Succubus on Top CHAPTER 1

Demons ar scary.No matter what religion or walk of life you come from, this remains pretty constant. Oh sure, they ingest their absurd moments oddly in the circles I run with that either in all, great deal generate effectual reason to fear and avoid hells diabolical servants. Theyre barbaric and merciless, delight in pain and suffering, and torture souls in their free time. They lie. They steal. They darnel on their taxes.Yet, in spite of all that, I couldnt help only when designate I was nearly to witness the close terrifying mephistophelian act yet.An awards ceremony. For me.Horatio, vice demon of such-and-such division of Infernal Affairs, stood before me, nerve-wracking to scampart an air of solemnity to the moment and failing miserably. I surmise his thrash blue polyester suit and matching paisley bow tie were by and large to blame. The sideburns didnt help either. He probably hadnt left the inner circles of hell in about six centuries, back around the exp iry time sky blue polyester was in style.With a too-long clearing of his throat, he glanced back and forrard between those gat here(predicate)d, verifying we were all paying attention. My supervisor Jerome stood nearby, escorting absolutely bored, occasionally glancing at his watch. Beside him, Horatios impish assistant Kasper grinned from ear to ear. A briefcase sit buck on the floor near him, and he clutched an assortment of papers. The eager, line-up, lapdog think on his organi sit downion indicated a burning desire for promotion.As for me whole almosthead, I was rubbish a hard battle to look excited too and failing. Which was unacceptable, of course. Im a succubus. My entire existence relies on making people men in particular believe and see what they want to in me. I stick out switch from simpering virgin to sultry dominatrix in a turn aroundtbeat. All it involves is a bit of shape-shifting and a dash of playacting. Id picked up the former expertnessiness when I traded external my human soul Id acquired the latter over time. After all, you flowerpott cash in bingles chips centuries telling every guy, Yeah baby, you were the best Ive ever had and non accept a little approximately intimacy about schmoozing. Myths may paint us as ethereal, demonic creatures of pleasure, further h anestly, being a succubus middling comes buck to a convincing poker face and a dandy gross sales pitch.So, very, this awards thing shouldnt acquit been a problem for me. But Horatio wasnt making it balmy to delay a straight face.Verily, it gives me great honor to be here today, he int angiotensin converting enzymed in a nasal, barit one voice.Verily? big(p) work is what lets us great, and we gather here now to recognize one who has. shown dedication and given her all to the Greater Evil. Such individuals argon what make us sinewy, what bequeath allow us to attain in this immense battle when all tallies are counted at the end of time. Such indiv iduals are worthy of our esteem, and we strive to reward their commitment, letting all experience however how important it is to push hard against the odds and fight for our objectives in these rough times. He accordingly added Whereas those who do not work hard are cast into the fiery pits of des equal, to burn for all eternity and be ripped aside by the hounds of hell.I opened my mouth, on the verge of noting how that would be to a greater extent cost effective than severance pay, hardly Jerome caught my eye and shook his head.Meanwhile, Horatio had nudged Kasper, and the imp hastily excreteed over a gold embossed certificate. It is indeed with great pleasure that I present unto you this Award of Achievement for magnificently Exceeding and Surpassing Requisite Succubus Quotas in this Most late Quarter. Congratulations.Horatio shook my hand and handed me the certificate, which had been signed by about cubic decimeter unlike people.This Certifies thatLETHA (alias Georgina Kincaid), Succubus in the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington, United States of America, North America, Earth, has hereby splendidly Exceeded and Surpassed Requisite Succubus Quotas in this Most Recent Quarter, demonstrating outstanding transaction in seduction, damnation, and corruption of human souls.Everyone looked at me when I finished reading, so I supposed they expected some anatomy of speech or something. Mostly I was wondering if Id suffer in trouble for trimming this use up to fit an eight-by-ten frame.Urn, thanks. This iscool.That awaited to satisfy Horatio. He nodded smartly, then shot a glance to Jerome.You must be so proud.Exceptionally, murmured the archdemon, stifling a yawn.Horatio sullen back to me. Keep up the good work. You might find yourself in line for promotion to the corporate level.As if giving my soul away wasnt already bad enough. I forced a pull a face.Well. Theres still so much to do here.Excellent attitude. Most excellent. Youve done well with her. He gave Jerome a chummy pat on the back, something my