Page 67 of Oh No! There's an Incubus in my Hot Spring
He hums. “Thankyoufor dessert. The caramel was truly decadent.”
I chuckle, knowing he didn’t taste any of it, but that he did taste it through my reaction. This must have been a feast for him. So much of my pleasure is his now, but I don’t care.
I won’t get attached. I won’t make this hard.
I can let him go.
eighteen
Evaluating the Competition
Iwake with Apollo’s arm wrapped around my ribs, his hand pressed flat against the space under my breasts. I still don’t know if he sleeps, or if he just closes his eyes and lies down with me as long as I sleep. I hope he sleeps. I hope he’s not awake for hours on end, yearning for companionship, having none.
Except maybe Charlie. Does a rubber duck sleep?
“I do,”he says.“I guess that’s something you gave me. I dream, too.”
What do you dream of?I ask in my mind.
“Lots of things. Like maybe one day I could move on my own. Fly. Make noise.”
My gut twists. I gave sentience to a rubber duck that has no autonomy. I’m a fucking monster.
“No, no, no! Don’t think that, Syl! I’m so glad I’m alive, believe me! Being alive is so much better than not being alive, even when it sucks.”
My eyes burn and it’s only seven in the morning.
“Please don’t cry. I’m sorry I made you sad.”
I’m going to figure out a way to make you a real duck, Charlie. Just like I’m going to free Apollo. I promise.
“Aww, that’s sweet. But you know if I’m a real duck I can’t be hanging around here with you. Not the proper zoning requirements to have livestock, waterfowls included.”
What?
“Didn’t you read that in the listing? It’s an R-C1, my dude. No A. No agriculture.”
You’re notagriculture,I think with snark.
Charlie blows a raspberry.“Not right now, I’m not. But as soon as I’m a real duck, I’m not a pet anymore. I’m food. And I have an expiration date, and a body that will get hurt. No, being a plastic ducky has its downsides, but it certainly has its upsides too.”
Maybe I can figure out how to…do something for you. So you have more autonomy.
“That’d be great,”he says with a sigh that sounds like defeat. It hurts my heart. I made him real, and it’s my responsibility to make his reality better. I must do better for him. There will be some kind of magic Apollo can teach me to make it better.
Apollo shifts behind me, his morning wood pressing hard against my backside. “M-witch,” he murmurs, and I know he’s sleeping.
“Mmm,” he grumbles again. “Ate.”
I huff a laugh. Yeah, he ate for sure. After fucking me with his tail, we completely disregarded the dessert sitting on the table beside the door and he took me to the bedroom to feast on me. I got him to let me up for five minutes to brush my teeth andtame my hair, which was already getting wild from the humidity of this place, and then he was back to eating me as if he were starving.
I’m not even mad about it. I’ve been gettingmoredone somehow. It’s as if his distractions complement my need to be busy. Busy doesn’t always mean productive. I’ve taken more breaks with him than I would’ve on a normal day with Jason, and still, I’ve accomplished more than I think I ever have before. This renovation might not take us months after all.
But that does bring attention to the fact that I need to get going. Irene told me that Mark isn’t at Silver Mountain on Sunday. I want plenty of time to canvass the place and write down everything I see. I want to evaluate my competition, see where he’s failing, what he’s not serving to the people, and then bring that to my business. It’ll be easier to get my own clientele when I’m not fighting for his.
I pat Apollo’s arm and wiggle my butt. “I need to get up.”
He groans, pulling me tighter against him. “But I was having a wonderful dream.”
