Page 37 of The Succubi's Choice

He shrugs off the compliment. “All I had to do was find a programmer who was willing to bargain.”

“Yeah, about that,” she says, feeling like she should have a wire or recording device or...something. Just by this conversation alone, they might’ve doubled the known facts about demons. “What's in a bargain?”

The look he gives her tells her he knows exactly what she’s doing.

“I mean, there’s all the mythology, and...”

The waitress walks past, meeting her eyes for a split second, before swinging away to talk to another customer.

Her mouth dry, Miri looks back at Not-Thomas. “You didn’t...brainwash her or anything, did you? Because that would be really rapey and I don’t like that.”

“All it took was suggesting to her that you were looking, she made all her decisions,” he says, which is not a proper answer. “I rarely brainwash.” Idle, as if this conversation means nothing to him, he drapes an arm over her shoulders, an oddly intimate contact.

Though the rest of him is definitely not, the body is human and despite the fact she just fed, her body wants nothing more than to lean against his. And she has to think he knows that, and is manipulating that.

“But you did for my handler, and he said they think you do it a lot.” Her heart’s pounding so loud he must be able to hear it.

“They think a lot of wrong things.” The way he says it, with such finality, makes her skin crawl, but she doesn’t shrug out of the strange almost-hug. “If they did research, if they actually studied what they thought, they would know that denying a succubi physical contact —outside of a feeding schedule—can have negative effects on their psychological make up.”

That’s nothing she didn’t know already. “That’s what this is about? Some sort of charity?” She doesn’t move. His arm is warm against the air conditioning, and…

...and she’s had a bit too much discomfort lately.

Again, he doesn’t answer her question. “You should come to my event, I’ll send you the information, it could be enlightening.”

“I still work for the Organization,” Miri says, because if this is something she has to report she wants the demon to know it and, you know, not get furiously angry at her later. “If this is something against it, I will have to speak up.”

He smiles, and it’s inhuman. “I’m counting on it.”

* * *

Outside,it’s much hotter, and Lundy’s still waiting in his minivan when she crawls in.

He starts the car without a word, and Miri keeps her mouth clamped shut for the ride home.

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