Page 10 of The Succubus's Song

Finley’s stomach dropped as he finally understood the full meaning of what Mara and Emmett were saying. He swallowed thickly.

“They’ll come for me?”

Emmett nodded. “It’s a possibility, which means we need to plan for it.” Finley looked to Mara, who was agreeing with Emmett.

She looks beautiful when she’s mad. Finley’s thoughts were rather unhelpful as he tried to rationalize with his friends.

“So what do you want me to do? I can’t exactly stay in my house until you’ve figured out what to do with Mara’s family.”

“Yes, you can,” Mara quipped, her lips pressed into a firm line. She looked ethereal and deadly—a rare combination that had drawn Finley to her like a moth to a flame. When Finley agreed to go to the gym with Emmett that morning, he hadn’t expected getting to see Mara. Even though the circumstances were less than ideal, he still wasn’t complaining.

She looked like she’d been awake all night; not in a bad way—he could never think so—but she was dressed for going out. Mara’s eyes were feral, shining a bright shade of red that haunted his dreams.

She’s hungry, Finley recognized. She must be starving herself again. He didn’t know why Mara had a contentious relationship with her family, but he knew she struggled with her appetites. Finley had offered himself to her one time, and Mara had nearly killed him simply for suggesting it.

“I can’t,” Finley insisted. “I have practice.”

“It’s pre-season,” Mara retorted, her hand going to her hip. “You can miss it.”

“That’s not how that works,” Finley scoffed.

Emmett groaned, letting his head fall back as he slumped in his chair, “This is way too much before I even finished my coffee.” He rummaged around in the desk drawer and pulled out a box of Walkers, popping an entire one in his mouth and washing it down with a swig of coffee. “Finley, for now, just be vigilant. Don’t go out to the pubs too late.”

“That’s it?” Mara chided. “He can’t simply ‘be vigilant’. You can’t put a human against a baobhan sith, Emmett.”

“What do you want me to do?” Emmett groaned. “He spends plenty of time with us, anyway.”

Finley watched as Mara’s face contorted in some unreadable expression. An unspoken conversation passed between Mara and Emmett, both looking disgruntled and exasperated by the end of it. Emmett had gone through several more Walkers biscuits by the time he threw his hands up in the air.

“Fine, fine,” Emmett snapped, pointing at his office door. “Have it your way, Mara. Now, go feed before I must shove my own wrist in your damn face.” Finley noticed there was no heat in his words, and Mara’s expression had softened considerably.

“Okay,” she acquiesced, a blush appearing on her cheeks. “I’ll talk to you both later,” Mara said her goodbyes as she slipped out the door, moving almost too quickly for a human to comprehend.

Emmett’s office was quiet for a few minutes while he caught his breath. Finley sipped on his coffee without saying a word, distracting himself with the myriad of ancient weapons hung up on Emmett’s office walls. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Did you two come to some sort of agreement?”

“Some sort,” Emmett snorted, finally picking his head up. “I meant what I said before. Don’t go out too late and try not to go home with anybody.”

Finley blushed and his eyes went wide.

I wasn’t expecting him to say that.

“Uh,” Finley stammered, “I wasn’t planning on… I mean. Sure, yeah, buddy. That won’t be a problem.”

Emmett gave him a knowing look. “‘Buddy’?” he laughed, and Finley groaned.

“It’s not going to be a problem,” he snapped again.

“Let me guess,” Emmett shook his head, “not since Christmas?”

Finley closed his eyes and bounced his feet anxiously. Emmett had become one of his closest friends, but he wasn’t foolish enough to not understand Emmett had been friends with Mara for centuries.

You’re having a kickass week, McEwan, he chanted silently.

“Not since Christmas,” Finley grumbled under his breath. He’d learned quickly that supernatural creatures meant supernatural hearing—and they could always hear him. “If you must know.”

Emmett looked at Finley carefully. “You know, you never did tell me what happened that night.” Finley sat up straighter, giving Emmett his full attention.

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