Try Me

by Parker Blue

  "What does a shadow demon do?” That part wasn't clear to me at all.

  "We act as a conduit, to allow the energy to cross the boundaries of the dimensions. You remember how I pulled energy to heal Dan from one of them?” At my nod, he added, “That's what I do."

  "So, there are other kinds of energy?"

  "Yes. Many kinds."

  His voice sounded final, discouraging me to ask more questions. But when had that stopped me before? “Like what?"

  After a long pause, he said, “I'd rather not discuss it."

  "Bad?"

  "Yes, some are very bad."

  And that proved what kind of a guy he was, that he hadn't allowed himself to use any of that, only the good energy. At least, that was all I'd seen him use. “What about this world's energy? Do you take some from here and send it to the other dimensions?"

  "Every time I take energy from somewhere else, I exchange it for some here, to keep them in balance."

  That made sense. “What kind of energy? And what does our energy do for them?"

  "This world is very solid, or at least that's how it seems to me. I exchange that stability for things in the other places that we need."

  "What if—"

  "Please, Val, I'd rather talk about us, about what's going on between us."

  "Sorry,” I muttered. “But you're fascinating, you know?"

  He kissed the top of my head. “You, too. But I'd like to know how you feel about me, about what Micah wants me to help you with. Is it . . . repulsive to you?"

  "No, of course not.” Hating that I'd put that uncertainty in his voice, I hugged him then flipped one of my legs over his so I could straddle his lap. Clasping his face between my hands, I said, “How can you think that? Couldn't you tell how much I enjoyed what we did the other day?"

  He looked baffled and still a little hurt. “I thought so, but you've been avoiding me . . ."

  And he looked so lost with those big sad puppy dog eyes, I couldn't resist kissing him. I tried to press my mouth to his, but I was still new at this, so I ended up smooshing our noses together. “Oops.” Oh, yeah, what a seductress.

  "Try again,” Shade murmured.

  He tilted his head one way, I tilted the other, and we fit together perfectly. I intended to give him just a short kiss and pull away, but Shade put his arms around me and I melted into him. The kiss went on and on, and when I tried to pull away for a breath of air, he slipped his tongue inside my mouth.

  Oh, yeah. Now Lola was perking up and percolating in all the right places. But I didn't want this to be about Lola. I wanted it to be about me, the human me. Shade's hands roamed my back and we explored each other's mouths for a while until I felt too shaky to go on.

  Pulling away, I collapsed next to him and tried to still my frantically beating heart as well as Lola's raging hormones. Oh, my. “Did that feel like I was repulsed by you?"

  "No . . . “ Shade pushed me gently down on the couch and pulled me into his arms until we were lying entwined together like one huge knotty being. I hoped he couldn't hear the fast thud-thud-thud of my heart against his chest. I didn't want to come across like some huge, inexperienced doofus or something. But this felt so special, so very right. I wanted to lie with him here forever, just like this.

  "Okay, if you weren't disgusted, why were you avoiding me?"

  I sighed. Truth time. And it was a little easier now that my head was lying on his chest and I couldn't see his face. “I'm still trying to understand what it means to be part lust demon, Shade. It's like my body is all gung-ho about experiencing all the lusty pleasures of life, but my mind and emotions haven't quite caught up yet."

  "You mean you're not ready yet to uh . . . do the full Monty?"

  I chuckled but nodded into his shirt, feeling embarrassed just talking about it.

  He squeezed me tight. “That's okay, love. I don't expect you to."

  Oh, wow. This was so totally stupid, but when he called me Love, I about melted into a big puddle of goo. Thank heavens Fang wasn't here to laugh at me. “You don't?"

  "No. I know you're not ready yet. Losing your virginity is huge for a lust demon."

  I sighed. He did understand. “Yeah."

  "Of course, I don't really like waiting,” he teased. “But I will. You're worth it."

  Oh, my. Every time Shade opened his mouth, he made me feel even more special. Was this the perfect guy or what? But I didn't get it. Here was this totally hot guy who was nice, sweet, understanding . . . and could have any girl he wanted. Why me?

