice words about him under my breath, then sighed. It wasn’t his fault I was a mess. I scooped up the ring and moved over to the heavy safe in the corner where we kept our laptops, extra cash, and other valuables. Crouching down next to it, I flicked through the combination and cracked it open.
The interior of the safe was nerdishly neat; Noah didn’t like clutter. How did he manage to live with me, a female cyclone of trash? I shoved the ring to the back of the top shelf. Then, wiping my chocolatey hand on Zane’s shirt, I reached into the safe, looking for a blank sheet of paper to leave a note.
After brushing across several legal contracts and receipts for equipment, I felt something like heavy cardboard wrapped in plastic. Puzzled, I pulled it into the light.