Succubus on Top CHAPTER 6

One matter nigh on the job(p) in a bookstore is you cede immedieat access to print mediaNocturnal Admission is a treat for the senses, oneness of those rargon jewels that emerges from the dark obscurity of sm totally clubs and counterpoiseaurants. Of course, later experience nights per put to workance at the Verona, its un carely theyll be melting gaudy venues again. Nocturnal Admission is well on its way to be advance a household name non exclusively at the local level, nevertheless the national one as well.The opening staff and I oohed and aahed everyplace the c erstrt review in the Seattle Times, all of us clustering virtually the information desk, rereading our favorite quotes over and over. The writer had plaining provided a to the highest degree words of Dougs bio after several different lines praising his voice and onstage persona adding that he worked at a local bookstore. We wonderd that the nondescript reference al good some do us feel kindre d celebrities too.I allow them chat on a bit longer, reveling in my declare pride and plea authoritative for Doug, forward finally breaking things up. All right, kids, I hate to crack the whip, nevertheless I see customers at the door. They dust reluctantly, but I saw Andy smirking when he thought I didnt board him whispering just slightlything to Casey. The only word I caught was whip. Charming. One would think having a dominatrix reputation would at least make me a more than redoubtable potency figure, rather than a source of ridicule.And today, I was the only authority figure. Paige was out sick again, so I had to unofficially work dickens her job and my own. At least the staff was in practised form despite the late night, which made things easier.Casey seemed unaffected by last night, which I raise remarkable. Maybe it was the resilience of youth. After drinking and smoking that much, I doubted Id kick in a bun in the oven been in as good a shape as she was and I had the advantage of supernatural healing and re privacyy. My misgivings nigh Alec must have been premature, I decided, considering what a good mood she appeared to be in.She smiled every metre I saw her during the day and was constantly ready with a kind comment to customers and coworkers a the standardized. When I stopped by to remove something from a beside register, I seekd a customer ask her if she knew off strain whether his books would fundamental under twenty-five dollars or not. She flipped by means of the stack expertly and had an dissolver within ten seconds.With tax, $26.57. Put this one patronage, and youll be at $22.88. adjacent you can film without passing over.Did you do that all in your division? I asked her later.Dimples showed in her pretty cheeks. Im an accounting major.Yeah, but my accountant sure as hell doesnt do my taxes in his head.Of course not. But this stuffs easy.Doug came in at noon, much to the delight of the another(prenominal)(pren ominal)s. Practically strutting, he couldnt stop vaporing virtually the review and kept asking me if Id read such-and-such in the article. I had to assure him repeatedly that Id read it all.Like Casey, he too acted un go(p) by last nights partying. He worked and bounced around with what was becoming his trademark energy. Compared to the two of them, I felt downright curmudgeonly, not to mention inadequate. Sheesh. What were immortality and shape-shifting next to divine computations and dazzling stage performances?When I returned from my lunch break, he practically sprinted up to me. Kincaid, Kincaid you gotta help me out.Whats wrong?He inclined his head toward one of the registers. Alec stood tilted against it, flirting with Casey. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically at something he said.Alec came by to tell me he got us a major audition over at the good-for-nothing Gallery. We have got to go practice. Stat.Good grief. Slow down on the italics.Kincaid, I mean it You have to cover for me. No one,ll know I left. These guys dont care, and Paige and warren wont be in.How long do you need?The rest of the day.The rest of the thats overtaking away to be over twelve hours for me Besides, I cant close. Im going to a play downtown. readiness had in force(p) secured us some last minute tickets. accordinglystay as late as you can. Janice,ll worry closing.I hesitated. warren preferred that the manager or one of the assistant managers close, but Doug was right. Janice could handle it.Kin -caid, he begged. Please. I need this. You know I do.Doug had always been charming and irresistible. Something about him today particularly appealed to me. A master working another master, apparently. When I gave in to his pleas, he picked me up and spun me around in a most undignified way. Two minutes later, he and Alec left, and I settled in for a long day.When it finally neared its end, I felt certain the store would burn to the ground in my absence. Dragging myself aw ay at last, I drove downtown, found parking, and sprinted into the theatre just as the lights were going down. Breathless, I slid into a seat between stage set and his thirteen-year-old niece Brandy. On the other side of him, stage sets brother and sister-in-law waved to me.Brandy grinned. Shed been shy the first time we met but now seemed to regard me as the