Page 27 of The Succubus's Song

The sound of Finley begging Mara to bite him harder undid her. She had never fed off someone who was so eager. Baobhan sith were designed to overload their victims with pleasure so they didn’t realize they were dying, which typically felt like dealing with someone who was overdosing on heroin, not lust.

Mara bit down as hard as she could, her eyes rolling back into her head as she took a final deep drink. Before she even released Finley, they were both coming, their bodies tightening and trembling against one another as the scent of sex and sweat permeated the thick air. Finley came with a shout, his grip tightening on Mara’s waist, as Mara released her grip on his neck.

They fell back to the tile floor in a heap, neither of them able to move. Mara had no sense of time, but she eventually felt Finley’s arms tugging her towards his chest.

“Finley…” she started to protest, but he interrupted.

“We need to talk,” he mumbled, sounding drugged, “later. We’ll do it later. Let me just…hold you for a second.”

Mara said nothing, but her thoughts went wild as she lay on the bathroom floor, trying to remember the last time someone offered to hold her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mara didn’t know how much time passed before Finley slowly stood up and detangled himself from her. Her thoughts were all over the place, but above all else, she was disgusted by her total lack of self-control. She knew she shouldn’t have entered his apartment again, but she did it anyway. It did seem that Finley held some sort of power over her and her instincts. Even in the height of her hunger and lust, she listened to Finley. Her body listened to Finley.

“Cut that out.” Finley extended a hand out to Mara, a soft, adoring smile on his face. “I can see you overthinking from here.”

“We shouldn’t have done this again…”

“Stop.” Finley helped Mara to her feet, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’ll agree with you that we need to have a proper discussion about this. But it’s…” Finley checked a small clock on the counter, “a little past midnight, so let’s order some takeout first. I’m starving. Do you want anything or are you full?” Finley winked at her, and Mara’s thighs clenched.

Finley turned around to grab a washcloth, and Mara gasped. His back was absolutely covered in bright pink scratches. There were flecks of blood on his chest and shoulders, even if the bite mark on his throat was already rapidly stitching itself up. The bite of a baobhan sith possessed rapid healing powers, even if their victims were rarely alive to warrant it.

“Oh my god,” Mara buried her head in her hands, “what did I do to you, Finley. How can you even look at me—"

Finley turned around and pulled Mara’s hands off her face. She turned her head to try and avoid his gaze, but Finley caught her chin in his fingers and tilted it back towards him.

“Listen to me!” His voice was as serious as Mara had ever heard it. “Whatever you did to me, I liked it. Do you understand that? I wanted it, Mara. I wanted it so badly. This is now the second time that I’ve come untouched underneath you.” Mara blushed, and Finley looked almost angry. “I know you hate yourself and what you are, but I don’t. Stop pushing that onto me.”

Mara gasped, and an intense desire to dissipate and disappear through the window came over her. Finley let go of her chin and turned back towards the sink, gently wiping himself down and washing his hands. Mara shifted her weight between her feet, not knowing what to say as she sat in a stunned silence.

“For the record,” Finley sighed heavily, “I didn’t have a great day today. And seeing what I do to you, seeing how badly you want me?” Finley turned around to face Mara. His face was so open, Mara’s chest cracked in half. “It makes me feel better. I’ll take the pain, because seeing you so uninhibited brings me nothing but pleasure, Mara.”

Mara’s head emptied. She had no idea how to respond to him. Finley didn’t seem rebuffed that she had nothing to say. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and ducked out of the bathroom, presumably to get dressed. Mara sat in the empty room for a moment longer, trying to collect herself while she heard Finley ordering takeout.

You can’t keep doing this. You just can’t. The smallest inkling of hope had started to take form in Mara’s chest, and she was desperate to rid herself of it. She was a monster, who came from a family of monsters—a family that now posed an imminent threat to her home.

When Mara emerged from the bathroom, Finley was sitting on his couch, wearing only a pair of gray joggers.

Fuck me. Mara hissed internally, some of her hunger flaring to life again at the sight. Finley looked up and smiled at her, patting the spot next to him. Mara rolled her eyes and stubbornly sat down on the other edge of the couch.

“Ouch,” Finley chuckled playfully, putting his phone down and giving Mara his full attention. “I ordered some kebabs. I hope you don’t mind. It was the only thing open, and I figured everyone loves fries.”

“Of course I do,” Mara scoffed, pretending to look offended. “I’m not that inhuman.”

“I wouldn’t care if you were.”

“Stop doing that.” Mara stiffened and forced herself to look away from Finley. He didn’t respond and an awkward silence settled over the room. Mara chewed on her lip, a barrage of emotions trying to break their way out of her. She settled on the one thing that concerned her most.

“You said you had a bad day today,” Mara said quietly. “Do you want to talk about it?” Finley picked his head up and looked startled, as if he was surprised that was what she wanted to talk about. He fidgeted for a moment, and Mara took note.

I’ve never seen Finley look this uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to—”

“I don’t mind,” Finley interrupted her, taking a deep breath before his face fell. “I got pushed to B Team today.” Mara waited patiently for Finley to elaborate. It was obvious he was struggling, and while she hated the sight of it, she hated the notion that Finley wouldn’t be able to talk about it even more.

“Is that all?” Mara whispered, scooting closer to Finley and putting a hand on his thigh. “You’ll be able to come back from that, Finley.”

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