Thirst (Incubus Tamed, Book 1)

by Theresa Hissong

  “Are you feeling okay?” I ask, reaching up to push a strand of hair behind her ear. My fingers tingle again when we touch, and I pull my hand away to rest it on top of my thigh.

  “Sleepy,” she yawns and proceeds to stretch. I have to look away, because her human body is tempting. Her scent is powerful, and I have to ignore the calling this succubus has over me. If I wasn’t an incubus whose body requires the energy of human souls, I would find a way to bury myself in her body for a few hours.

  Adjusting my cock, I look at the clock and frown. “You should eat something.”

  “I’m starving.” She yawns again. “Is there any coffee made?”

  “I can call down and have Fagan bring you some with your breakfast,” I offer and pick up the phone next to her bed. I rattle off an order to the gargoyle and hang up the phone.

  “I’ll leave you to get ready,” I say, standing up. I can’t watch her any longer in the bed. It’s too much of a strain on my need. It’s time for me to feed again, and I should take a trip into town to find myself a willing woman for the afternoon.

  “I’ll be down later,” she promises and rolls over, giving me her back.

  I slip out the door as Fagan is coming up the stairs. He nods at me, but continues into her room. Salvatore and Victor are waiting for me when I reach the foyer. Salvatore jerks his head to the side, indicating I should step into his office. As soon as the door closes, he looks up with blood red eyes.

  “What?”

  “Kieran has put out a call to all territories,” he informs me. “He’s saying she killed Iris and has put a bounty on her head.”

  “She did not kill her friend,” I explode in defense, but Salvatore holds his hand up to calm me.

  “I know this,” he sighs. “She wasn’t lying when she saw those photos. I read her, and I know Kieran is lying.”

  “He’s going to send his gargoyles around to every territory to look for her,” Victor announces as he takes a seat in front of the desk. “We can’t keep her here, because I’m betting they will be on our doorstep within the week.”

  “Cassius, you need to take her to the cabin,” Salvatore says, opening the top drawer in his desk. He tosses me a set of keys. “Pack a bag for a few weeks, and get supplies on your way out of town.”

  “I’ll take the truck,” I say, jumping from my seat. We have a heavy-duty truck we take to the cabin when we need it. The cabin was our first home, two hundred years ago when we settled in the Nashville area. Back then, finding humans to feed on was hard, but we made due. Animals will work in a pinch, but you need several large animals to even come close to the life energy of a human.

  Taking the stairs two at a time, I meet Fagan at the entrance to Ashera’s room. He steps aside when I make a shooing motion for him to get out of the way. The moment I step inside the door, she’s changed to a sultry red head…and then she vanishes.

  “Fuck!” I shout, reaching out to grab the gargoyle. “Did she say where she was going?”

  “No, Sir.” Fagan turns white with fear as I bare my fangs. “She only ate a little of the food, then asked me to take the tray away.”

  “Tell Salvatore,” I order, changing my appearance and disappearing back to the motel where I last saw her.

  Chapter 6

  Ashera

  I don’t go back to the area near the motel. Instead, I try to reappear in a shopping area I visited when I first arrived in town. There are several upscale designer shops and a few eateries to choose from. I hope to meet up with an interested gentleman who’s out shopping on a Saturday afternoon. If that doesn’t work, I will find a bar or club nearby. Those always work.

  The first place is a bust. There are two men inside, but they’re with women. From my human life, I know there are very few couples who would invite a stranger into their beds. It’s not even worth trying to get close to them.

  The next stop is at a sports store, and I enter to look for workout gear. I don’t make it to the door before I see two men, looking out of place, turning the corner up ahead. They narrow their steel-gray eyes, and I know they’re gargoyles.

  I push the door open to the sports store and grab a young man with a name tag that proves he works there. “I’m being followed. I need you to let me out the back of your building. If two men come looking for me, you didn’t see me.”

  The young man’s eyes widen when I produce five hundred dollars and shove it into his hand. It’s something I never knew could be done, but Cassius had taught me that one night, making me promise I wouldn’t abuse that power. “Right this way.”