  I didn't realize I'd said that last part aloud until Shade responded. “Why not you? You're strong, passionate, loyal . . . and really, really cute."

  I wrinkled my nose. Cute. I'd never expected to be called that.

  "Besides,” he added in a softer tone, “you see me. Not the shadow demon, not the freak with the whirling interdimensional energy occupying his skin. You see me."

  Oh. I felt all proud of myself, yet embarrassed that I felt that pride. “Well, you're something special,” I assured him. And I knew quite well what it felt like to be treated like a freak. Speaking of which . . . “Uh, that reminds me. I kinda mentioned you to my mom."

  "You did?” For some reason, that made a huge grin split his face.

  "Yeah, and she wants me to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner."

  He turned all still and quiet. “And you don't want to?"

  "Of course I want to. It's just that . . . I'm not sure how they'll treat you. It might not be a great holiday."

  He relaxed. “I know your family is important to you, and I'd like to meet them. Don't worry about me. I'm used to dealing with people's reactions to my weirdness."

  I sighed—might as well face the inevitable. “Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

  "I won't.” He paused and ran a finger down the side of my face. “So you won't mind me helping you with your . . . with Lola?"

  "No . . . but for now, can it just be you and me? She doesn't need you right now, but I do."

  "Of course.” He lifted my chin with his finger to bring my mouth to his.

  We kissed softly and I lay my head back down on his chest as we snuggled. This was so nice, so peaceful. I resolved to relax and enjoy it while I could. Soon enough, we'd be back to hunting thieves, staking vampires, and soothing angry demons.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Eighteen

  I woke in Shade's arms sometime late the next morning when Fang poked me in the side. GET UP, SLEEPYHEAD. TIME TO FEED YOUR FAITHFUL HELLHOUND.

  I AM HUNGRY, TOO, Princess added. NOT DOG FOOD. I WANT GWEN FOOD.

  "All right, all right.” I disentangled myself from Shade and got up stiffly. It had felt nice lying in his arms all night, but the uncomfortable couch was no substitute for my own bed. Groaning, I staggered to the kitchen as Shade turned over and threw his arm up over his head.

  I opened the refrigerator and surveyed my options. Hellhounds could eat anything without repercussions, but they preferred protein. Since bacon and eggs were something I knew how to cook, I put them on the stove. I was nowhere near as good a cook as Gwen, but at least it was edible, and the two hellhounds didn't complain.

  The smell of bacon cooking woke Shade, and he joined us for breakfast. It was strange watching him eat. His food disappeared into the constantly moving boundaries of his face, but it was impossible to make out where his mouth was. I wondered if all the food he ate ended up in this dimension, or if some ended up somewhere else. If it ended up elsewhere, did that mean it was exchanged for food there? Ew. Ick. Didn't even want to think about that.

  Neither of us were morning people, so we ate in silence for awhile until Shade said, “I haven't been to my place in awhile. I should probably go home now that I'm feeling better and we don't need to test anyone else.” He stretched. “It'll be nice to sleep in a real bed again, too."

  I nodded. I could understand his wanting to go home. And too much togetherness could be a bad thing. I did
n't want us to get on each other's nerves before we'd even started a relationship. At least I hoped that's what this was.

  He stopped eating for a moment. “Are you working tonight?"

  "No.” Realizing he didn't know what had happened the night before, I told him about the store, the warning messages, and Dan's suggestion to take some time off.

  "Then would you like to do something together?"

  Absurdly pleased by the thought of a real date, I said, “Sure. But can you . . .” I gestured at his general swirliness, which would make it difficult to appear in public.

  "Not easily. But I thought we could go to my place or stay here, rent a movie, and order in."

  I smiled shyly. “Sounds good. Why don't you come back here? I'd like you to be near Gwen when she's home, just in case."

  "Cool.” He rose and took the dishes to the sink, and even rinsed them off and put them in the dishwasher. He was well trained, too. “Where's your cell?"

  I pulled it out of my pocket. “Here. Why?"

  He took it from me. “To program in my number.” He pushed some buttons then handed it back to me. When our hands touched, I saw a smile flash across his face. “In case you need to call me."