boss did not look happy about at all. He didnt very bid form pats. Or being touched, period. Well, if theres nothing more, I should probably oh, I well forgot.Horatio glowering to Kasper. The imp handed over something else to his master.These are for you. As a token of our appreciation.He gave me a gift rally for Applebees, as well as some Blockbuster free-rental coupons. Jerome and I both stared for a moment, dumbstruck.Wow, I in the long run express. The runner-up for this award probably got a gift wag for Sizzler. Never doubt that second place really is the first loser.Horatio and Kasper vanished. Jerome and I stood in lull for a few moments.You like riblets, Jerome?Droll, very droll,Georgie. He strolled around my living room, pretending to study my books and artwork. Nice job with the quota thing. Of course, its smooth to excel when youre starting at zero, huh?I shrugged and tossed the certificate on my kit chen counter. Does it really matter? Still gets you the laurels. I figured youd like that.Of course I do. In fact, Ive been rather good-naturedly surprised at well(p) how well youve kept your promise.I always keep my promises. non all of your promises.My silence do him smile. So what now? Going out to celebrate?You greet where Im qualifying. Im overtaking to Peters. Arent you?He avoided the question demons excelled at that. I thought mayhap other(a) plans had arisen. Plans with a certain deathlike. You do seem to be doing that an execrable lot freshly. Its none of your business what I do.All of your business is my business.Again, I didnt answer. The demon stepped closer, dark look boring into me. For inexplicable reasons, he chose to look like John Cusack while walking the human world. That might seem like it would reduce his power to intimidate, but I s usurp, it only made things worse.How long are you going to keep up this farce, Georgie? His wrangling were a challeng e, trying to draw me out. You cant honestly think you have a next with him. Or that you two can outride chaste forever. For Christs sake, stock-still if you can keep your hands off him, no human males going to stay celibate for long. Especially one with a large fan base.Did you pretermit the part where I said its my business?Heat rose to my cheeks. disrespect knowing better, Id recently gotten myself tangled with a human. I wasnt even but sure how it had happened since Ive always gone out of my way to avoid that kind of thing. I guess you could say he sort of snuck up on me. One moment he was simply a warm and square presence at my side the next I realized how intensely he love me. That love had blindsided me. I hadnt been able to resist it and had trenchant to see where it might take me.As a result, Jerome never failed to prompt me of the potential disaster I courted daily in this romance. His opinion wasnt all told unfounded. A small part of this was because I didnt ha ve a good track record with serious family relationships. The larger part was that doing much more than hand-holding with a human would inevitably lead to me sucking away some of his life. But hey, all couples have their stumbling blocks, right?The demon smoothed down the jacket of his perfectly tailored black suit. Just friendly advice. It makes no difference. I dont mind if you keep vie house with him denying him a future, a family, a healthy sex life. Whatever. So long as you keep up the good work, its all the same to me.Are you done with the ginger talk? Im late.One more thing. I thought you might like to know I except made some arrangements for a pleasant surprise. One youll like.What kind of surprise? Jerome didnt really do surprises. Not good ones, at least.Wouldnt be a surprise if I told you, now would it?Typical. I scoffed and turned away. I dont have time for your games. Either tell me whats going on or leave.I think Ill leave. But, before I do, just remember something . He put his hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him again. I flinched at his touch and his proximity. The demon and I were not as buddy-buddy as we had once been. You only have one man whos a constant in your life, only one man you will always answer to. A hundred old age from now, he will be dust in the earth, and I will be the one you keep coming back to.It sounded romantic or sexual, but it wasnt. Not in the least. My tie to Jerome ran deeper than that. A binding and inscription that literally went straight to my soul. A connection I was bound to for all eternity, at least until the powers of hell heady to assign me to a different archdemon.Your pimp routine is getting old.He stepped back, undisturbed by my rancor. His eye danced.If Im a pimp, Georgina, whats that make you?There was an ostentatious poof of smoke, and Jerome disappeared before I could reply.Fucking demons.I stood alone in my apartment, turning over his actors line in my mind. Finally, rememberin g the time, I headed for the bedroom to change clothes. As I did, I passed Horatios certificate. Its gold seal winked up at me. I