Page 47 of Incubus with Benefits
“You got that right.”
Unable to stay too long, lest Nathan got suspicious, I headed back downstairs to go about my usual routine, which was to chatup and flirt with everyone I could. I had to make it look like just any other weekend and not like I wasn’t running surveillance on my own club.
“Julian!” I turned to see a familiar blonde woman waving at me. I recognized her as a woman who sometimes joined in the after-hours activities in the private rooms upstairs. I didn’t remember her name though.
I tried not to glance over at the darkened corner where a camera was recording, but I felt Lily’s eyes on me. I knew she was watching the monitors, and saw the blonde who leaned in too close, smiled too wide as we made small talk. The woman laughed at something, fingers grazing my forearm.
“Will I see you upstairs tonight?” she asked, pressing her body against mine.
I stepped back, almost dumping her onto her ass, but caught her just in time. I couldn’t exactly shove her away because that wasn’t something I’d usually do, and the last thing I wanted to do tonight was to act suspicious. I had to act like the eternal playboy I was supposed to be.
“Perhaps,” I said noncommittally. I had no plan on sticking around for the festivities when Lily was waiting for me upstairs. She was all the sexual energy I needed.
The woman got a little handsy, which I normally wouldn’t mind, but today it felt wrong, and I wanted to tell her to keep her hands to herself. But before I could, Gina was there, complimenting her on the sexy dress and guiding her away.
I hated that Lily had to see that.
We weren’t a couple. That was the deal. No strings attached. But I knew that if the roles had been reversed and I’d had to watch some dude flirt with Lily and imply that he planned on spending the night with her, I’d completely lose it. There’d be blood, and it wouldn’t be mine.
Maybe it was a good idea to show Lily off tonight after all and make it be known that I already had someone in mind. That would get the ladies… and the men… off my back. I tended to go through phases where I spent time with one or two people often; they’d probably just think Lily was my next temporary obsession and wait for me to lose interest.
I wondered how they’d react if I never lost interest and kept Lily around permanently.
It was just before midnight when I realized I’d lost track of Nathan. He wasn’t in any of his usual locations. A quick check found the PI distracted by one of the club’s succubi. I made my way quickly up to my home, even as my phone buzzed in my pocket with Lily’s message.
She was leaning over the screen when I got there, my robe still wrapped around her.
I tapped the feed and zoomed in. Nathan was out in the back alleyway, and he wasn’t alone. The portal researcher was waiting. I’d only ever seen him on news reports but there was no doubt who he was. I turned up the sound, filtering out the faint noise that oozed out from the club.
Their voices were low but clear.
“Were you able to pick out Marissa’s trail?” Nathan asked. “We know she headed over to the kebab place after.”
“I can’t trace anything. There have been too many people there since. If you had a piece of her jewelry or clothing, it might help.”
The more we listened, the more it became clear that Nathan wasn’t guilty. He was working with the researcher to find Marissa. And the researcher? He’d been keeping a secret, but not the one we thought. He’d noticed the portal containment spell getting weaker and had linked that to the disappearances of the witches.
Worried about losing his job, he hadn’t told EA headquarters, and instead was on a mission to find the missing women. He knew they were still alive since their magic was still active in the containment spell.
Someone was using the missing witches to destabilize the portal. If it broke open, we’d have more than these disappearances to deal with.
“I think I owe Nathan an apology,” I mumbled to myself. “Maybe we should tell them about the bracelet you found.”
Lily frowned. “The researcher did say jewelry would help. But what if one of them is lying to the other?”
That was definitely a possibility.
“I think I’d feel better if we found more proof to substantiate our new hypothesis,” she said. “I’ll keep watching.”
“Why don’t you come down with me?” I suggested. “If we stayed in the private rooms, it should be safe for you to come hang out.”
I’d opted to disappear into my apartment near the end of the night both on Thursday and Friday. And if I did the same thing today, people would talk. I had to make an appearance in the private rooms, even if it was just for one drink.
“Then I can use you as an excuse to disappear for the night,” I said, sending her my best devilish smile.
She chuckled. “Alright, Julian. Just this once I’ll save you from all the sexy ladies.”
She stirred, shrugging off my robe and revealing that she wore nothing but that slinky black dress underneath.