  Did it make me a total dork that I thought that was incredibly cool and sweet, a real boyfriend-like thing to do?

  He kissed me on the cheek. “See you later."

  The two hellhounds, who had been dozing under the table after their meal, raised their heads. I WANT TO BRING FANG WITH US, Princess said. SHOW HIM MY HOME.

  I glanced at Fang. “It's up to you. We won't be working today, so you're free to do whatever you want."

  I GUESS I'LL DO WHAT PRINCESS WANTS, THEN.

  He didn't sound all that thrilled, but the alternative was hanging out around here, waiting for trouble to come to us. Not exactly exciting. “Can you get them both on your Ducati?” I asked Shade.

  "Actually, Micah took my bike home and brought back my car, so it should be no problem."

  "Okay, good.” Though it seemed strange that I didn't even know where he lived or what kind of car he drove.

  The rest of the morning, I spent more time than I would like to admit daydreaming about Shade, but that wasn't productive, so I decided to get something done.

  It took hours to read through everything Rick had given me on my ancestors. On my mother's side, I didn't find anything out of the ordinary at all. My father's side was a different matter. There wasn't a lot, mostly birth and death certificates, along with a family tree and some newspaper clippings, including obituaries.

  Weird. The Shapiro lust demons didn't reproduce much. My great-grandfather was the full incubus demon in my family. He died at an unspecified age, estimated at twenty-five, and was killed by a jealous husband whose wife he had seduced. The obituary suggested he was a philanderer and the world was better off without him. His origins were unknown, and he didn't have any known family except for his only child, my grandfather.

  My grandfather wasn't quite as bad, being only half incubus, but he was no saint either. He was widely known as a Casanova with the ability to charm any woman into bed. He died at the age of twenty-seven, killed by the father of a girl he seduced. He also had only one child—my father. And my father, of course, died at the age of twenty-three, having killed himself. He had only one child—me. No one commented on their unusual strength, speed, or healing powers, and the women in that line were totally normal except for carrying the offspring of incubi.

  Confused, I set the papers down. Could I have more than one child? Did I want one at all? More importantly, should I try? I was too young to think about it yet, but I might want children some day. Having a child who was only one-sixteenth incubus or succubus didn't seem too awful, but what if I ended up marrying someone like Shade? What would happen if two different kind of demon genes mixed? A shadow lust demon? I wouldn't want to inflict that on any kid. Better look into birth control, fast.

  Then again, would I even live long enough to have a kid? Life expectancy wasn't very long in the Shapiro demon line . . . Was this a curse of the Shapiros? To die an early death because of the demon inside them?

  No. I wouldn't accept that. If my demon side was almost too strong for me to handle, imagine that doubled, quadrupled . . . No wonder my ancestors succumbed to the incubus within. Their deaths were a natural consequence of their inability to keep the demon zipped inside. Besides, hadn't Micah's father lived into his forties? Micah had never said what he died of.

  Gwen said I could use her computer whenever I wanted, so I checked out the Internet. Lucas Blackburn's obituary said he'd died in a car accident at the age of forty-seven. Nothing supernatural about the drunk driver who'd killed him, and I couldn't find any mention of anything peculiar about Lucas anywhere else on the Internet. He knew how to keep his demon under wraps and had taught Micah to do the same. Maybe I should listen to Micah's advice.

  Sighing, I pushed away from the computer. Another dead end. Frustration seemed to be the rule in my life lately. Frustrated in finding out where my extra abilities came from, frustrated in finding the books or the thief who stole them, and frustrated in . . . well, let's just say Shade had a lot to do with that last one.

  My phone rang. Thank goodness—something to do. I answered it. It was Dan, checking on us, as promised. From the sound of the noise in the background, he was at the hospital. Since he didn't sound stressed, I assumed he was visiting Nicole again. I felt only a small pang of regret. Dan was better off with someone fully human, like himself. “Everything's fine here,” I assured him. We discussed the possibilities for a few minutes and Dan asked, “You're sure this Andrew kid isn't the thief?"