sure-enough(a) sister she didnt have. I love her too. If band and I ever split up, I wasnt sure I was going to be able to handle keeping away from his family.I didnt think youd make it, she told me, her features faintly discernible in the dim lighting. In days long past, people would have said she and her mother had sandlike h mail, but no one really used that term some(prenominal)more. Still, I always thought it appropriate when I saw that pale culture of gold.Just making a fashionably late entrance, I verbalise okay. Remember that when youre older. It keeps men guessing. Once they start presuming anything, theres no living with them.Brandy giggled. curing only smiled, but his eyes radiated approval, as he assessed me. I wore vino silk and had my hair in a French twist. His eyes, Id long since discovered, could be as eloquent and expressive as his pen. The messages they sent me now hardly seemed justly for a public setting. He bowel movementd his hand over to cover mine, so that two rested on my thigh, and as the night progressed, I found myself thinking more about that hand placement than the nice play.Afterward, he and I stood with his family in the lobby for a while, catching up. terrycloth and Andrea Mortensen were great people who always treated me with genuine kindness. From what Id learned of exercise sets antisocial habits, I think they regarded me as some sort of last rely for him. Brandy affirmed as much when she and I dashed to the restroom to write downher. dada told Uncle Seth not to screw things up, she informed me as we washed our give. He said even if Uncle Seth is fam ous, him getting a woman like you defies belief.I laughed and smoothed down the skirt of my dress. I dont know about that. I dont think your dad gives your uncle enough credit. Brandy gave me a sage flavor, worthy of someone much older. Uncle Seth spent last Valentines Day at a library.We returned to the lobby and spoke a bit more in advance Terry declared they needed to rescue the violatesitter whod been left with their other four daughters. Andrea touched my arm as they prepared to leave.Youre coming to Seths birthday party, arent you?I looked at all of them in surprise. When is it?Thanksgiving. They fall on the aforementioned(prenominal) day every once in a while.Its a good ploy to get turkey and presents, remarked Terry. He was shorter and more clean-shaven than Seth but otherwise bore a fair resemblance to his older brother.I didnt even know it was coming up. I shot Seth an accusing look.I forgot. For anyone else, that would probably have been a lie, but I believed him.So youll be there? Andrea again gave me the impression they were desperate to treasure Seths love life. I could have probably negotiated a stipend for presentation up.With bells on.Seth and I went back to his place this time. I shape-shifted into my favorite pajamas smock pants and a cami and crawled into bed with him. His bed was bigger than mine and had a feather duvet, as well as a teddy obtain named Damocles who wore a University of Chicago T-shirt.Still a little wound up, we talked in the dark about Emerald City for a while, then moved on to books in general. We had a vast array of familiar literature in our repertoire, and we jumped around authors and genres. We some(prenominal) admired Toni Morrison and Tennessee Williams. Neither of us could get through Anna Karenina. Seth hated Jane Austen, whom I adored. As we debated back and forth, I was sticking out(p) to be reminded we truly did have a lot in common. raise was not the only thing between us, even if it was the o nly thing that stood between us.At some point in the literary discussion, I began to drift off. The long day had worn me out, and sleep felt luxurious. Seth seemed tired too. He and I drew close, lying on our sides, legs touching. hit-or-miss thoughts verbalize in my head as unconsciousness tugged at me. How Aubrey was doing. Whether Paiges baby would be a boy or a girl. If Bastien was any nearer to bedding Dana. How in the world Dougs band had become so stupefying so quickly.I opened my eyes a couple hours later, unsure what had woken me. One of those weird, unseen things that suddenly break you out of sleep, I guessed. softened darkness unbosom enveloped us with no sign of morning in sight. A little moonlight filtered inside, casting funny shadows around the desk and other bedroom furniture. Unlike my place in Queen Anne, car merchandise here dropped off at night, so I heard only the sound of breathing and electrical humming.Then I noticed that Seth and I had moved our bodi es even nearer than before. Our legs wrapped around for apiece one other pretzel-style, our arms kept us close together. His scent fill my nose. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed his were open as well. profound pools of darkness. He was watching me.Still a little sleepy, I moved my hand up to his neck, twining my fingers in his hair, drawing my face closer to his. His hand rested on the small of my back where the tank top blush away from my flannel pajama goats. He touched the skin there just as he had at the concert, his hand sliding toward my side, tracing the kink of my hip before running toward my thigh. The fingers that beat such a immobile tattoo on computer keys were as delicate as feathers on me.My eyes never left his as we touched each other, and I swore I could hear my heart thundering in my ears. Then, despite some screaming voice in the back of my foggy brain, I pushed my gumshield toward his and kissed him. Our lips were tentative at first, as though surprised the y had gotten this far. We tasted each other, slowly and gently. His hand on the back of my thigh slid upward, and something about shy Seth Mortensen stroking my ass sent a thrill through me. A soft exhalation lodged in my throat, and as my tongue explored past his lips, desire more, he suddenly pushed me onto my back with an urgency that I think astonished twain of us. His other hand slid up under my shirt and cupped the bottom of a breast, and through his boxers, I could tell that more than just his hands and lips wanted this to progress.Then, ever so tenuously, I felt something else. A slight tingling. Angel-fine tendrils of prickly bliss slowly snaking through me, wrapping around me. Exhilarating. offend than any intoxicant Id ever experienced. Pure life, pure energy.It was delicious and tantalizing, another dimension of the physical pleasure we stood on the brink of. The fact that it was Seths was even more alluring. It had his unique essence written all over it. I wanted t o dive into it, close my eyes and forget all about being responsible while that sweetness filled me.But I couldnt. My resolve was weakening by the second, authorized, but I was still property on.Barely. I broke the kiss reluctantly, trying to muster my strength and move away from him. At the first sign of my struggle, he immediately let me go.I Im sorry, I said, sit up and putting my face in my hands. I rubbed my eyes as though waking from a dream, which in a manner of speaking, I was. We cant. Itit startedJust from kissing.It was a statement, his voice coming out husky with desire and sleepinessand regret. He knew better than most how lethal a passionate kiss could be Id almost killed him the last time. Of course, that had been an exceptional situation, and my near-death state had sucked away much more than a ample kiss conventionalismly would.Just from kissing, I repeated bleakly. It didnt take copulation for one person to give themselves up to another. There were no loophol es in this game.Tense silence crept in around us until Seth sit up as well and shifted his body away from mine. I could hear genuine pain and guilt when he spoke again. Im sorry about that. I dont knowmeant to have better control. But I just sort of woke upand I was fractional-asleepand thenI know, I whispered into the darkness. I know. And Im sorry too.More silence.I guess, he finally said, I should go sleep on the couchI closed my eyes, flavor terrible but knowing he was right. Wed been playing with fire by fooling around with this chaste-sleeping thing. It was a wonder something bad hadnt happened sooner. The more it sink in, the more I realized how much damage I could have caused. Hell, how much damage had I caused already by taking those few drops of life from him? A week off his lifespan? A few days? Even one minute would have been too much. sourness at the world, not him dripped from my voice when I spoke. No. Ill take the couch. Were at your place.Whatever. Leave me some remnant of chivalry.I didnt say anything, and we sat once more in awkward silence. A hundred questions hung in the air between us, but neither of us could broach them. Both our faults. When an steamy situation turned uncomfortable, I had a tendency to run from it or pretend it wasnt happening. And while Seth wouldnt exactly run away, he wouldnt tyro the dialogue needed to explore something like this. So we continued sitting there.At last, he stood up. Im sorry. Sorry for what I did.He blamed himself, which was usual of him but not fair, especially since I had technically touched him first. I should have said something then, told him it wasnt all his fault. But the words stuck on my tongue, held up by my own confused feelings. After a few more moments, he left for the living room.I lay back down, Damocles in my arms, but slept badly the rest of the night. When morning came, Seth and I ate breakfast in more tense silence hed finally made my pancakes broken only occasionally by stiff small talk. We then went to the bookstore together, parting ways quickly. I hardly saw him the rest of the day.Bastien was in the city for some reason or another that night, so he picked me up later and drove me over to his place for the crackbrained heist at Danas. When I saw the post-sex energy wreathing him, I knew what had brought him downtown.Dont you get tired of getting laid every day? I asked him, lack I could have gotten laid last night.Im going to pretend you didnt genuinely just ask that, Fleur .He then proceeded to ramble on about his various Dana sightings in the last few days, how chummy they were getting, how it could only be a matter of time before the inevitable.When I didnt really respond, he cut me a sidelong glance. Whats the matter with you? You look miserable.I sighed. I kissed Seth last night.And?And what?What else happened?Wellnothing. I mean, a little search here and there, but thats it.So?So, I shouldnt have through it.A dismissive look crossed hi s face. A kiss is nothing. Its not like you gave him a blow job or anything.Good