by Anne Bishop
He blew out a breath, locked the door, and wondered what he was going to do with himself until it was time to try to sleep.
Then she came out of the bathroom and hesitated a moment before walking up to him.
“Sebastian.”
Looking at her, hearing the blend of hesitation and determination in her voice, was enough for the power of the incubus to unfurl inside him.
“Sebastian, I don’t know how to say this, don’t know how to ask….”
“Ask what?”
“I want to be with you. In bed.”
It would change things for you in a way that could never be undone. The thought was there, but he couldn’t quite remember why it mattered when he saw nerves and desire mingled in her eyes. No longer a rabbit, not quite a tigress. Woman. His woman.
He was too hungry, needed the seduction and the feast too much to turn away from what she offered.
But when his lips brushed hers, something besides the power of the incubus burned inside him, something bright and powerful. As his mouth softly devoured and his hands gently explored, that bright power tempered the incubus hunger into something he’d never felt before, something he craved and couldn’t quite name.
Then he took her to bed, finally to bed. And while he showed her the pleasures of sex, she taught him the mysteries of love.
Chapter Sixteen
Lynnea glanced at the closed bathroom door as she laced up her shoes. Sebastian had been amused by her reluctance to get dressed in front of him. After all, he’d pointed out, he’d seen her naked—and she’d seen him. But that was a different kind of naked, and getting into her underwear while he lay back in the rumpled bed with the covers barely covering his interesting bits was more than the newfound tigress inside her could handle. So she’d grabbed her clothes and scampered into the bathroom to dress in private.
Since she’d expected to find him dressed when she came out of the bathroom, which was how things had worked since they’d started sharing this room in the bordello, she’d been surprised to find him lounging in bed, still rumpled and naked. And looking so delicious she wanted to lick his skin just to have another taste of him.
Whatever he’d seen on her face had made him smile, push back the covers, gather up his clothes…and stroll into the bathroom. The look he gave her before he closed the door made her want to hit him—or drag him back into bed.
“Idle hands give the mind time for mischief,” she muttered as she looked around the room for something to do. She looked at the bed, hesitated, then squared her shoulders. It was just a bed. It wasn’t any different now than it had been when they’d just slept together.
Except it was. As she smoothed out the sheets, she remembered the feel of his hands on her skin, and the way his skin had warmed as she touched him. The delicious tugs in the belly when he suckled her breast. The way he’d caressed her with his fingers until she was drowning in sensation and didn’t care if she ever surfaced.
The joining had hurt, and that had dimmed the pleasure—until she’d fallen asleep and slid into the dreams.
The bordello, the room, the bed—and Sebastian. This time the dreams didn’t stop with hugs and long kisses. This time the dreams seemed more intense, more…real. He seemed more real than he’d been in the other dreams. He’d done all the things he’d done to her earlier, but now she knew what a man felt like when he was hard and hungry. And instead of pain when his body slid into hers, there was pleasure—waves and waves of it, cresting and receding as one dream faded, rising again as the next dream filled her, and she and Sebastian did things she couldn’t even think about now without blushing.
But her body responded to those memories, producing a fluttery feeling in her belly and a wet heat between her legs.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jolted by the sound of his voice, Lynnea turned. Sebastian stood close to her. He was dressed, but he hadn’t bothered to button his shirt, and she found that glimpse of bare skin more disturbingly sensual than if he hadn’t put on a shirt at all. “What?”
“You’re hugging a pillow.”
“What?” When he just smiled at her, she felt her face heat. “I was just thinking about…about…”
“Pleasant dreams?”
“No, I—” She stared at him. Remembered the bits and pieces she’d heard about incubi and how they usually linked with their prey. “You…You can see my dreams?”
He took a step closer. “Only when you invite me in. And you did invite me in, sweet Lynnea.” Something hot and hungry flashed in his eyes.
Oh, gracious. She was going to have to think about this.
Turning away from him, she set the pillow in its place and began straightening the covers. “I should be at Philo’s soon. I don’t want to be late for my first day of work.”
“And I need to make a circuit around the Den to check the bridges.” Silence. Then, “Miss me a little, all right?”
Wondering what kind of teasing reply women were expected to make in response to that kind of request, she gave the covers on that side of the bed one more smoothing brush of her hand before she looked at Sebastian—and felt the ground shift under her feet.
Nothing hot and hungry in those green eyes now. Just vulnerability…and yearning.
Had anyone ever missed him? Not the incubus and the sex he provided, but Sebastian the man? Had any woman ever welcomed him simply because she was glad to see him?
He needs me. Her heart filled with the wonder of that discovery.
Closing the distance between them, she said, “I’ll miss you more than a little.” Then she slipped her hands under his shirt, wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his shoulder.
A moment of stiff hesitation as his mind and body translated the feel of her against him as affection and not prelude. His arms came around her, pulling her closer. He rubbed his cheek against her hair. His body relaxed, and his sigh of contentment was the finest sound she’d ever heard.
“You have to go,” he said. “Philo will be waiting.”
“Yes.” But she didn’t make any move to let go of him.
