“That’s the beauty of this,” Dani plopped into the seat on my other side. “This is the carrot, but make no mistake, the stick is coming.”
“You’ve got training to attend between now and January,” Lilith decrypted Dani’s statement. “If you succeed, you can go; with the proper protection.” I didn’t think she was talking about condoms. “If you fail then you can’t, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this.”
That left me with more questions than answers, but no matter how much I pushed, they wouldn’t give me any more details. “Fine,” I relented, and pulled out the blue Tiffany’s box.
Dani’s eyes went wide, and she looked at Lilith. Lilith looked at the box with trepidation. When I just whipped the box out, I didn’t consider what it looked like. Slowly, I slid the box over to her. I didn’t get down on one knee or anything like that. She accepted the box with hesitation, and flipped open the lid.
The unease melted off her body and she smiled. “I love them,” she pulled out the earrings I’d picked out for her.
“I don’t really know much about jewelry,” I confessed, and what I did know was the more expensive the better. Caesars had a store in its shopping section, so I was able to have Fern go down and pick up something I ordered. “I thought these would match your eyes.”
I’d picked out gold earrings – not the big hoops that people tended to favor nowadays – but something a little more conservative. I figured she could wear these during her cabal business. Each had several emeralds inlaid in them in some design the jeweler assured me was classy and modern.
Apparently, I’d hit the nail on the head, because Lilith was beaming like a kid on Christmas morning as she slipped them into her ears. Dani gave me a side look and nodded a job well done.
“Now where’s my gift?” Dani crossed her arms under her impressive cleavage and tapped her foot.
“It’s in the mail,” I replied. It was a gag gift, something very Dani, that I thought she would enjoy.
She was okay with that. We settled in to talk about nothing for the next hour, and had a few more cups of coffee just because we could. It was like we were all back at St. Vincent’s, hanging out in the student center, and it put my heart at ease. At some point, I’d reached over and taken Lilith’s hand. She never let it go.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Peter was walking by and poked his head in. “Did you hear the news?” he asked.
The only news I’d heard was a too-graphic description of what Dani had walked in on a couple of imps doing down in the gym last night. The words banana dick had been thrown around a lot more than I was comfortable with.
“Your mother made her decision, and she chose Cam,” he gave me a nod of respect, which must be my own Christmas gift from the Pegasus.
I didn’t know he’d just thrown another grenade in the middle of my life.
Chapter 10
Lilith reacted so fast I thought she might be bipolar. One second, she was laughing about banana dicks, and the next, her face was colder than the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. She jumped to her feet and rushed after Peter. I could hear her yelling from somewhere else on the floor.
“What just happened?” I asked Dani, who was shaking her head.
“Every year, Venus selects a lucky cabal member to share an evening with,” she began.
“Oh shit,” that explained a lot.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s a tremendous honor to get one-on-one time with the boss. Most people in the cabal never even meet her,” Dani seemed to be choosing her words carefully. Since she never did that, I suspected she was aware of the difficulties Lilith and I were having. “To be clear, this doesn’t mean sex. I’ve known a few people who said they had a lovely evening full of delightful conversation. Sure,” she backtracked a bit, “some said there was mind-blowing sex involved, but some don’t even remember what happened at all. It’s all up to what the winner and Venus want.”
“Winner?” that implied there was some sort of contest.
“It’s a lottery they hold every year, and . . . I kind of entered you as a joke,” Dani grimaced as rage flashed across my face.
I clenched my fists tight enough my knuckles popped. “You’re killing me, Dani,” I said after taking a few deep breaths. “Lilith and I had just fixed things.”
“Yeah, I saw her grinding on your junk,” the dwarf looked legitimately upset, so I didn’t rub it in. “All you need to do is resist Venus. No still means no. It doesn’t matter if you have a Y chromosome or not.”
I gave her a look, and she smiled weakly. We both knew there was a better chance Hell would freeze over. When Lilith returned, she was still steaming; but it wasn’t directed at me. Dani and I both reassured her that I would resist, but she told us to stop lying to ourselves.
“She’s paying you a hundred grand for the evening,” the succubus added, and I tried really hard not to look happy about that. “This isn’t your fault,” she reassured me, and gave my hand a comforting squeeze. “If my mother has plans, we can’t stop them. She’s a force of nature. It’s better to face them together and try to weather the storm.”
Despite her statement, I found myself alone outside Venus’s room at exactly six o’clock. The last time I met a succubus at exactly six o’clock, my life had turned upside down. I hoped history didn’t repeat itself.
I’d dressed for battle; loose, baggy, and unappealing layers adorned me. I’d had Fern assist me in getting on the fashion equivalent of a chastity belt. Lilith had supervised, and although she appreciated the effort, we both knew resistance was futile.
“You can do this . . . deep breath . . . no means no . . .” I actually gave myself a psych-up speech to avoid getting laid. My life was weird.
I raised my hand to knock, but she beat me to it. “Hello, Cameron,” she pulled open the door before my fist made contact.
