The Breach Page 4

  Tobias catches my nipple and pinches it hard as his mouth lifts from mine. “Now. Feed now.”

  Power and lust slam into me, cutting straight through my skin to dive into my stomach. The inferno inside me explodes, and my spine arches, pressing my core down hard against the pulsing length of his cock.

  My vision goes fuzzy, then gray, and the scent of vanilla fills the room to join the heavy clouds of burnt embers and lava.

  Color floods back in, and I sag against him, every muscle in my body limp. My head hangs against my chest as I struggle to regain my breath.

  Lazy lips drag against my nape. “I like the addition of touching and kissing to the Yes column.”

  I laugh weakly. “Me, too.”

  Baby Steps

  Later, I lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling. Ripples of pleasure still flicker through my body, a phantom sensation not soon to fade. I’ve never had someone give me pleasure just for the sake of it, and until tonight, I never understood the meaning behind it. Sex is a give and take. I give pleasure, I take energy. Even with Kellen on the rooftop, it had been all about the struggle for power.

  Tobias hadn’t tried to have sex, hadn’t even touched me below the waist, and he hadn’t taken anything from me or asked for anything in return. Where was his gain in this exchange?

  Uneasiness rolls through me, and blindly, I pat the mattress above my head until I find the prickly comfort of my purple sequin pillow. I tug it down to hug against my stomach. I need to find a way to pay him back before he makes a demand I’m not ready to comply with.

  Overhead, the twinkle lights wrapped around the support beam blur, the star flaring bright enough that I shut my eyes. The after-image dances under my eyelids, brighter and brighter until it bleeds through my eyes and into my mind. It sparks along the tattered thread inside me and makes it glow. I worry at it, trace it back in the opposite direction to the line that links to the heart of what makes me a succubus. Here, it pulses, strong with life. But as I travel back to the opposite end, it becomes thinner, the edge ragged until it ends. It seems longer today than it did last night, when I first discovered it while surrounded by the energy of my cousins.

  I’m unsure where it came loose from, but I’m now sure I need to figure that out in order to return to dreamland.

  My eyes blink open, and I squint at the star overhead for another minute before I roll onto my stomach and drag my briefcase across the duvet. Unlatching it, I pull out the succubus book and flip it open, then rear up in alarm. The lines and dots wiggle across the page, little black worms and pill bugs that inch toward the edges to reveal soft curves and looping lines beneath. The scent of sweat and salt rise from the parchment to flood my senses with images of wreathing bodies and tangled limbs.

  Terrified, I slam the book shut and shove it away from me.

  It lays quiet at the foot of my mattress, old leather and quiet parchment. When nothing else happens, I crawl over to it and hesitantly crack it open once more, only to find the lines and dots back in place.

  What the fuck? Am I losing my mind?

  I rub my eyes and check again, but it still looks the same. No rolling dots; no inchworming lines.

  I stuff it back into my briefcase and snap the locks shut before shoving it off the bed. It lands with a solid thump that echoes through the hardwood floor. I wince and cross my fingers that I didn’t wake up Emil. I have a feeling he’s not a happy demon when someone disrupts his sleep.

  From below comes the quiet creak of a door opening, followed by the clack of claws on the stairs. My doorknob jiggles.

  I throw a pillow at my closed door. “Go back to bed, Tac!”

  Instead of listening, a heavy thump rattles the door before the doorknob jiggles and turns. It swings open in the next instant and a triumphant Tac launches himself through the opening. I scramble for the headboard, and the entire bed shakes as his heavy mass lands across the bottom two thirds. His wings rustle and fold against his back as he kneads the comforter. His sharp claws send little tufts of batting into the air as he circles once, twice, then flops down on his side, his giant wedge-shaped head pointed at me.

  I glare down at him. “You’re not cute at all.”

  In response, he releases a loud snuffle that blows my hair back.

  Slowly, I make a hole in the pile of pillows at my headboard so I can nest inside them. “You know you’re supposed to stay with Emil until he leaves for work.”

  His ears twitch back.

  “I don’t care that it’s the weekend.” I layer the pillows back on top of myself and snuggle in to curl around the purple sequined one. “It’s a work day for me.”

  His saucer-sized green eyes widen in innocence and, just for a moment, an image of a knight in shining armor flickers across my mind.

  I blink and sit up straight, pillows bouncing away. “What was that?”

  He snorts and closes his eyes.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” I crawl out of my pillow cave and grab his soft jowls. “Open back up.”

  His eyes slit open, and I lean closer to peer into one. Concentrating, I feel that rubber band sensation in my mind as I stretch my senses, seeking to delve into Tac’s mind. A headache forms at the base of my skull and spreads forward to my temples. A flicker of sunlight on a metal breastplate fills my mind a second before the rubber band snaps and I fall back with a wince of pain.

  Tac huffs once more and closes his eyes as I right myself.

  “Tac, do you want a knight?” When he doesn’t respond, I rub the bridge of his nose. “Are you hungry?”

  His ears twitch, but he continues to feign sleep.

  Excitement rushes through me. Hunger’s different from wanting sex, which means I just made my first step toward reading someone’s hidden desires. Granted, it was on a cat monster, but still. Baby steps.

  What changed between the last time and now?

  The only thing that I can think of is Kellen and Tobias.

  The energy that rolls inside me is stronger now than it’s ever been before. And that broken thread inside... I close my eyes and nudge at it like I would a sore spot. It definitely looks longer than it did before. Is it healing on its own? If I keep feeding from the guys, will I eventually be able to re-enter dreamland?

  Heart pounding, I crawl back into my pillow nest and bury myself inside. I still have a lot of studying to do before I become a whole succubus, but for the first time since leaving dreamland, I feel like I’m not broken beyond repair.

  With a little more time, and with the guys’ help, I can become whole.

  Adie’s (mis)adventures continue in April 2018 with:

  The Meeting (Succubus on a Mission)

  L.L. Frost lives in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in English. She is an avid reader of all things paranormal and can frequently be caught curled up in her favorite chair with a nice cup of coffee, a blanket, and her Kindle.

  When not reading or writing, she can be found trying to lure the affection of her grumpy cat, who is very good at being just out of reach for snuggle time.

  Follow on Facebook and Amazon for news on upcoming releases!