Page 16 of The Wickedness of Man

“That’s because my dear, you are hungry for it. Your body is not getting what it desperately needs. You are a beautiful, unbearably powerful being… and once you accept that, you’ll begin to blossom. You’ll know how you radiate; you’ll feel what others do when they look at you. You’re so beautiful, it’s painful not to have you.”

Tears stung my eyes. “No one thinks of me that way,” I whispered. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m not wrong. In fact…” she whispered, leaning closer to me, her lips brushing against mine. I could feel the heat of her against my mouth. “…it’s taking everything in me not to kiss you right now.”

Caleb

The office seemed ordinary enough, but on the ride up the elevator, I became suddenly, irrevocably aware of why our all-male team had been instructed to stay away from this woman—even her car or office. I hissed as desire snaked its way through me with a force so quickly that I went down to one knee, breathing hard.

“She’s a fucking succubus,” I spat.

I would have cursed myself a fool for going into the proverbial lion’s den with my nearest backup twenty minutes away, but I instead settled for wondering what the fuck my idiot bosses had been thinking in not sharing such important information with us. If I made it out of this—andifI wasn’t locked in the cells for the rest of my life—I would never let Jax hear the end of it. Approval from the archdiocese or no, not giving us this information might mean the difference between life and death—certainly for me, but maybe even for an innocent woman.

The doctor’s presence here was overpowering. Intimidating, even. She was powerful, and this office was her world, not mine. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I was leaving something behindwhen I stepped foot inside. I had no clue what it would be—or if it would be lost for good.

I pulled the golden crucifix out of my pocket and slipped it over my head uncomfortably, forcing a prayer I hated through my teeth as I kissed the symbol I despised even more, all the while hoping it would help me retain whatever it was supposed to represent that would keep me safe. The ritual was more out of habit than actual belief, since it had been beaten into me until doing it became second nature—even when Jax and the other bishops weren’t around. I walked over to the receptionist’s desk, then looked to the double doors on the right that led to the offices I would be able to see from my position in the apartment.

To my left was a small reception area, decorated with couches and chairs, and a table with magazines spread over it. Everything looked innocuous enough, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was missing something. I walked over to the glass doors looking into the offices and tried the door. It was unlocked; I walked in and headed toward Dr. Lowe’s office, when a strange thought occurred to me. Had there been another set of doors in the reception area? A pair that I had looked past without even thinking about or even actuallyseeingthe first time?

With a curse, I turned around and headed back, unholstering my gun as I moved toward those strange, dark doors that hadn’t wanted me to see them.

Magda

Icould scarcely breathe. I wanted to laugh, cry, anything—to suggest that her assertion of me being some kind of mythologicalsex monsterwas as contrived as it should have seemed… But the air was rushing from my lungs as her eyes, now a deep,glowingred in the darkened room, angled toward my mouth once more.

“May I kiss you, Magda?”

My mouth was dry, but I felt an aching in between my thighs that seemed to answer for me. I wanted her to kiss me; I was desperately afraid that she wouldn’t—or that I would suddenly vomit on her.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

“It’s okay, my darling, you will.” Dr. Lowe tilted my face; kissed my cheek, a mere peck of her mouth against my skin.

The room swelled with heat once more. Her eyes gleamed wickedly, and I swear she stifled a rasping moan.

“You can feel it, can’t you? My power here. It’s what made you so weak-kneed when you walked in. It’s because you can sense when people around you are… shall we say, eager?” she said, pressing another kiss on my face, this time closer to myjaw. “You’re feeling my desire, Magda. You’re feeling my want for you. But as much as I want to help you, I won’t go any farther than this if you tell me no.”

My heartbeat raced, and I found my eyes closing, I tilted my head back, almost subconsciously moving to let her get better access to where the pulse at my throat lay beating like a drum. Feeling people’s eagerness? Yes, I knew what she meant. I thought of the look between Derek and Concepción at my birthday party. I’d felt the sudden tinge of lust in the air between them—but couldn’t everyone? It was just something people could tell, wasn’t it? Didn’t people normally get lightheaded in large crowds where people were lusting for one another? Wasn’t that why my parents warned me about it?

“I feel… strange,” I said. “This can’t… It can’t be real.”

“Oh, but it is. What you’re feeling is the desire I unleash from my aura—it’s my own power. It helps me…” She paused to kiss my throat now, her tongue darting out along my neck. “…feed.”

I gasped, going weak in her arms as she pressed another kiss to my flesh, and another, working her way down toward the line above my tank top, beneath which, my nipples had stiffened at her touch and the way her mouth moved over my body. She laid me back on the couch and positioned herself above me, her breasts pushing firmly into mine.

I shuddered in her grasp, squirming and bucking toward her. I was both embarrassed to be so brazenly wanton with a person I’d never even met beforeandso desperate for her that I would have done almost anything for her to keep kissing me. She hadn’t even done anything yet that I hadn’t done with my previous boyfriends, but I was absolute putty in her hands. I could feel myself growing wet.

“Feed?” I panted.

“You haven’t had your sexual awakening, yet, since you’re still a virgin, so you can feel it but not comprehend it, right?Until you complete that rite of passage, even another succubus’s power will feel overwhelming to you. Even just beingnearan incubus may be too much for your poor body to handle. I can help. you, Magda. I can prepare you.” Dr. Lowe looked up, meeting my eyes.

“…Prepare me?”

With a hungry look in her eye, she grinned and said, “I can make you feel pleasure and teach you how to make yourself feel good, too. This way, when you to lose your virginity, you won’t hesitate a bit. You’ll be able to have whoever you want.Whoeveryou want.”

I found myself nodding mutely. I wanted to believe her so badly. I was already so wet just from the little bit of kissing we’d done. The thought of being able to feel someone inside of me made my belly twist pleasantly.

I didn’t know if this was all a dream or some absurd prank, but I couldn’t deny what I was feeling. Her weight on top of me, those glowing eyes piercing into my soul; I wanted her to do whatever she wanted, and if I could have sexwithoutvomiting or panicking, then maybe I would be finally be able to lose my virginity; maybe even repeat the deed with someone else. Maybe this was some kind of extreme therapy for people with serious cases like mine?

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