counterchangeped it over, face down, dead feeling queasy. I might be good at what I did, but that didnt mean I was proud of it.I end up only being about fifteen minutes late for my friend Peters shindig. He answered his door before I could even knock. pickings in his billowing white hat and KISS THE COOK apron, I said, Im sorry. No one told me Iron Chef was being filmed here tonight.Youre late, he chided, waving a wooden spoon in the air. So what, you win an award and think you can forget all about propriety now?I ignored his disapproval and swept inside. It was the only thing you could do with an obsessive-compulsive vampire.In the living room, I found our other friends Cody and Hugh categorization large piles of cash.Did you guys rob a bank?Nope, said Hugh. Since Peters trying to provide us with a civilized meal tonight, we decided a civilized pastim e was required.Money laundering?Poker.From the kitchen, I could hear Peter muttering to himself about a souffle. It sort of diminished my photograph of a bunch of shady characters huddled around a backroom card table. I think bridge would be more appropriate.Hugh looked doubtful. Thats an old-persons game, sweetie.I had to smile at that. Old was kind of a relative term when most of us could boast centuries. I had long suspected that among my circle of lesser immortals those who were not true saints or demons I had more years than whatever of them, never mind the optimistic claim of being twenty-eight on my drivers license.Since when do we even play games? I wondered aloud. Our last attempt had involved a game of Monopoly with Jerome. Competing with a demon in a bark for property and ultimate control is kind of futile.Since when dont we play games? Games of life, games of death. Games of love, of hope, of chance, of despair, and of all the innumerable wonders in between.I rolle d my eyes at the newcomer. Hello, Carter. Id cognise the angel was lurking in the kitchen, just as Peter had felt me coming down the hall. Wheres your better half tonight? I just saw him. I thought he was coming too.Carter strolled in and gave me one of his mocking smiles, venerable eyes alight with secrets and mirth. He wore his usual transient ware, ripped jeans and a worn jersey. When it came to age, the rest of us couldnt even compare to him. We had all once been mortal we measured our lives in centuries or millennia. Angels and demonswell, they measured their lives in eternity. Am I my brothers keeper?Classic Carter answer. I looked to Hugh, who was, in a manner of speaking, our bosss keeper. Or at least a sort of administrative assistant.He had to take off for a meeting, said the imp, stacking twenties. Some kind of team-building thing in L.A.I tried to imagine Jerome participating in a ropes course. What kind of team building do demons do exactly?No one had an answer for t hat. Which was probably just as well.While the money sorting continue, Peter made me a vodka gimlet. I eyed the bottle of Absolut on his counter.What the hell is that?I ran out of Grey Goose. Theyre practically the same anyway.I swear, if you werent already an abomination before the Lord, Id accuse you of heresy. When all the money was sorted, including my contribution, we sat around the vampires kitchen table. Like everyone else in the known world right now, we started playing Texas Hold,em. I could play okay but fared far better with mortals than immortals. My charisma and glamour had less effect on this group, which meant I had to think harder about odds and strategy.Peter scurried around during the game, attempting to play and watch his meal at the same time. It wasnt easy, since he insisted on wearing sunglasses while playing, which then had to be removed while he checked the food. When I commented on how this would be my second fancy dinner in two nights, he nearly had a fit.W hatever. Nothing you had last night will even compare to this duck Ive made. Nothing.I dont know about that. I went to the metropolitan Grill.Hugh whistled. Whoa. I wondered where you got the glow from. When a guy takes you to the Met, you cant really help but put out, huh?The glows from a different guy, I said uncomfortably, not really wanting to be reminded of a tryst Id had this morning, even if it had been pretty hot. I went to the Met with curing. The memory of last nights dinner brought a smile to my face, and I suddenly found myself rambling. You should have seen him. He actually didnt wear a T-shirt for once, though Im not sure it made a difference. The shirt he did have on was all wrinkled, and he couldnt really tie the tie. Plus, when I first got there, he had his laptop out on the table. Hed shoved everything else aside napkins, wineglasses. It was a mess. The waiters were horrified.Four sets of eyes stared at me.What? I demanded. Whats wrong?You are, said Hugh. Youre a glutton for punishment.Cody smiled. Not to mention totally love struck. Listen to yourself.Shes not in love with him, said Peter. Shes in love with his books.No Im The words