  "I'd like him to be, but Fang cleared him. It has to be someone else."

  "Maybe."

  "Hey, did the SCU forensics people find anything at the store?"

  "No. Too many members of the general public had passed through there, and there were no prints on the fire alarm."

  Well, crap. “Okay, thanks. I'll let you go.” I couldn't help but rib him a little. “Tell Nicole I hope she's doing better."

  "I, uh . . . oh, okay."

  He sounded embarrassed and a little guilty for spending time with her. Well, I wasn't above feeling a little pleasure at his guilt. Grinning, I hung up.

  Now what? I didn't have to stick around to wait for Dan anymore, and I wasn't sure what time Gwen would be home. I surfed the ‘net awhile, shopping for stuff to go in my room and spending way too much money. So I was really glad when the doorbell rang, hoping whoever was there would provide a cure for my boredom.

  Mood was there, her eyes glowing purple with distress as she supported Josh with one arm around his waist and the other holding his arm around her neck. His head lolled, and at first I thought he was drunk . . . until I saw the scrapes, cuts, and bruises all over him. “We need Shade,” she said, sounding as upset as she looked.

  I helped her half-walk, half-carry Josh to the couch. He collapsed there and groaned.

  I knelt beside him. “What happened, Josh? Who did this?” Had the thief targeted another demon?

  "Fault of . . . vamps,” Josh muttered.

  Oh, crap. “Do you know which ones?” I pressed.

  But the effort must have been too much, for Josh passed out. Mood looked stricken. “Someone beat him up yesterday. It's really bad, and he won't go to the hospital. I'm afraid he's going to die.” Her voice broke and the tears came, pouring silently down her face. She stared around the room. “Where's Shade? He has to heal Josh."

  "He's not here, but I'll call him.” This wasn't exactly what I pictured using his phone number for, but it was an emergency.

  When he answered, I said, “Shade, can you come now? Josh is hurt bad and needs your help"

  "I'm on my way."

  Tears stained Mood's face, making her black and purple eye makeup blotch and run. “It's okay,” I assured her. “Shade will be here soon."

  He must not live far away, because he knocked on th
e door within fifteen minutes. I let him and the two hellhounds in. Fang and Princess slipped out the back, Fang muttering something about being in the way and finding some squirrels to chase.

  I pointed wordlessly to the couch. Josh had regained consciousness, and though he couldn't—or wouldn't—tell us who had done this to him, he did open up enough to tell Shade where it hurt.

  "I'm afraid there may be some internal damage,” Shade said. “I can heal him, but it'll hurt quite a bit, Josh."

  "Can't . . . hurt more . . . than it does . . . now,” Josh gasped out.

  "Okay. I'll need someone to use as a template, so the healing energies know how a healthy body operates."

  "Me,” Mood said immediately. “Use me."

  "Are you sure?” Shade asked. “I'm only the conduit for the energy, but when you act as the template, you two will share a lot more than energy—thoughts, history, emotion. Are you ready to reveal everything about yourselves to each other?"

  Mood turned even paler and glanced guiltily at Josh. I understood that look. The poor girl had a huge crush on him, and he wasn't even aware of it. “I can do it,” I said softly. “I've done it before.” It wasn't fun, but at least I didn't have any secrets to keep from the guy.

  Josh recoiled, then grimaced at the pain. “No. Mood, please?"

  She stroked the hair back from his forehead. “Of course, Josh. I'll do this for you."

  Guess he didn't want to know the depths of the Slayer's heart. I couldn't blame him and, to tell the truth, it didn't hurt even a little to be unwanted. I just felt relieved that Mood was the one who would share everything with him.

  Shade had Mood sit in a chair next to the couch and he knelt between them. “I'm going to place my hand on the back of your neck,” he told them. “Are you ready?"

  They both nodded. “Try to stay conscious and endure it as long as you can,” Shade told Josh, then slipped his hands inside their collars to touch bare skin. He blipped into focus and I could tell when he started because Mood and Josh both stiffened. Josh's body bowed in agony and his mouth opened in a soundless scream. Mood looked stunned, apprehensive, and disbelieving all at once.