  The alleyway is clear when I push through the back door. I run toward the street up ahead and slow as I reach the exit of the alleyway. Peeking around the corner, I am relieved to see it’s all clear. Kieran’s men must still be in the other store looking for me.

  I try to casually walk down the street without looking like I’ve been running. I need to find another secluded place so I can vamp out and return to Cassius. He’s going to be so fucking mad at me. I should’ve listened to him and stayed at the mansion.

  I slip inside a woman’s clothing shop and immediately thumb through the racks of clothes. Kieran’s gargoyles are close, and I know he’s on the hunt for me. I should’ve left town when I had the chance yesterday. I could’ve been halfway to Arizona, but now, I’m forced to go back to the men who promised to protect me and beg them for forgiveness.

  “Can I help you?” a human female asks. She’s dressed like Dolly Parton without the big boobs. Her hair looks like it hasn’t changed since the eighties, and her lips are blood red.

  “I’m just looking for a new outfit for work,” I lie, looking for anything on this fucking rack to pretend to try on. I need to get back to Cassius’s house to warn them. “Oh! This might work. May I try this on?”

  “Sure, sugar,” she drawls. Geez, this woman really has a Dolly fetish. “Ya know, these earrings would look amazing with this outfit. I’ll set these aside and grab the matching necklace for you.”

  “I really only need the dress,” I remind her, nervously looking over my shoulder. I don’t see them outside the windows of the shop, but that doesn’t mean anything. They could’ve sensed me and are waiting out of sight.

  “Sure, come with me,” she says, waving her hand over her shoulder. The dressing rooms are in the back of the building, and I say a silent prayer of thanks to whoever is out there giving me some good karma.

  As soon as she leaves, I hang up the outfit and disappear, reappearing in the foyer of Cassius’s home. I hear cursing and shouting coming from the office. I don’t even knock, just barge right in.

  Vic and Sal quiet and stare at me with anger in their eyes. It takes two seconds before Salvatore explodes. “Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Kieran’s gargoyles are in town and they’re looking for me,” I panic. “I need to leave right now!”

  “We have a place for you,” Vic says, coming over to take my arm in a strong hold. “Don’t you dare vamp out on me, because if you do, I will shackle you with silver and spank your ass. Cassius is out looking for you now.”

  Salvatore holds up his hand as he lifts the phone to his ear. I don’t even need to ask if Cassius is pissed because I can hear his voice over the phone all the way across the room. He’s so mad, I flinch when I hear a string of curse words coming from Sal’s phone.

  “Shit,” I hiss. It takes Cassius less than a minute to barge into the office. His eyes are blood red and his fangs are biting into his bottom lip.

  “The truck is packed and ready to go,” Salvatore states as he drops his phone on the desk. “Get to the cabin, and don’t you even think about leaving.”

  “We’re not going to go anywhere,” Cassius says, taking my upper arm.

  I throw an apologetic look over my shoulder at the other two males and keep quiet while Cassius pulls me through the house. We bypass Fagan in the kitchen, and his eyes are wide. I try to give him a soft smile, but it turns to a grimace when Cassius’s
hold tightens on my arm.

  “I’m not going to disappear on you,” I inform him as we reach the extended cab Chevy truck. Its white and all decked out with big tires to off-road with, and I have to use the running board to climb into the damn thing.

  “Don’t you fucking move, Ashera,” he snarls and slams the door. He’s behind the wheel in a blink of an eye.

  “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” I repeat, closing my mouth when he hisses at me.

  I’ve only been afraid of one male in my lifetime, and that’s Kieran, but Cassius is coming in at a close second. He’s pissed, and I don’t blame him. I brought this down on his territory, and he has every right to be mad.

