Page 26 of Heatwaves

“Holy shit, Lila. That’s fucking insane. How are you?”

I scoff, plating my eggs, bacon, and French toast. “How do you think I am?”

“Shitty. I think you’re shitty. Damn it. Let me get off the phone so I can cancel these appointments. I have to stop by the house and grab some things, but I’ll be there as fast as possible.”He hesitates.“Do you want me to reach out to some of the guys and bring them along?”

I smile, loving that he made the offer even if he didn’t want to. Wyatt is an incubus, and because there aren’t many of them in our realm, they all know one another. But that doesn’t mean they get along. Wyatt is not a fan of the incubi and succubi in the area, but he’d bring them if I wanted them. That’s a true friendship right there.

“You’ve been through a heat with me before. Do you think you can handle it on your own, or will we need them?”

He’s quiet for a moment.”Ithinkmy magic will be able to make up for it just being me, but Lila, I can’t be sure.”

“I’d rather it was just you—ifyou’reokay with that.”

“Yeah. I think I’d rather not bring them along. We’ll figure it out and make it work.”Another hesitation.“You still have those toys from the heat you spent alone, right?”

I’m actually not sure. I have to really think about it because it’s been a while. The one and only time I decided to ride out my heat alone was the first year after the guys disappeared. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to let anyone help me that year. It had been a mistake, but at the time, I couldn’t have handled it. “Oh! Yes! They’re still in a box in my closet. I remember seeing them a few weeks ago. I’ll pull them out and give them a good cleaning.”

“Perfect. I’ll text you when I’m on my way, okay?”

“Thanks, Wyatt. I owe you one.”

“You do not. You act as if your heat won’t feed me for weeks. Plus, I’ll always be there for you. See you soon.”

He hangs up without waiting for me to say goodbye as he usually does, and I shake my head.

I carry my food over to the table that overlooks the back deck, swinging the doors open so I can get a view of the ocean as I eat. I pull up the app to order my groceries as I devour my food before my thoughts turn back to Wyatt.

When I met him, I was still in a pretty low place. After the heat I spent alone, I ended upsleeping around—a lot. I met him at a club, not realizing what he was, but by the time I found out he was an incubus, we were already halfway to having sex. It was some of the best sex of my life, and I figured that would be the end of it. After all, that was my MO at the time—fuck ’em and leave ’em.

Only, he wouldn’t let me leave him. I’m still not sure why he decided he had to be my friend, but he never gave up. And we kept sleeping together.

It’s probably a little weird to semi-regularly have sex with your best friend, but it works for us. Sex fuels him, and I don’t have to worry about breaking some guy’s heart by being a coldhearted bitch when he wants something more than sex. Plus, I trust him with my life.

He was the breath of fresh air my life needed. He wouldn’t let me sit at home all the time, crying into my ice cream or whatever the fuck I was doing at the time. We went out at least once a week or once every two weeks to do something. Everything from the movies to camping—which had turned out to be a one-and-done as Wyatt wasnota fan.

Wyatt was the first one to ink my skin and the only one I’ll ever allow to do it. He’s the one whopierced my eyebrow and my nose after begging him to. He said it would mar my beauty, but I like the way it looks. He even admitted, albeit begrudgingly, it looks good.

He’s a part owner of a tattoo parlor, Anarchy Ink, where he regularly does tattoos. He has a lot of clients who will only be inked by him because he uses his incubus magic to make the experience pleasurable instead of painful. At least for those of us who don’t already find it pleasurable. He’s also an amazing artist outside of his tattoo work. Every piece of art on my walls was made by him, and I love every single one of them.

I never expected to let someone else into my life after having my heart broken all those years ago, but he didn’t give me a choice—something I’ll be eternally grateful for.

Finishing up my food, I sit my plate in the sink with the other dishes. I’ll take care of those after I pull out the toys and change my sheets. And I’m pretty sure I need to do laundry. Then I’ll need to prepare food for my heat. It’ll be harder to make sure we get enough food since it’ll just be the two of us, but I know Wyatt will make sure we eat.

There’s a lot I need to get done before my heat fully kicks in, but I feel better knowing I have a plan in place. Wyatt will help me once he gets here, and that’s a real weight off my shoulders.

I really don’t know what I would do without Wyatt Dunn in my life.

“Don’t make me regret this,”Miguel hisses.“If Sylvia and Brandon realize I gave you their daughter’s address, they might kick me to the curb.”

“I’ll never tell. Don’t worry. Thank you for this. Even if she won’t listen to us, we can at least help her out with her heat if she needs us to.” I sigh. “It’s better than nothing.”

“Don’t fuck this up, Carter.”

“I won’t. Now, get back to your lovers.” I hang up the phone, settling back into my seat as we pull into a long driveway.

Aidan lets out a whistle from the driver’s seat, and I get it. Lila’s new house is much bigger than her last one, and it’s on the beach. I’m not all that surprised after finding out she created an app called Heat Assist. She’s likely doing really well for herself without us.

Clearly, she’s not mated yet, as she was at the meet and greet. Plus, Miguel told me during our conversation. The last he knew, she had found no one for her heat when her mom’s heat started. That’s why we’re currently sitting outside her house. We don’t want her to have to go through her heat alone because of us, and if she’s in there alone, it’s one hundred percent on us.

---