Page 5 of Succubus Sins
I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to play the buffer, okay? We’re breaking up again.”
His eyes went wide, this time sparking with excitement. But he had the grace to give me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
My stomach twitched, and I scratched at the rune, wondering if his touch had somehow eased the pain.
Breaking up with Sarah had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life. Not just because I didn’t want to do it, but because my whole body screamed with agony, telling me to turn to the nearest man and take what I needed. The sheer number of penises in this place was making my jaw twitch.
The second Sarah had gotten the message that I was serious, I stormed out behind the bar, more for the relief of getting away from all the testosterone than Sarah’s sad eyes. She probably thought I just wanted to get away from her, but the truth was that my world was spinning and I couldn’t keep a straight face with the pain anymore. If I’d stayed in there, I’d have taken what I needed from anyone whether Sarah was watching or not.
My watch buzzed and told me I had ten minutes left to live. I turned my wrist to glance at it. Yep. This sucked.
The dark alley was hardly my first choice of where I’d die. I'd always imagined I'd go in blood-red velvet sheets stabbed with a knife from a victim who’d finally overcome my compulsion. I’d always hated what I was. This wasn’t life.
Stretching out on the pebbled asphalt, I found my only bedmates were twittering mice and three empty beer cans.
I stared at the moon and contemplated if I should be doing something monumental with my last minutes. Sarah would still be inside the bar, probably wondering where I was. I could see her now, twirling a straw in a strawberry daiquiri with a pouty lip and adorable scowl. We’d broken up what, five times now? Did she even believe I was serious this time? I’d meant it. I was going to leave her for good. Not because I wanted to, but because she deserved better than me. And I deserved what would happen to me when I didn’t screw men to death, literally.
And David would be next to her, telling her I wasn't worth it. Even though I knew how he felt about me, he wouldn’t let Sarah think she deserved a broken heart. That’s just the kind of guy he was. I’d invited him to be the buffer, but also to keep her occupied long enough to let me die in peace.
As if on cue, the wooden door creaked open and I rolled my head across the pavement to see if my angel of death had arrived.
"What'cha doin' down there, gorgeous?" David gave me a winning smile and he seemed like an angel for sure. The moonlight was drawn to him and illuminated the dark locks framing his face. The runes across my stomach twinged with pain as if recognizing him as something I needed. Perhaps it was a sin to take what I needed from him, but all sins could be forgiven.
I tore my gaze away. Those had been my mother’s words.All sins could be forgiven.Had that been a lie just to try and make me feel better about myself? “What am I doing?” I muttered, trying to focus on the present before my memories ruined my last minutes alive. “Waiting to die.”
He laughed and skipped down the three short steps to the street, oblivious to my torment. “Aren't we all?”
My heart skipped when he slid down beside me, not seeming to care that we were lying on a grimy street behind an even grimier bar.
I blinked a few times before thinking of what my monumental last words should be. The world was already warping and turning grey. It was difficult to breathe and I scratched my nails across the ground, barely able to feel the pain. I’d hoped there would be a near-death experience, or something astounding to give me some miraculous insight of the world before I died. But all I could think of was the innocent girlfriend I was about to leave behind. “Do you think Sarah will be okay?”
“Sarah…” He said her name with a curl to his lip in distinct distaste. “I know you care about her, but it feels like there’s something more ahead for you.” He propped up on his elbow. “Have you ever considered that your feelings for Sarah are misplaced? I mean, there’s something different about her that anyone would be attracted to, but you two have never been that compatible.”
My eyes went wide. The runes across my stomach all twitched in agreement, as if I’d been using Sarah as a crutch to avoid facing a future that terrified me. “What makes you say that?”
“It just, it seems right, for some reason.” He sat up and pulled me with him. His strong fingers wrapping around my arm made me want to forget what I’d resolved to do. I forced myself to bring up every victim’s face in my mind. Terrifying memories were always stronger than the good ones. I could still see each pale face staring back into mine, that blank look of poisoned desire masking the horror of their own death.
He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and pulled my chin to look at him. “Are you crying?”
His blue eyes locked onto mine and I gulped down my pride. “Yes,” I whispered.
His fingers trailed down my neck, extracting a sliver of my magic that wanted to wrap around his cock and lure him into giving me what I needed. He shivered as if I’d stroked him.
I squeezed my eyes shut and wished it would all be over. My watch buzzed again. I had one minute left.
His breath puffed on my lips. I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't let him fall under my spell. David deserved better than my sins. He was kind, sweet, and had been the only human not to immediately throw himself at me. I didn’t know what had made him change his mind, but I was close to taking him up on his offer. A succubus only has so much willpower.
“Sonya…” he whispered. His voice dripped with longing and desperation.
My eyes shot open and I had nowhere to look but his concerned and adoring gaze. My tongue shot across my dry lips and hesitation tugged at my heart.
He leaned in, and fuck, I didn't pull away. I couldn't.
His lips met mine and pure ecstasy shot through my limbs. His kiss made me feel whole and I only wanted more. Any reservations I had for propriety or phantom loyalty were overwhelmed by the magic that demanded my survival. The ache deep in my bones finally sighed in relief from the sexual nourishment that flooded my senses. As if I had been wandering a desert and found a drop of life, I thrust my hands under his shirt and dug my nails across his skin and drank it all in.
How I wished I could just be human and feel the magnetizing pull of sex without the need to feed. Then again, if I was human, I wouldn’t be slipping my tongue over David’s. I’d be with Sarah, happy and oblivious to what it felt like to be on the brink of death when I didn’t feed.
When David’s stiff arousal grated against my hips through our jeans, it was impossible not to drink his lust. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know my nails were going from corpse-blue to radiant-pink. Knowing that David was literally giving me life itself only made me want him more. This was the part I couldn’t fight. This was when my instincts as a predator took over.
