Page 26 of Incubus
“Here,” Sasha said finally, moving closer to one of the rooms and placing a palm flat against the door. Sasha closed his eyes and turned so that he could rest his back up against it. The look that washed over his face was pure bliss.
“You just have to…stand there?” Nathan asked, softly because they didn’t need any extra attention and he wasn’t entirely sure if it was appropriate to speak to Sasha while he fed.
Blue eyes flicked open but remained heavy-lidded as Sasha replied. “Yep. I basically just…open up, like…flipping a switch or turning on a current.”
“Okay. So…does that mean you can mentally see what they’re doing in there?” Nathan smirked a little at the thought.
Sasha chuckled. “Not quite. It’s about feeling. I feel their…passion. I can tell when they go faster or slow down, when they’re reaching the end or just getting warmed up, even how much they really love each other while they’re together. But I can’t tell you who’s touching what or putting what where, sorry to say. You’ll have to stick with cable access for that.”
Nathan snorted a little too loudly, stifling his laughter when he remembered that it was well past midnight and they were in a public place. If someone did come down the hallway they could just pretend to be guests who had finally returned after a night out. It wouldn’t be suspicious. Not with Sasha juststanding there.
The redhead looked like he was listening to relaxing music, not feeding off of the very essence of sex.
“I have to ask."
“Why aren’t I hard as a rock by now?”
Nathan coughed, nearly choking as he tried to find words. “Uh…well, yeah,” he admitted. “You’re not human, fine, but you still...function like a guy, don't you?”
“Oh, I’m fully functional. It’s just not necessary with this. When I’m feeding from actual sex, sure, all systems go, like any other guy. But this is…mental. It’s different. There’s a current either way, but right now that current stops at me. Do you get it?”
“I...think so.”
It was strange watching an incubus feed without even needing to touch another person. Nathan had always envisioned them as monstrous creatures raping women in their sleep. Sasha didn'tseem like that at all. He was charming and kind and funny. Nathan had grown comfortable around him quickly.
But Sasha being fae cast a shadow over everything.
"You really hate fae, don't you?"
Nathan started, surprised that Sasha had once again read him so well.
"Sorry, I can't help it," Sasha said. "As an incubus, I can sense what you're feeling. Just emotion, not thoughts, but emotion is usually enough. Even if you didn't carry your emotions so close to the surface, it would have been easy for me to figure out. The only fae you don't hate is your brother."
"Jim isn't fae," Nathan jumped in defensively, "he's a changeling. There's a difference."
"I know," Sasha said with a pacifying smile, "because it was chance. He might have just as easily been born normal like you. But he isn't normal. That scares you a lot more than I do. You don't know what's going to happen, that's always scary. But all fae aren't to blame for that, Nathan. I can't help the way I was born any more than Jim can."
Nathan opened his mouth to counter that, but he didn't have an argument.
"Maybe you just need to understand me better," Sasha said. "You know what I am now. I don't mind being honest with you about what that means. Ask me anything."
"Anything?" Nathan questioned. He had never wanted to know more about the fae he had met in the past unless it was to know ways of protecting himself against them, which learning more about Sasha would also offer, and maybe give him some peace of mind. The only problem was that Nathan had no idea what to ask.
He watched Sasha at first, as if the answer would present itself. The way Sasha was leaning back against the door made the long-sleeved black T-shirt he had changed into hitch up at thesides. He also wore tightly fitting jeans that sat low beneath his waistline. The visible skin revealed hip bones, as well as the top of Sasha’s pelvic tattoo.
Nathan studied the black, tribal designs. "Okay," he said. "Are those tattoos really tattoos or some crazy incubus thing? 'Cause I just don’t buy that a guy would ever willingly get tattooedthere.”
Sasha let out a hearty laugh at the question. “It's an incubus thing," he said. "We're born with them. Though, I gotta say, I’d miss the markings if I was human. Apparently, they’re kind of sexy." He arched away from the door as if to prove his point.
Nathan shuddered. "I’m, uhh…sure the ladies think so. Are you going to take this seriously?"
"I am taking this seriously. Did you think I'd suddenly be different? I've always been myself around you, Nathan. I'm just answering honestly." Sasha smiled infectiously. He seemed to be feeling much better already and easily slipped into his teasing nature.
"Fine," Nathan said, suppressing the heat that rushed to his face. "So...what does it feel like? Feeding. What you're doing now."
"Well, if you're going to ask that," Sasha said, lifting a hand toward Nathan in invitation, “maybe I can show you.”
Nathan slipped against the wall. “Uhh...”