  Instead of trying to talk to him, I rest my head against the door and watch the scenery pass outside my window. There’s no sound other than the hum of the tires on the road as we travel, and it’s making me sleepy. The blood and energy I took from the guy at the gym is already fading. I thought it would last me for at least a week, maybe two, but it’s not, and I don’t want to tell Cassius I need blood. I survived on animals the first week after I ran from Kieran, I can do it again.

  A hard thump to the truck wakes me, and I blink away the sleep. I glance at the clock and see it’s been an hour since we left the house. The jarring of the truck is from Cassius leaving the road. We’ve traveled thirty feet onto a dirt path, stopping at a rusted cattle gate. He throws the truck in park, getting out to open things up. After he pulls through and recloses the gate, we are on our way through thick trees and tall grass.

  It’s hard to tell, but there is a path here. Granted, it doesn’t look like it’s been used in years, but Cassius seems to know his way through the forest. I cringe when limbs brush against the side of the new truck.

  Up ahead, I see an old wooden cabin, and I’m not surprised when he pulls in behind it. I wait until he turns off the ignition before swiveling in my seat to face him. His eyes are no longer red, but his face is still pinched in anger. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for taking off this morning without telling anyone, or sorry for the gargoyles who’ve come to my territory to hunt for you?” Oh, he’s pissed.

  “Both?” I reply, and it’s honest. I don’t want them to get hurt, and I’m positive Kieran will want to punish them for their role in protecting me. I’m still new to this life, but I do know that the territory leaders have rules, and although Salvatore is a fair man, Kieran’s rules are evil.

  “I’m more pissed that you took off,” he huffs and opens the door. “Help me get these things inside, then we can talk more about how you’re going to listen to me from now on.”

  “Okay,” I reply, because that’s all I really can say at the moment.

  Fagan must’ve set us up with supplies while Cassius was out looking for me. There are several shopping bags and two coolers filled with food and water. My duffle bag is in the back, along with another bag I assume belongs to Cassius.

  I wait for him to unlock the door so I can go inside. As soon as I push the door open, I frown. It’s small, and there isn’t much to the place. It looks like a studio apartment I had a few years ago when I first moved out on my own. There’s a round table next to a long countertop. I set the groceries on the table and turn around. A queen size bed is against the far wall, and a couch sits under a boarded up window to my left. For one person, it would be cozy, but for two demons who like their peace and quiet…not so much.

  I return to the truck to grab whatever’s left, and find a cooler and a duffle placed at the back door. I peek around the side of the cabin and see Cassius throwing a camouflage netting over the truck. He walks over to a cluster of young trees and snaps them by kicking them. We have a lot of strength and use it to our advantage when needed. Cassius works to break the limbs off so he can use them as extra coverage for the bright white truck. By the time he’s done, you can’t see even a speck of the truck’s color.

  “Let’s get inside,” he says as he ushers me toward the cabin.

  “What do we do now?” I ask as I enter the kitchen. He closes the door and uses a piece of lumber to board the door.

  “We wait until Salvatore calls me,” he replies and starts removing things from the bags on the counter.

  Chapter 7

  Cassius

  I want to spank her for running off, but I also have the overwhelming urge to tuck her under my wing and protect her. She’s new to this life, and she needs to learn the ways of our world. There’s no going back now. We’ve been given this life, and although we hate it, we know there is no alternative. We must feed to survive.

  “Well, this is cozy,” she announces, taking a seat on the bed. She gives it a little bounce and nods in approval.

  “We should probably talk more about Kieran and why you left,” I state. She hasn’t been all that forthcoming with details. “I need to know what I’m facing with this male.”

  “Oh, whew…well,” she pauses. “I guess I should start at the beginning.”

  “That would be best,” I huff. She’s going to drive me insane over the next few days while we wait for Kieran’s gargoyles to leave town.

  “I was a high-class prostitute,” she begins. “Well, a call girl would be the politically correct term. I was sent to an address and told I was to be there for a few days to a week. When I arrived, it was a huge mansion outside of Pittsburg. The man there treated me great. I even went to an upscale restaurant with him for dinner that night. It wasn’t until about five days in when things changed.”

