Page 81 of Oh No! There's an Incubus in my Hot Spring
I stand, the floor canting. Apollo grabs my elbow to steady me.
“Need help?” I ask, following her much less elegantly with Apollo at my side. Irene is used to drinking at altitude. I am not…
“I got it, just a sec,” she calls, closing the door behind her.
Apollo gently tugs my arm and I fall back against him. The warmth of his chest against my already heated skin makes me pant. His fingers splay over my belly, holding me in place against him as I wobble. The drag of his claws on the slip of my skin under my sweater sends a shiver down my spine and I groan.
“Oh, no,” he murmurs against my ear in mock apology. “That’s not what I meant to do at all.”
“Liar.” I swallow hard and take a step away from him.
He grins.
The door opens and Irene yelps out a curse. “Sorry,” she mumbles, coming toward the table with a box. “Forgot you were blue.”
I look back at Apollo. He’s more like slate gray, but whatever.
She starts unloading gear that looks like it’s for filming, another bottle of wine, and a game box with the title “Crude Questions,” while Apollo and I pick up the food littered across the living room.
“What’s all this?” I ask, pointing to the telescopic tripods.
“The sun will crest the mountains in four hours so we have some time to kill, and some time for you to sober up while we write lines. We’re going to record all over this place, get lots of content ready for the lead up to the launch and beyond. And then drink more wine and play games until we’re best friends because there’sno wayI’m not gonna be best friends with a badass witch and her demon boyfriend.”
Badass witch…
I chuckle as she lays the game plan out with so much confidence. I’m so glad I found her.
“Hey, are you going to tell her about me?”Charlie peeps from the counter.
Irene scowls. “What the hell was that?”
I chuckle as I get up and wobble toward the kitchen. “This is Charlie. I gave him consciousness by telling him all my problems.”
“Nice to meet you!”Charlie chirps as I set him down in front of Irene.
“A rubber duck,” she says, staring at him.
“Yeah, he’s my struggle ducky.”
She closes her eyes for a long time, then blinks them open rapidly. “Okay. Hi, Charlie.”
She’s taking this a lot better than I did.
Irene looks up at me with a resigned smile. “Any other surprises?”
I shrug. “I don’t think so.”
“All right, new idea.” She pats Charlie on the head. “This little dude is going to be the face of your social media.”
twenty-one
A Simple Gift
The crystal thrums between my fingers. I wind the leather cord around and around my hand, my leg bouncing on the brake pedal. I look up at the apartment door.
I have to give it to him.
We have to at least try, because I have no idea how long it’ll take me to be strong enough to free him. I don’t even know what the process is yet, that’s how woefully out of my league I know I am. So, this will have to do for now because I really want to go to sushi, and I want to go with him.
