Her Incubus Master (The Children of Lilith)
Read Her Incubus Master (The Children of Lilith) Online
Authors: Bliss Devlin
Her Incubus Master
By Bliss Devlin
Published by Philtatos
Press
Text copyright 2014 by Bliss Devlin. All rights
reserved.
Photo credit:
Artem
Furman
/Shutterstock.com
Cover design & layout: Karin Welss
This ebook is
licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or
given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're
reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use
only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own
copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
1.
Katie Submits to the Incubus
5.
Katie Chooses Her Punishment
11.
Katie Reaches for Immortality
Amanda
Vélos
found her
twin brother Andras exactly where she had expected to find him. He was sitting
alone at a small table the city's trendiest cocktail lounge, nursing a glass of
single-malt whiskey.
This type of establishment, favored by the young workers who
slaved at the nearby headquarters of a dozen high-tech startups, used to be his
favorite kind of hunting ground. It was filled with the movers and shakers of
the new world, the youth who thrived on innovation and change, glittering and
turbulent like the restless sea.
But here he was, surrounded by a throng of young, healthy
mortals brimming with delicious sexual energy, glorying in their youth, their
success, their dazzling intellects...and he was sitting alone and brooding.
"What a dreadful waste of opportunity, brother mine,"
she said, lightly, trying to conceal her distress at his depressed state.
She bent to kiss his cold cheek before sliding into the
uncomfortable little chair next to him.
An attentive young man swooped in almost immediately to take
her drink order. She eyed Andras' whiskey enviously for a moment before
settling on one of the establishment's overpriced signature cocktails, which
complemented her carefully-crafted Marketing Executive persona better than the
whiskey.
Like him, she was wearing an impeccably-constructed glamour
that made her look sleek, sophisticated, confident, and affluent.
He was wearing his favored look, the one she referred to as
successful
thirty-something CEO
. Old enough to convincingly wear his aura of power and
confidence, young enough to be sexy in a culture obsessed with youth.
"I haven't seen anything that interests me," he
replied, in the frighteningly detached tone he started using after Yoshiko
died. "These children." He gestured listlessly around the crowded
cocktail lounge. "They have it all—success, power, money. They're already
sated or they desire things that I can't give them. That no one can."
"Oh,
please
," she said, rolling her eyes.
"They're still human. They crave what we are, what can offer them. They
always have, and they always will."
"I don't know," he said gloomily, staring down
into the amber depths of his drink.
"Andras, you're being dreadfully self-indulgent,"
she said, bluntly. "If you don't take another mortal lover soon, you'll go
into the Decline. I would be most annoyed if you decided to die on me."
That won her a brief quirk of a smile. "Because, of
course,
your
wishes are paramount?"
"Of course," she said lightly. "I'm the
center of the universe.
Your
universe at least. And I order you to live
and be happy again." She paused. "Speaking of which, there's someone
you should meet."
"Amanda," he began in a warning tone, his dark
brows drawing together.
She raised a perfectly-manicured hand. "Hear me out.
She's one of my co-workers. Lovely young woman, recently divorced, smart,
witty, and positively starved for some decent sex."
"Mmm-hmm," Andras said, sounding unimpressed.
"If this young woman is so remarkable, then why haven't
you
swooped
in with an offer of mind-blowing sex? As I recall, you are also in need of a
lover."
Amanda sighed, and twined a lock of her red hair around her
finger. "Oh, I tried propositioning her—delicately, of course—and I think it
went right over her head. I believe she's devoutly heterosexual...for now, at
least."
She saw that Andras was still resisting the notion.
Time
to appeal to his overdeveloped sense of chivalry.
Amanda knew she was shameless in her manipulation, but she
was
a succubus after all. And a very successful one, generally.
"Andras, you're the best—the
very
best--at finding
out exactly what mortals need, and then giving it to them. And you're kind. I really
like Katie. She's been a good friend to me, and she could use a little kindness
from a handsome man right about now to bolster her spirits. Along with a large
dose of mind-blowing sex, of course. And there's one other thing..." She
let her words trail off, baiting the hook for him.
