Page 44 of Incubus

28

Lilah

I DARTED DOWNthe hallway and into my bedroom, thankful no one was around to see my walk of semi-shame. My room had been tidied while I was out, no doubt by Bart, and I spied a shiny set of daggers on my bureau.

Surprised, I stared at them, not entirely comprehending. They were handmade with intricately carved handles. A gift? There was no note, but I could only assume they were for me. They were a thoughtful present, and I couldn’t imagine the price for such filigreed and honed blades. I knew of only one who could afford such fine weapons – Roth. I picked one up and flipped it into the air. It came down smoothly, the grip fitting my palm as the length of the blade was perfectly balanced. These would come in handy. I replaced the dagger and padded over to my closet.

As I dressed I noticed I’d slept through the day, the sun barely making an appearance through my window. I didn’t mind. There was always better hunting to be had at night, and, of course, the moon called me. That silvery orb was my one link back to Artemis. Well, it had been until I’d found Roth. But I didn’t want to think about that right now. Couldn’t picture handing Roth over to Ares for only the gods knew what sorts of tortures. I pushed the dark thoughts aside and finished dressing, pulling on a fresh tee and some jeans and stashing one of my new blades in the side of my boot.

I was famished and headed downstairs to investigate the kitchen.

I passed Anne’s door, then had a thought, and turned around and knocked.

“Come in,” Anne called in a high, clear voice.

I nudged the door open and found the girliest room I’d ever seen in my life. Everything was pink—the bed, the curtains, the furniture—even the carpet was a shade of fuchsia. “Holy Hades. Is this blush or bashful?”

“I kinda have a thing for pink,” Anne said sheepishly, coming over to the door.

“I can see that.” My eyes rebelled against the monochromatic color palette. “I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for helping get me cleaned up. Roth said you helped. Though that may have all been a lie to make me not feel so squicked at being naked in his bed.”

“It was nothing, and Roth was a complete gentleman, by the way.” She gave me a cherubic smile, though the effect was stifled somewhat by the black pleather corset and thong Anne was wearing. Her mocha breasts were high and bare, her dark nipples standing at attention. I did my best to avert my eyes, focusing on Anne’s face, and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized Anne had said “Roth” and “gentleman” in answer to my question. I knew Roth hadn’t done anything too forward with me or I would have sensed it. But it was good to know he’d been telling the truth about the “no funny business.” Well, except for the funny business I had committed with him.

“He really seems taken with you.” Anne twirled a lock of auburn hair around her finger.

I shrugged. “I think he just wants to hit it and quit it. That’s his MO after all, isn’t it?”

“Hit it and quit it?” Her finger stopped mid-twirl.

“You sure are innocent for a…” The words died in my mouth before I could wedge my foot between my teeth.

Anne didn’t miss a beat. “My mom was a nymph.” She shrugged, her breasts bouncing jauntily with the movement. As if that explained it all. And it kinda did. Nymphs were known for being extremely open with their bodies and sexuality. It was like breathing for them. “I’m not exactly innocent, but I am fresh from the Underworld. Once my immortality set in, I got the itch to explore life with mortals, so I came to Paris. Then I met Corinne and Roth. They’ve been great. I’ve never been happier.”

I examined my feet. “And you don’t feel like Corinne and Roth, you know? Like they sort of—”

“Take advantage of me?”

Anne caught on quick. She rested her dainty hand on my elbow. “Trust me. I’m here because I want to be here. Roth hasn’t laid a hand on me, though I wouldn’t have minded.” Her eyes went dreamy at the admission. “I’m mainly here for Corinne. She’s got some tricks a girl like me can appreciate, I can tell you. And since she’s a succubus, she needs more than Roth’s sexual energy to feed from. They could never only be with each other. They need an infusion of fresh heat sometimes, if you know what I mean. And I’m just the kitten to give it to them.”

Corinne was a succubus? It made perfect sense. No wonder Roth kept her around. They could give each other a dose of the sexual energy that was necessary for them to live—like rechargeable batteries. Which meant what? That he was trying to stop banging everyone in town and stick with one female? Yeah, right. And he’d chosen Corinne? Of course he had. She was the yin to his yang. They were a perfect pair. A jealous twinge sparked in my breast, and I cursed myself for even thinking of Roth as more than the manipulative sex fiend he was. Weren’t you the one groping him a second ago? Shut up, inner voice of reason!

“Hit it and quit it, huh? I’m definitely gonna start using that.” Anne tweaked one of her own nipples.

I recovered enough to pick the conversation back up. “Well, you’ll learn the slang in no time. I’ve been engrossed in the mortal world for the last hundred years or so. They tend to rub off, you know? I’ve become rather fond of pop culture.” It felt odd to admit, but I’d become somewhat comfortable with my life away from the slopes of Olympus. There were things I would miss once I returned to Artemis and my sisters. The impermanence of human life made them prone to greater flights of imagination and ability than many immortals seemed to possess, which gained my admiration. “Besides, it can be kind of fun. Down here, the world’s always changing. Not like living with Artemis on Olympus.”

During my time on earth, I had traveled quite a bit, seeing things I never could have imagined while living among my sisters. Devouring great literary works that were written after I was transported to Olympus was one of my favorite pastimes. I read plenty of the deep stuff, but had to admit my love of the Brontës was fierce. Even though their stories were about torrid romance, something I hardily eschewed. Sure, there had been men who showed interest in me—mortals and immortals I met during my work or when I was out and about—but I quickly rebuffed their advances. I became known as something of a spinster in Underworld circles, but that never bothered me. It was better that males avoided me, because I never had any interest in them.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t made a single friend in the century I’d been in the mortal world, preferring my solitary life over sharing it with others. Not even when I was encamped at Desmerada’s castle, surrounded by Underworlders and immortals like myself, did I ever open up to anyone or seek out companionship. Looking back, I realized all my time and effort spent on getting back to Artemis had closed me off from any sort of real connection to the world. But why would I want to make connections on earth or in the Underworld when I would leave them and never return, ever to be in the service of Artemis in the Forgotten Forest? It would be a waste of time, that’s why.Right? I shook off the troublesome thoughts. No one would stop me from getting back to my sisters—not Roth or Anne or anyone else.

Anne’s next question jarred me from my musings. “Wow. You lived with Artemis?” Anne’s eyes had grown wide with wonder.

I barely stopped myself from doing a wicked palm-to-forehead. I’d let my guard down and just given away more information in ten seconds than I had during my entire exile. Way to go.

“Anne, could you do me a favor and keep that info to yourself?” I said it all in a rush.

She winked. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.” Thankfully, my stomach let out an angry rumble before I could screw up any further.

---