Page 5 of Incubus with Benefits
They all turned to me like I’d grown an extra head.
“What?” Did they not trust me? “No harm would come to her. And this is my club; if anything happened to her here, I’d be responsible.”
Penny and Gigi exchanged a look, then Gigi cast a blanket of silence spell over the booth, as if she didn’t trust the privacy spell already on it.
“Not sure if you know, but several witches went missing in the past few weeks,” Penny said, looking serious. “And the last two went missing around here last weekend.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. I hadn’t realized those two witches hadn’t been the only ones. “Idoknow about them. The last two, anyway. I had nothing to do with it.”
Penny put up a placating hand. “Oh, we weren’t implying it’s you.” Her eyes trailed upward toward the private rooms. “But I’m not sure I want my friend up there alone, passed out.”
“I won’t just leave her in one of the private rooms,” I promised. “I’ll bring her to my apartment. No one can get in there. And I’ll watch her myself.”
Gigi and Penny exchanged a look.
“Okay,” Gigi finally said. “But you better not take advantage of her.”
“Unless she asks for it,” Penny added.
“I promise.”
And that was how Lily ended up on my bed, in my private apartment above the club.
Chapter 3
Lily
Igroanedandburiedmy face in the pillow, cursing the sun and its betrayal. Seriously? Of all the places to shine, it had to laser-beam straight into my eyeballs. How rude.
My head pounded something awful, and I was so thirsty that even a puddle would look appealing right now. I glanced around the unfamiliar room. This wasn’t my bed. These weren’t my sheets. But thank the stars, I was fully clothed. And not in a cell. Small victories.
The walls were painted in a deep purple that shimmered with gold like dragon scales in the beams of morning sun that streamed in. A pair of golden sconces shaped like dragon claws were on each side of the bed. And the bed itself, the one I was currently lying in? It was massive. Like, could-fit-a-small-army massive. The gold silk sheets were super soft and probably very expensive. The down-filled comforter tossed over me was equally luxurious.
The furniture was all dark wood and antique brass, heavy and old-world, like it had been stolen from a vampire’s castle and repurposed in a bordello. There was a chaise lounge in the corner that practically begged you to drape yourself across it in nothing but your birthday suit. That thought alone had me suspicious of where I was.
There was a fireplace. It was electric but made to look old-fashioned. The artificial flames let out a scent faintly reminiscent of cinnamon and spice. Above it hung a painting of the incubus himself, shirtless, smirking, and looking like he knew exactly what you dreamed about last night.
Well, that cleared up whose place this was. But how the hell did I get here?
In fact, what the hell happened last night? Bits and pieces floated back. There was that incident at the bar with the idiot who got all grabby with me, but I’d grabbed his balls right back with my magic, and security walked him out of the club. Then I’d gone back to dance with my friends and wonder when that sexy incubus would get back.
Penny and I had gone to the ladies’ room, making our way through the crowd and accidentally knocking into several people. Oops. But that was normal on a crowded dance floor. We were back in the VIP booth when I’d started feeling faint. Too hot. Like I needed to dunk myself in a pool of ice. At first I thought it was something I’d eaten or drunk, but we had been so careful to keep our eyes on our drinks. But then I felt it, the tiny tickle of foreign magic. I’d sat down and then… here I was.
Then the door opened.
And in walked Adonis himself. Shirtless. Low-slung jeans. Muscles for days. He wasn’t in his human guise, but his own. His red skin showing every rippled ab. And those majestic horns jutting from his head. No wings today, though. Still, I might’ve drooled a little.
“You’re awake,” Julian said, handing me a glass of water.
I snatched it from him and chugged half of it. “Thank you. I was dying.”
He gave me a slow once-over, single brow raised appraisingly, making my stomach do a little flip-flop. “Bathroom’s next door. I put out a new toothbrush for you.”
Wait. He did what now?
Okay, so he was hot, considerate, and apparently stocked oral hygiene supplies for surprise guests. Was I still dreaming?
“Come back when you’re done,” he added. “We need to talk.”