At least he was looking interested now. "What?"
"I sense she has tremendous potential as a
philtata
."
His expression hardened. "No. I'm not ready."
Amanda took a deep breath and prepared to play dirty.
"Please, Andras. Say you'll at least meet her and talk to her. Do it as a
favor to me.
Please
."
His shoulders slumped, and he drained the rest of his whiskey
in a single gulp before yielding. "All right, all right. You know how I
hate to hear you beg."
Amanda fought to keep from smirking at her victory. This
would be good for both her friend Katie and her beloved twin brother.
* * *
A few nights later, Katie stood in front of the entrance to Estrella,
a trendy downtown tapas place, hesitating.
Why on Earth had she agreed to a blind date? She
worked
with Amanda, after all. It would be deeply awkward if the date went badly...and
if Andras was anything like Katie's recent run of first—and last—dates from several
online dating sites, he was probably creepy and desperate.
C'mon, Katie, don't be such a wimp!
Her inner voice
chided her.
You've got nothing to lose, and you can always leave if Amanda's
brother turns out to be a dud.
"Katie!" She turned at the sound of her name, and
saw Amanda approaching, a tall, dark-haired man in tow. "I'm glad you
didn't chicken out on me!"
This remark hit uncomfortably close to home, and Katie felt
her face heat.
But before she had the chance to embarrass herself with a
lame reply, Amanda gave her a quick hug, and said, "I'd like you to meet
my twin brother. Andras, this is Katie Gunnarson. We work together."
Holy shit!
That was Katie's first thought when he
stepped forward, his hand extended. He was frickin'
gorgeous
, and he was
looking at her like she was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.
He was tall, but broad-shouldered and solidly-built rather
than willowy like his sister. Dark, wavy hair, tanned olive skin, and startling
pale green eyes...he looked like an Italian model. If his coloring was
dramatically different from his red-haired, fair-complexioned sister, their
features were very similar, with high cheekbones and sensual mouths.
Feeling a little dazed, she took his hand, cool from the night
air. His hands were big and sinewy, just the kind of thing she found
irresistible in a man, and his grip was firm.
"I'm pleased to meet you," he said, in a
pleasantly deep voice, and he really did sound pleased.
"Me, too," Katie said, and instantly hated how
lame it sounded. "Do you, uh, work in high tech, too?"
He smiled at her, and she thought her spine might melt.
"No, I'm in banking. I hope that doesn't make me sound too boring."
He didn't let go of her hand, but Katie didn't mind. She
liked it. It felt...right.
"Well," said Amanda, looking at each of them in
turn, her expression smug. "I'll just leave you two to it. I have a date of
my own." She smiled, wickedly. "Don't do anything I wouldn't
do!"
"Bye!" With a quick flip of her red hair, she was heading
away from them, her high heels beating a quick staccato beat on the sidewalk.
Andras smiled ruefully and shook his head. "Sisters! Do
you have any sibs, Katie?"
Finally releasing Katie's hand, he opened the door to the restaurant
and they went in together.
* * *
An hour later, Katie found herself sharing a secluded booth
with Andras near the back of the place, and realized that she was having a
really good time.
There was live music tonight, but it was acoustic, classical
Spanish guitar music, so it was easy to hold a conversation without having to
shout.
As they talked, they had nibbled their way through a
selection of the club's delectable tapas, accompanied by a bottle of sparkling
Cava wine.
Andras turned out to be someone who had lots of interesting
stories to tell, especially about traveling. He offered some great tips on
places to eat and stay in Barcelona, a city that Katie was planning to visit next
year, once the last of her student debt was paid off. And he was also a really
good listener.
The topic of Barcelona led to a discussion of architecture,
and from there, to the controversial addition of an ultramodern glass-and-steel
wing to the city's nineteenth-century art museum building.
"It looks like that poor building hit an iceberg,"
she said, candidly, and was gratified when Andras laughed.
"The new wing wouldn't look too bad on its own," Katie
continued, "but it's just so...
jarring
...sprouting out of the
corner of the old building like that."
