Page 13 of Moonlit Alexandrite

With a herculean effort, I wrestled back control and threw out a hand.

“Stop! Look, I’m sorry, ok? She is just really excited. And hard to control. Can we start over?” I flipped my extended hand over for a shake. “Hi, I’m Lex. Thank you for inviting me.”

His eyes narrowed and, by increments, his shoulders dropped until he relaxed enough to shift forward and shake what I’d offered. “Dion. Thanks for coming, I really appreciate your help with this.”

I had absolutely no idea what I was helping with, but the dude was far too skittish for me to ask too many questions straight up, so instead, I smiled and nodded politely.Don’t worry about me, I am completely unassuming and totally not hoarding a succubus who wants to ride your nightstick.

Just as I was feeling the strain of all the innocent smiling, Nephrite placed a tray of mugs in the center of our table. Dion thanked her and turned his attention back to me.

“Okay, so we have pumpkin spice, mocha, choc mint, and caramel latte. Which would you like to try first?” he asked, flashing his bright blue eyes up and stunning me for a moment.

I remembered the pumpkin pies my mother bought for thanksgiving, and it occurred to me it was a little odd to have that option in the middle of summer. I liked odd, and I knew that latte meant coffee, so the caramel thing was out, eugh.

My choice made, I picked up the cup he pointed out and the nutmeg scent hit me right away. The cup was gorgeous, and I realized a moment later that the stone buried in the mug's side, just below the Jewels logo, was actually an Alexandrite. I passed my hand over the gem and grinned as the stone shifted from ruby red to emerald green; the transition creating a purplish cast to the facets.

The loud rumble of a throat clearing brought my attention back to an expectant Dion.

Right.

With a small grin of apology, I took a large sip.

I managed to swallow half before spraying it everywhere like a poorly tapped keg. Panicked, I wiped my tongue on my forearm to rid myself of the taste, and as it faded, I snatched up a napkin to dab my upper lip free of the cream topping.

After all, we needed a sense of decorum in these things.

“Ugh. There’s coffee in this,” I groused when I had composed myself again.

“Of course there’s coffee in it. Why the hell did you agree to come and taste coffee with me, if you don’t like coffee?” Dion growled.

I wished he would stop saying coffee. Now that I’d had it in my mouth, it was all I could smell.

This caused my succubus to sulk about the missed chance for innuendo. Great.

I looked over at Dion and recoiled at the sight of the orange beverage dripping from the frame of his glasses onto his t-shirt.

His white t-shirt.

He removed his glasses, placing them neatly on the table, before using the hem to wipe his face clean. Needless to say, I nearly spontaneously combusted. I was a squirming, writhing hot mess, and not just at the sight of those incredibly lickable abdominals — despite the coffee — but also at the enormous erection straining his neatly pressed slacks.

“Um,” I said, my voice cracking with the sudden need that pulsed through me.

He paused his clean-up, as though only just realizing his not-so-little problem.

I mean, my succubus was screaming that we could help him out with it, but she seemed to be happy to cheer from the sidelines for once.

Thirsty bitch would usually be all over this, but something had shifted, and she was nervous. While I tried to puzzle through my other half’s change of heart, a low hiss registered in my ears. Dion’s eyes had narrowed to slits, and at his hairline, I could see small horns peeking out.

“What did you do to me?”

I frowned in confusion at the accusation in his voice. “Nothing. What are you talking about?”

“What did you do to me, succubus? I try to be nice to you and you hit me with some kind of spell?! Forget it. I will not be mating anyone, especially not you. Not. Ever.” His shout was loud enough to draw the attention of other patrons, while I sat in shocked silence as Dion pulled some cash from his wallet, slammed them on the table and left.

My jaw worked as I tried to process what the hell had just happened, but I was still none the wiser a few moments later when I was distracted by a gentle brush against my pant leg. Mocha. I slipped from my seat and onto the floor so he could sit comfortably in my lap.

“Do you have any idea what that was about?”

The cat rubbed his face against mine and purred as he settled against me, but he didn’t answer.

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