She was in a pair of mom jeans, a t-shirt that didn’t show any cleavage at all, and wearing an apron with a “kiss the chef” slogan. She pulled a strand of dark chocolate hair away from her eyes that had escaped her ponytail, and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead in the process.
“Come on in,” her smile didn’t hit me like a nuclear missile. In fact, my cock barely stirred under the several layers of clothing.
“Um . . . thanks,” I was completely off balance as I stepped into her private quarters.
“The coat rack is by the door, the table is set, and I’m almost finished with the meal. Give me five minutes, and help yourself to some wine,” she walked away, and I was able to resist the temptation to watch; even in mom jeans, her ass was undoubtedly fantastic.
“So far, so good,” I decided to take off my jacket because it was hot in here.
Her suite was noticeably bigger than mine, which didn’t surprise me. It had a family room with a large TV, and a dining room with enough space to fit a dozen comfortably. I assumed that was where the Venitas family Christmas Eve dinner occurred. Only two places were set; the head of the table and the space to the right. The china, glassware, and silverware looked ordinary, and not what I’d expect from a creature whose net worth had to be at least ten figures.
I took a seat at the right hand of the table and grabbed the decanter of wine. I was no aficionado, but it smelled complex. I was only eighteen, but Venus didn’t seem to care, and if I was being honest, I needed a drink. Just one; enough to take the edge off, but no more. I wasn’t going to let her get me drunk.
“Damn that’s good,” I was a beer guy all the way, but this was some good wine.
I heard her whistle as she came closer – I swear to all the other gods it was the theme to the Andy Griffin Show – and she appeared with two steaming plates in her hand. She placed one at each table setting, pulled off the apron before sitting down, and tossed it haphazardly in the corner. She took her seat with a smile.
I couldn’t help but smile back; not because of her charms, but because the meal looked delicious: a filet mignon, baked potato, and bro
ccoli on the side. I was literally a meat and potatoes guy, and she’d nailed what I was craving.
“You had to know this was my favorite meal?” I asked, cocking an eye at her.
“Guilty,” she smiled, and it still had no hypersexual effect on me. “I called your mother.”
I’d started to cut up my stake, but her words paralyzed me. In all the shit that had gone down, it hadn’t occurred to me to call my folks and let them know I was okay. Not only that I was okay, but I wasn’t some heartless criminal. They needed to know that I wasn’t what the UN, FBI, or even that mountain lion shifter Sheriff chick were saying about me.
“Don’t worry,” Venus gave my hand a pat, which sent a jolt of craving through me. It was nothing I couldn’t handle. It could easily have been that I was starving and the meal looked damn good.
“You’ve been through hell the last week. No one expected you to remember to call home while running for your life. I spoke with your mother and father. I told them you were okay, and that this whole thing is a misunderstanding we’re going to clear up. They wanted me to send you their love, and we both thought this was the best way to do it,” Venus waved at the meal in front of me.
“The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” I remembered what mom used to say as she baked cookies for dad.
“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” I was still upset about not remembering to call the people who took me in and cared for me for the last decade. I tipped back the glass of wine, and poured myself some more.
“Easy there, minor,” she grinned, but took a sip of her own glass. “Tell me about your parents.”
With them on my mind, it was easy to talk about. My dad liked to tinker. He was good with computers and taught me a thing or two. My Caeli mage friend, Brad, taught me more about the aspects of hacking; but dad taught me the basic mechanics of how things worked.
Mom had a green thumb, and loved to garden; which was the opposite of me. I killed the plants they sent home with us in middle school science, even though I watered them and faced them toward the light like I was supposed to. She always told me to keep on trying.
“And Aveena threatened to kill them,” I had a momentary spike of fear.
“No.” If Aveena was going to retaliate against my friends and family, she would have done it already. I had to assume they were safe for the time being. Anything less was just unacceptable.
“They sound like lovely people,” Venus chewed thoughtfully on a broccoli stem. “They adopted you when you were ten?”
“Eight?” I corrected.
“So, you must not remember your biological parents?” she mused.
I told her what I did remember about my biological mother, but it wasn’t much. I’d lost the picture and pocket watch when running for my life. I asked if the cabal would be able to retrieve them.
“I hired a company to pack up everyone’s stuff from school and store them until this is settled. I’m sure the local police are watching the storage facility, but the only thing they’re going to see is how quick metal rusts in an upstate New York winter.”
I chuckled, and thanked her.
She asked me about my interests; college, sports, art; although, I knew virtually zip about the last. Finally, we settled on history. I loved it, and she knew a lot about it.
“If you don’t mind me asking, when were you born?” I approached the subject delicately. We’d finished our meals and I’d slipped my shoes off under the table.
Venus had tucked her feet under her just like Lilith had this morning, and was sipping her wine. “I don’t mind, but the short answer is I don’t know,” she sighed. “I was born, I know that much, but I don’t remember who my mother and father were; likely some primordial creatures that are long gone,” she waved the wine absentmindedly.
“I’m sorry,” I replied. I knew all about losing parents.
She laughed and placed a hand on my forearm, which sent a zap of static electricity up my arm. “That was so long ago, Cameron, I don’t even think the last glacial period had ended.”