He was the one who finally eased back. “Lynnea?”
“Yes?”
He brushed his lips over hers. “I’ll miss you, too.”
Koltak and Captain Dalton studied the two planks of wood across the narrow creek.
Dalton swore. “A bridge this close to the city, and no kind of marker to indicate where it leads.”
“That is not the nature of resonating bridges,” Koltak replied, but so softly it was more a thought voiced for himself. Oh, plenty of times, if you kept your mind focused, you could cross over a resonating bridge and reach a particular destination. But there were other times when the bridge ignored the will’s intent and resonated only with the heart. When that happened, a person could end up anywhere.
“I know that,” Dalton said. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He paused. “Well, it’s your decision, Wizard Koltak. Our orders are to wait for you on this side of the bridge and give you escort back to the city.” He looked over his shoulder at the city still visible in the distance.
Koltak shivered. It was a sensible plan. After all, he couldn’t go into the Den with armed guards. But he didn’t want to cross that bridge alone, not knowing what was on the other side.
Maybe Dalton sensed his hesitation, or maybe it was a standard move whenever a bridge had to be crossed.
“Faran,” Dalton said, “cross over the bridge with Wizard Koltak.” He looked at Koltak. “If the bridge crosses over to a daylight landscape, Faran will report back and the rest of us will cross over to continue providing escort. If it’s a dark landscape, he’ll simply come back to this side and wait with the rest of us.”
And I’ll go on alone, in unfamiliar land, to find a man I’d rather not set eyes on. But if this works, it will be the last time I have to see him—and my place in the council will be assured.
“Faran will lead your horse over those planks,
” Dalton said.
Koltak watched the guard dismount, hand his reins to a fellow guard, and rummage in his saddlebags before approaching Koltak with a small lantern in one hand. “What about his own horse?”
“He won’t need it,” Dalton said. “He’s just crossing over with you and reporting back.”
Faran stood at the horse’s head and looked up at him, waiting.
Koltak closed his eyes and focused his will. I need to reach Sebastian. I need to reach the Den. Keeping his eyes closed, he nodded to indicate he was ready.
He felt the horse resist going over the planks, heard Faran’s murmurs of encouragement and command. Feet and hooves on wood. Barely enough length for man and horse to stand on the planks at the same time. But he couldn’t think about that, couldn’t think about anything but what he needed to achieve. I need to reach Sebastian. I need to reach the Den.
The horse shied. Koltak opened his eyes and grabbed the saddle to keep from being thrown. Faran ran with the horse for a few steps before bringing the animal under control.
“Easy, boy,” Faran said. “Easy.”
“What happened?” Koltak demanded.
“Something spooked him just as we crossed to this side of the bridge, but I didn’t see anything.” Faran looked around. “Land looks a bit different here. I’m thinking we’re not close to Wizard City anymore.”
“No, I don’t think we are,” Koltak replied.
“So we missed the mark?”
He shook his head. “Despite the daylight, this is a dark landscape. They feel different.” He just wished he knew where he was. But somewhere in this land, there had to be a bridge that would lead him to the Den. There had to be.
“No roads here,” Faran said. “How will you know which way to go?”
Sebastian. Sebastian. Sebastian.
He gathered the reins and turned the horse’s head without conscious thought. “I’ll have to follow my heart.”
“All right, then.” Faran stepped away from the horse. “I’ll tell Captain Dalton you’re on your way. We’ll be waiting for you on the other side of the bridge.”
Koltak nodded, banged his heels against the horse’s sides, and set off at a rough trot that promised to bruise more than his pride.
It would be over soon. He wouldn’t fail the council. All he had to do was keep his will focused on finding what he didn’t want to find.
Sebastian. Sebastian. Sebastian.
Faran shook his head as he watched the wizard ride off. Not a horseman, that was for sure. He just hoped the man was fit enough at the end of the journey to do what needed to be done.
No point lingering here. And truth to tell, something about the place made him uneasy, even though there wasn’t anything around him that looked dangerous.
His steps slowed as he neared the bridge.
But something had spooked the horse.
He started to draw his short sword, then hesitated and pulled out the long knife tucked in his boot. As he straightened up, his eyes caught a movement barely a stride away from the planks and off to the side. Had the ground shifted a little, or was it just the air stirring the grass?
He moved toward the bridge, setting each foot with care, unable to shake the feeling that something was waiting.
Nothing stirred. Nothing moved.
Clear your mind, he thought. Get back to Captain Dalton and the fellows. Cross over the bridge. Wizard City, Wizard City, Wizard City.
He turned to face the bridge straight on. Lifted a foot to set it on the planks of wood. A few moments more and he’d be safe.
It burst out of the ground, all legs and jaws. A familiar shape, if it had been the size of his thumbnail, now grown into a nightmare.
He screamed as it grabbed him and bit into his leg. He went down hard, his legs already numb from the venom, but he held on to the knife. Before the nightmare could pull him into the tunnel beneath the trapdoor, he reared up and, using both hands and what strength was left in his arms, drove the knife into the spider’s head.