lord, youre crass.Dont act like I offended your delicate sensibilities. And you know what Im talking about.Doesnt matter. I was weak. I got some of his energy from that. Fleur , I love you as much as Ive ever managed to love anybody, but this whole thing is absurd. Youre never going to be happy until youve fucked this guy, so just get it over with. Itll take away the whole forbidden attraction and allow both of you to get on with your lie ins. Get on with our lives? Whats that supposed to mean? I asked sharply.I mean half the reason you guys are so infatuated with each other is because you cant have each other. Its not love, but it is a normal human reaction, a catalyst for physical attraction. He paused and considered. Your maniacal infantile fixation with his books might also be a factor.Thats not true. None of thats true at all. Well, I mean, those books are good enough to be the rear of a religio n, but thats not the same thing. Thats not why ILove him? Hell. I still didnt know if I did or not. I wasnt even sure what love was after all this time.Bastien shook his head, not believing me but not wanting to argue either. Fine. Keep going with this. I still think you should fuck him, though. Even if it doesnt make you both realize youre better off apart, itll at least remove one source of tension between you and maybe let you attempt some sort of normal dysfunctional relationship.I stared bleakly into space. I cant. non even one night. Itd take years off his life. I couldnt live with myself.Bah. Only a handful of years at most. Whats that? Besides, men have done stupider things for sex with women they dont even really like. If he really does love you, he might think its a fair trade.I shuddered. I didnt think it was fair at all, but he was right about the silly things men would do for sex. Id seen and initiated plenty of them.We finally gave up both sides of the argument when we pulled into his driveway. The clock was ticking, and we had to start this operation. Bastien had watched Dana and Bill drive off earlier, and their young son had gone down the street to stay at a friends house. Shifting to be invisible to mortal eyes, Bastien and I crept out the back of his house and scaled the fence into Danas yard. It sort of made me feel like I was in a spy movie I half wished we could crawl under some motion-detecting lasers.They have a security system, I whispered to Bastien as I watched him pick the back doors lock. More reclaimable skills gleaned from long centuries. Being invisible isnt going to deactivate it. No problem. Ive done some invisible reconnaissance. I know the code.Sure enough, he punched it into the console once we were in the house, and the readouts red light turned grand.We started in the Dailey office, as that seemed like the most logical place to stash paperwork. Dana had a meticulous sense of organization that creeped me out, and we had to make sure we left everything the way we found it.Unfortunately, most of the stuff was completely useless. Memos. Efficient and in effect(p) budget reports. Invoices. fight releases. She had a lot of pictures too, which were at least more fun to look at than the papers. Most of them showed family or CPFV events. A number of the shots had Jody in them, which saddened me. I recalled the other womans sly wit and passion for art. Why would someone with any sort of intelligence want to get involved in all this?I didnt realize how active Jody was in this group, I remarked to Bastien. She wasnt so bad. Danas demoralize her.Danas a persuasive woman. Hey, did you know Jodys last name is Daniels? And her husbands name is diddlyshit?We giggled over that and continued searching a while longer before finally abandoning the office. We then ransacked neatly, of course any other cupboards or drawers we could find on the main floor. Nothing.Maybe there are secret panels behind paintin gs, suggested Bastien.Or maybe the pool-boy thing was a fraud, Danas honest with her business dealings, and theres really nothing else to get on her except that shes a prejudiced bitch.He rolled his eyes. One place left. The true sanctuary. The bedroom.I grimaced. Going into someones bedroom freaked me out. The ultimate violation of privacy. But Bastien charged on, still confident this wild goose chase would yield results.Fortunately, the bedroom had the neat, unfruitful look of a hotel, not the warm and sensual air of ones most intimate space. It made searching easier, like I was breaking into a vacant room. We sifted through drawers and closets, again finding little to go on.Eek I suddenly cried, staring into an open drawer. Bastien flew to me.What? What is it?I held up what had to be the most wholesome pair of granny panties Id ever seen. They were like great-granny panties. They were even white. You would have thought she could at least go out on a limb and get them in blue or green or something.Bastien elbowed me for my overreaction. How can you even act surprised after interview her rants about modest clothing?Modest is one thing, but deliverymanhow high do these things go? Up to her neck?Put them back. Weve got to Click. Wed both heard. I shot Bastien a panicked look and shoved the underwear back in the drawer. I thought you said His tone was grim. I know, I know. Someone had just entered the house.