A little bit of wine went down the wrong pipe, and I coughed violently; while trying not to spill the scarlet liquid all over the white tablecloth. She came to the rescue and deftly took the glass from me.
“I’m good,” I took a few deep breaths, and tried to process what she’d just said.
The last glacial shift, or an ice age, had ended over ten thousand years ago. I shuddered to think how her mind handled the passage of time. Decades would seem like minutes to her. It made me look at her in a whole new light, and I was happy she didn’t catch me staring like an idiot.
“Did you like the meal?” she placed the two wine glasses safely on the table, and started to collect the plates.
“Please,” I jumped up. “Let me clean. You did the cooking, and it was delicious.”
“How very gentlemanly of you,” she smiled and stood back with her hands up in surrender.
I grabbed the plates and started taking them to the kitchen. There was a big sink, and whatever she’d used to cook was already cleaned up. I took off my long sleeve shirt to avoid getting it soaked, and got to work.
“I’ll just be in my room. Holler when you’re done,” she yelled, and I heard a door close somewhere in the suite.
“That was nice,” I told myself as I scraped uneaten remnants into a trash can and started to get off the stickier bits with a sponge before loading them into the dishwasher. “I can see what Dani was saying about some winner’s experiences.” I was already formulating questions about her time in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and if she’d traveled to the Far East. “What was the Renaissance like? Did you fight in the Crusades? Did you witness the birth of America?” I wanted to know everything.
Everything had been pleasant. She was easy to talk to, she had control of her natural charms and was able to turn them off so it wasn’t succubus and man, but man and woman talking. The consideration for my adoptive parents was very touching, and I made a mental note to use the fancy new phone to call them the first chance I got.
There was a click of a door opening just as I placed the last dish in the washer. I turned to find Venus had changed. The mom jeans were gone, and replaced with a pair of black shorts. They weren’t too short or too long, but it was impossible to hide her toned legs. She’d switched her cooking shirt for a V-neck T. There was a hint of cleavage that caught my eye for a second longer than was appropriate, but what was out of the ordinary was some belt contraption with a holder on her hip containing a bottle of something.
“Come with me,” she beckoned, and I followed.
She led me to a door and a room that smelled heavily of incense and oils. Candles decorated the furniture, providing the only light, and in the center was a massage table. I stopped only a few feet inside the door, but it was enough for Venus to shut it behind me. I didn’t hear the lock click into place, dooming me, but there was still no getting out.
“You’ve been stressed since you got here, Cameron,” she spoke in the same easy and relaxed tone she had all night. “Get under the sheets and comfortable. Call me when you’re ready.” With that, she disappeared into the attached bathroom.
The moment the door closed, I thought about making a run for it, “but what would that accomplish?” She’d been nothing but a gracious host all night, attentive, and kind. I’d look like a total ass if I ran. “You can do this,” I psyched myself up. “No means no.”
I removed my t-shirt and pants. I considered leaving my boxers on, but decided against it. That’s what the sheet was for. Completely disrobed, I quickly hurried to the table. The last thing I wanted was for her to walk out when my dick was flapping in the wind. Thank the gods she didn’t, and I quickly climbed under the sheet. I laid face down, and put my head in the little holder sticking out of the top of the table. As I eased into position, I noticed something that made me freeze. There was a hole in the table for my twig and berries to go through.
“Uh oh,” I gulpe
d.
“Did you say something?” the bathroom door opened, and I threw myself down on the table. My cock and balls slid smoothly through the makeshift glory hole, and I pulled the sheet tight as Venus approached.
“Relax, Cameron,” her voice washed over me and made my skin tingle. “I’ve been studying massage for hundreds of years. I even invented a number of styles. Her fingers sent shocks across my skin as she took the sheet and pulled it down to my waist; exposing my back. My heart rate subsided when she didn’t go any farther than that.
“I’m going to try several techniques on you. Let me know if the pressure is too much or too little.” There was a squirting noise as she pumped the bottle on her hip, and then her palms began to knead muscles I didn’t even know existed.
“Ohhh,” the exclamation was drawn out and involuntary as my head swam, and my mind felt like it had been dipped in honey. She worked her hands down my spine and I was completely enthralled. All I could do was let out little groans here and there as hundreds of years of experience went into calming my body.
“Do you want this?” she asked.
“Yes. So good,” I mumbled. My lips were tingling, so I couldn’t say more.
“It is no secret that energy moves through the bodies of humans and supernaturals in certain ways,” she explained. I didn’t even notice she’d rolled up the sheet to expose my leg and was working on my calf. “The Chinese speak of chi, and the Indians, chakras. They’re both right, but they only scratch the surface.” Now the sheet was only covering my ass.
“They’re only human, so they can’t comprehend what they’ve really discovered,” she was working her fingers across the bottom of my feet. I swore to the gods – the ones that weren’t rubbing me down – that I could feel it in my scalp.
“I’ve spent the better part of my very long life learning everything I can about how energy, life, desire, and power interact with different species,” she made slow circles on my hamstrings, dug her knuckles into the muscles, and it made my cock stir from its massage-induced slumber.
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