Its legs flailed and its jaws bit deeper as the creature died. Then it lay still.
Panting, sweating, Faran turned his body as best he could. If he could stretch out his arm, he could reach the bridge. Had to reach the bridge. Had to get to the other side. Help was across…the…
Lynnea hummed a little tune while she cleaned off a table. She’d done pretty well for her first day of work. True, she’d forgotten part of one order, but she’d made up for it by calming down a bull demon bellowing for food.
Grinning, she wondered if she’d get to be the first to tell Sebastian about the new addition to Philo’s menu: the Sebastian Special. Who would have guessed a vegetable omelet could impress a demon?
She took her tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen, gave Brandon a cheerful smile, since he was the one stuck with the washing up, grabbed another tray, and headed back out to the courtyard to clear off another table.
Despite the Eater of the World being loose in the landscapes and the very real possibility that terrible things could happen in the Den, she had never been happier. She had work she found interesting, she was with a good man who was also an incredible lover, and—noticing the blond man across the street, she smiled—she was making friends.
The Den wasn’t the place she would have picked if she could have chosen a landscape, but here she’d found all the things she’d yearned for, so it had turned out to be the right place for her after all.
She picked up the full tray, then waited for Teaser to cross the street so she could tell him she needed a few more minutes to finish up before she could go back to the bordello. She’d promised Sebastian that she’d stay at Philo’s until he or Teaser escorted her back to the room.
Problem was, there wasn’t anything to do when she got there. She wasn’t used to having idle time, and it seemed wasteful to sit and do nothing. Well, she’d just have to think about what skills she had and how she could make use of them. If she could find the supplies she needed, she could knit some scarves. The Den’s visitors would have no use for such simple things, but the residents might appreciate them when the weather turned cold. If it did turn cold. She’d ask Teaser as soon as he…
She watched a woman walk up to Teaser, watched the body language that plainly indicated a flirtation—or something more—was going on between them.
Watched him walk away with the woman without so much as a glance in her direction.
So that was how well promises were kept in the Den.
He’s an incubus. This is what he does. I suppose it’s silly to feel hurt that he chose to go off with a bed partner instead of keeping a promise to me…or Sebastian.
“Isn’t it time for you to be going?” Philo asked, glancing in her direction when she brought the tray into the kitchen. “I thought Teaser was coming for you.”
“Apparently not,” she replied, just sharply enough to have him turn away from his pots and pans to look at her.
She shrugged to indicate it was nothing. “Got more customers. I’ll take the order.” She was out of the kitchen before Philo could ask any questions.
She’d just taken the order and was heading back to give it to Philo when Teaser walked into the courtyard, rubbing his hands and looking gleeful.
“You ready to go?” he asked. “Or do I have time for a bowl of whatever Philo’s serving?”
“Finish your business so soon?” she replied tartly.
“Just in time, I’d say. Was down at Hastings playing a few hands of cards while I waited for you. Won the last hand, scooped up my winnings, and said I had to be off to give Sebastian’s lady an escort. Bull demon at the table didn’t even bellow about me leaving before he had a chance to win a few coins back. He just rumbled, ‘om…e…let good’—whatever that means.”
Lynnea stared at him. “Teaser, I saw you just now. You went off to the bordello with a woman.”
“Didn’t.” He looked baffled and a little hurt. “Said I’d be here, and here I am.”
“But I saw you.”
He shook his head. “Must have been someone else.”
“There’s someone else in the Den who looks just like you?”
“Wasn’t me. Although…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hastings said he saw me in the tavern a couple of days ago making time with the succubitch, which is a load of horse…stuff, since he knows I can’t stand her.” He turned and looked in the direction of the bordello. “But he also said no one has seen her since then.” He looked back at Lynnea. “Come on. I’ll take you to the room. Then I’m going to see what I can find out about this…twin…people have been seeing.”
“All right. Let me give Philo this order; then I can go.”
As she started to walk away, Teaser grabbed her arm. “How much did this other fellow look like me?”
She hesitated, more because he seemed upset than because she wasn’t sure of what she’d seen. “Well,” she hedged, “he was across the street, and he wasn’t directly under one of the lights, so I could have been mistak—”
“If he’d come over here, would you have gone with him?” Teaser demanded.
A chill went through her as she stared into his blue eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “I would have gone with him, thinking he was you.” And if the man she’d seen wasn’t Teaser, what might have happened to her once she was away from Philo’s? There were plenty of dark alleys where she might have been taken and…hurt.
She knew two women had died in the Den before she’d arrived. Sebastian had told her about them. That was one of the reasons he didn’t want her walking around alone.
“I have to give this order to Philo,” she said, holding on to something simple and ordinary. As soon as Teaser released her arm, she hurried to the kitchen. She must have looked as shaky as she felt, because both Brandon and Philo stopped working to stare at her.
She ignored the stares, gave Philo the order, and told him she had to go now.
“Teaser is here?” Philo asked.
“Yes.” But was she certain the man waiting for her was Teaser? She’d met the incubus only a few days ago and didn’t know him that well.