  “How?” I press.

  “Well, I woke up with his fangs in my neck.” She shivers. “I guess I don’t need to tell you how I was changed, since you’re the same thing as me.” She follows that up with her hand waving in my direction.

  “I’m assuming he had sex with you, too?” I ask, narrowing my eyes when hers darken.

  “There was a lot of that over the first week,” she says, clearing her throat. “Doesn’t matter about that. I’m okay, and I’m a strong person.”

  “Still, we don’t take what isn’t offered. We may be a product of Lucifer, but even he has morals, and taking a woman against her will is not acceptable,” I say as I take a seat next to her. “Tell me about what happened afterward.”

  “Well, he locked me in his basement. I call it a dungeon, because it was damn close. It was cold and damp, and I had to sleep on the floor. He brought me humans to feed from, and I was so hungry that I killed them.” She pauses to wipe a tear, but grits her teeth and straightens her spine. “I didn’t want to do it, and I knew he wasn’t going to let me leave when he started coming to me, saying I was going to be his queen. He kept saying he was going to force me to be his mate.”

  “You can’t force a mating,” I scowl.

  “What is a mating?” she asks, pulling her legs up to cross them.

  “It’s rare, but it happens.” I sigh. “I’ve only known a few who’ve actually found their mates. An incubus finds his mate, and it tames him, but it doesn’t stop him from needing to feed on human souls.”

  “So, how does that work?”

  “My old friend, Ellington,” I begin, looking into her eyes as I tell the story. “He found his mate in a succubus, and they moved out to California to take up a new territory. There is no jealousy between him and his mate. Most of the time, they hunt together, but on occasion, they go out on their own.”

  “So, they’re swingers?” she asks with a soft chuckle.

  “Pretty much.” I smile, and I realize I haven’t smiled in such a long time. Ashera makes me feel almost human again. “I guess in our world, we are bred to be promiscuous.”

  “You are much better looking when you smile,” she offers, picking at the quilt. She’s young in some ways, older in others. Kieran should’ve never turned her, but what’s done is done.

  I ignore her comment and begin to pace. I need to do something to not think about happier times. My old life should’ve been over at least two hundred and twenty-five years ago. The only thing goi
ng for me now is that my long hair works for the current age. The early part of this century didn’t bode well for me, and I had to change my appearance when I left the house to hunt.

  Ashera doesn’t remark on my sudden silence and leans back against the pillows. She throws her arm over her eyes, and I have to look away when the bottom of her sweater rides up to expose a small portion of her abdomen. Her body was made for this life.

  “Want to help me put away these groceries?” I ask as I turn away to dig through the bags Fagan has packed. There’s only a fireplace to cook with, and the only refrigeration we have are the two coolers loaded down with ice to keep the perishables from spoiling. There is a creek about a hundred yards behind the cabin that can provide fresh water for bathing.

  “So, whose place is this?” she asks, taking a look around.

  “Salvatore, Victor, and I bought this place and lived here about two hundred years ago.” I jerk my head to the right when I hear a can crash to the wooden floor. She is staring at me in shock.

  “How old are you?”

  “Ah, three hundred and twenty-one, why?” I’m confused. Doesn’t she know we are immortal?

  “How?” I guess the answer to that is a big, fat no.

  “Jesus, you don’t know anything, do you?” I curse under my breath and pick up the can, placing it on the counter. “Ashera, we are immortal. You will never die.”

  “Seriously?” she asks, smiling wide. “You mean, I will be like this forever?”

  “Yes,” I nod. “The only way to kill us is to starve us or decapitate us.”

  “That’s crazy,” she says, wonder coating her voice. “I didn’t know.”

  “Kieran should’ve taught you that, but he’s worthless and should be sent back to Hades.”

  “Hades?” she inquires. I find myself chuckling again at the look on her face. It’s a mixture of fear and surprise.

  “Yes, like hell,” I inform her. “You don’t want to go there. Lucifer made us, and if we fail him on this plane, he will make us suffer.”