"I agree," said Andras. "I think the new
building would have been better-served if it had been separated a bit from the
existing architecture. I mean, look at how they handled IM Pei's addition to
the Louvre. It's part of the grand old palace, but also separate."
"I've only been to Paris once," Katie said, a bit
wistfully. "On my honeymoon. Which sounds really great, but Bill and I
signed up for one of those bus tours with way too many stops. We did a ten-day
tour of England, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and France. I thought it was
fun, but Bill hated it, hated Europe, actually. Plus, you know, total sensory
overload, and we only got to spend a day or two in each place."
Andras smiled at her, his green eyes crinkling at the
corners. "Well, think of it this way—that tour probably gave you an idea
of where you'd like to return and explore in-depth." His expression
sobered. "Amanda told me a little bit about you, but not much. You're
divorced now?"
Katie nodded, and took a sip of Cava to marshal her
thoughts. She felt a little shy, but also like she had known him forever. He was
gorgeous to the point of distraction, but he also seemed really interested in
hearing what she had to say.
Kind of like Amanda, come to think of it. Her co-worker also
had the knack of listening, and then saying just the right thing to make you
feel better.
"Yes," she said. "The divorce was finalized
about six months ago, but we were separated for a while before that. I guess I
shouldn't have married him to begin with, but I liked him, and I guess I didn't
know better."
"Have you been married before?" he asked, sounding
interested but not judgmental.
She shook her head. A bit abashed, she said, "I'm kind
of a late bloomer. I've only had three serious relationships."
He tilted his head. "Define
serious
,
please."
She laughed. "The first guy was my high school
sweetheart. I met him when I was a sophomore and we dated until graduation. The
next guy was my college sweetheart, and then there was Bill. We met when we
were both seniors at Cal, and we got married about six months after
graduation." God, she sounded so Little-Miss-Midwestern-Sheltered! She
added, feeling abashed, "I guess I'm kind of old-fashioned, but one-night
stands and the whole friends-with-benefits thing isn't really my thing."
He took her hand again, and it felt really nice. "I like
people who are serious about commitments. As for me, I'm happiest when I'm in a
steady, long-term relationship." He paused, studying her, then said,
"I find sex a lot more satisfying when I've had the chance to really get
to know my partner, what they like, and how they respond."
She looked away, more than a little uncomfortable by the
turn their conversation had taken.
In her experience, the longer the relationship lasted, the
more obvious it became that she was just plain lousy at sex.
He was so attractive, and he seemed to think she was
attractive, too. She hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed if...
when
...they
slept together.
Andras' fingers tightened around hers, as if he sensed her
discomfort. "What's wrong?"
Nothing.
She opened her mouth, and to her
mortification, she blurted out, "I think I might be asexual."
And waiting for him to recoil. To laugh. To make some lame
excuse and end the date, never to see her again.
Because she sounded like a dork. A really lame dork.
Instead, he kept hold of her hand. "Why do you think
that?" he asked, softly. "Do you dislike sex?"
"Well, no. But—" Katie knew she was making a mess
of this. And the evening had been going so well, too!
"But what?" Andras' voice was still soft, still
gentle.
She wasn't sure why she felt like confessing to him, but
there was just
something
about him that encouraged her to spill her
darkest, most embarrassing secret.
"Well, I like
most
of it. But I can't ever—you
know—
come
." Her voice dropped to nothing on this last part, and she
found herself unable to meet his eyes. "Bill said I was probably one of
those people who can't get satisfaction the, uh, normal way. You know, like I
was damaged, or something."
Andras suddenly looked very angry. "That was a
terrible
thing for Bill to say to someone he supposedly loved! No wonder you divorced
him."
"Uh, actually, he divorced
me
," Katie said,
in a small voice. "He told me that he met someone else, someone who was
actually
good
in bed."
Hearing that had hurt so much at the time.
It still hurt, in fact.
"I'm sorry. He sounds like a selfish ass who didn't
appreciate what he had." Andras raised her hand, and brushed his lips over
the back in a gesture that was as sexy as it was unselfconscious. "Did he
ever try to explore what turns you on? To find out if you had any particular
kinks he could fulfill for you?