Page 43 of Accidentally Vacationed with an Incubus

“Of course,” he said smoothly.

His large, warm hand squeezed mine just slightly before guiding my arm to loop through his. His forearm was solid, the muscles beneath his skin taut and strong—and I did my absolute best not to focus on the way they flexed under my fingers. We resumed our silent walk, Devlin expertly leading me past the various obstacles littering the woodland path, adjusting his steps to keep me from stumbling.

Unfortunately, this was the longest I had ever been in sustained physical contact with any man since my succubus side had first awakened. And my sex-starved brain decided that now was the perfect time to start superimposing Devlin’s face into every filthy fantasy I’d ever had, playing them on a loop in graphic detail inside my head. My core clenched, heat pooling deep in my stomach, and it took everything in me to keep my scowl firmly in place. There was no way in hell I was going to let Devlin know what his touch was doing to me.

“This is nice,” Devlin said a few moments later, cutting through the very vivid image currently playing in my mind—the one where he pulled me into the forest, pinned me against a tree, and had his way with me. “Being able to touch someone without worrying that I’m going to send them into a lust-filled craze, that is,” he clarified.

I swallowed hard, immensely grateful that Devlin had actually stuck to his word and kept his senses dampened. Because if he could feel even a fraction of the utter filth currently looping through my brain, I doubted he’d be quite so obliging in escorting me home.

“Uh-huh,” I squeaked.

“Um,” Devlin said awkwardly, his grip shifting slightly against my arm. “I was meaning to talk to you about your thoughts on reenacting the upcoming scenes. They... progressively get more intimate, and I think it would be a good idea to establish boundaries before we begin.”

Boundaries.

Agreatidea.

Except that, in my current state, my body was screaming at me to have absolutely no boundaries whatsoever when it came to Devlin.

“Um, yeah, sure,” I said, my voice a little too high-pitched. “What do you think?”

He gave me a look. “I’m an incubus demon, Jen. We don’t really have many boundaries at all,” he said, like it should have been obvious. “I think it’s best if you tell me what lines you don’t want to cross.”

The twenty-seven-year-old virgin currently experiencing the most intimate touch of her life wanted to blurt out,To hell with boundaries! Let me experience every scene in full. Now.

But my last remaining brain cell pleaded with me to slow down. I had spent years believing I was waiting for one person. Would I regret not saving myself for my mate after holding out this long? Or... was my obsession with the Samhain summoning just a toxic cycle I needed to break?

And then there was Devlin, who had claimed he didn’t have boundaries, yet had very clearly put them in place. He was taking a break from being an incubus. He wanted something more, something emotional. And I had promised to help him find that.

But regardless of these budding, confusing emotions, my heart was still reserved for my mate.

And Devlin? He wouldn’t find love with me.

“How about we just... play it by ear?” I said, still unable to decide which voice in my head to listen to.

“Play it by ear,” he echoed, the dissatisfaction in his tone clear.

I nearly sighed in relief when I spotted the flickering candlelight from my cabin peeking through the trees. Finally,this agonizing conversation would be over. Except... it wouldn’t be. Because once we reached the cabin, we’d be reenacting the next scene of the book.

“Um, yeah,” I said, my mind scrambling for some kind of compromise between my warring thoughts. “Let’s just say that if either one of us feels uncomfortable with any of the scenes, we can just say ‘stop,’ and we will.”

The glow from the cabin was just bright enough for me to catch the amused smirk tugging at the corner of Devlin’s lips. “Traditionally,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing, “a safe word is somethingotherthan ‘stop.’”

“You’re the incubus demon—you come up with one,” I said.

Devlin hummed in thought, then, with unmistakable mischief in his tone, said, “How about ‘Yaba Daba Doo?’”

I snorted. “Absolutely not. I am not saying ‘Yaba Daba Doo’ in the middle of an intimate moment.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, struggling to keep a straight face. “How about ‘Yaba DabaDon’t?’”

I burst into laughter, and Devlin’s deep, rumbling chuckle quickly joined mine.

“Devlin, seriously,” I said between giggles. “Pick something sensible.”

He sighed dramatically. “You wound me, Jen. ‘Yaba Daba Don’t’ is an amazing safe word, and quite frankly, I’m deeply disappointed that you don’t appreciate my creative genius.”

I rolled my eyes as he lightly bumped his shoulder into mine.

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