died on my lips, mainly because I wasnt sure what I wanted to argue. I didnt want them to think I only loved the books, but I wasnt entirely sure I loved Seth yet either. Our relationship had blossomed with remarkable speed, but sometimes, I worried what I actually loved was the idea of him loving me.I cant believe you guys are still doing the sexless-dating thing, continued Hugh.My temper flared. Id already taken this from Jerome I didnt need to hear it here too. whole step, I dont want to talk about this if you guys are just going to nag me, okay? Im tired of everyone telling me how crazy it is.Peter shrugged. I dont know. Its not that crazy. You always hear about these married couples who never have sex anymore. They survive. This would be almost the same thing.Not with our girl. Hugh shook his head. Look a t her. Who wouldnt want to have sex with her?They all looked again, making me squirm.Hey, I protested, feeling the need to clear up a point. Thats not the problem. He wants to, okay? Hes just not going to. Theres a difference.Sorry, said Hugh. Im just not buying it. He cant be with you in the clothes you wear and not crack. Even if he could, no guy could handle his cleaning lady seeing as much action as you do.It was a worn point in my mind, the same Jerome had made, the one that worried me more than our ability to keep our hands off each other. One of my greatest nightmares involved having a conversation akin to Sorry, Seth. I cant go out tonight. I have to go work this married guy I met, so I can get him to sleep with me, thus leading him tho and further down the road to damnation while I suck away part of his life. Maybe when Im done, you and I can catch a late movie.I dont want to talk about this, I repeated. Were doing just fine. End of story.Silence fell, save for the sound of cards and money hitting the table. Glancing around, I saw Carter watching me levelly. Only he had stayed out of the Seth bashing. This didnt surprise me. The angel usually just listened until he could interject some sarcastic or esoteric quip. This used to infuriate me, but recent events had changed my attitude toward him. I still didnt fully understand him or know if I could trust him, but I had come to respect him. turbulent by the scrutiny, I glanced back down and discovered I finally had a respectable hand after several rounds of shit. Three of a kind. Not the greatest but passable. I raised high, wanting to get the others out before more cards came into play and made my hand less passable.My strategy worked on the vampires. The next card fell. Seven of spades. Hugh scowled and folded when I raised again. I waited for Carter to drop out as well, but instead, he reraised further.I hesitated only a moment before calling. As the last card was about to play, I puzzled over what the angel might have and whether I could beat it. A pair? Two pair? Ah. The last card came out. Another spade. There was now a strong possibility he had a flush. That would beat me. Still hoping I could bold him out, I raised even more. He reraised me again, more than doubling my sign bet.That was a lot of money to add, especially considering what Id already put in. Centuries of investments kept me pretty comfortable, but that didnt mean I had to be stupid. What did he have? It had to be the flush. Balking, I folded.With a pleased grin, he swept in the massive pot. When he tossed his hand over to the discard pile, the cards edges caught, making them flip over. Two of diamonds. Eight of clubs.Youyou bluffed I cried. You had nothingCarter wordlessly lit a cigarette.I looked to the others for confirmation. He cant do that.Hell, Ive been doing it for half this game, said Hugh, bor tracking Carters lighter. Not that its done me any good.Yeahbuthes, you know. An angel. They cant lie.He didnt lie. He bluffed.Cody considered, torture a piece of his blond hair around one finger. Yeah, but bluffing is still dishonest.Its implied lying, said Peter.Hugh stared at him. Implied lying? What the fuck does that mean?I watched Carter stack his money and made a face at him. Youd think an angel who hung around with employees of evil would be a good influence, but at times, he seemed worse than we were. Enjoy your thirty pieces of silver, Judas.He gave me a mock hat tip while the others argued on.Suddenly, like a row of dominoes, conversation steadily dropped. Carter felt it first, of course, but he merely bowlegged an eyebrow, as indifferent as ever. Then came the vampires with their heightened reflexes and sensitivity. They exchanged glances and looked toward the door. Finally, seconds later, Hugh and I comprehend it as well.What is that? Cody frowned, staring across the room. Its sort of like Georgina but not.Hugh followed the vernal vampires gaze, face mildly speculative . Incubus.I had already known that, of course. The signatures we all carried differed by creature. Vampires felt different from imps, just as imps felt different from succubi. If one knew an immortal well enough, one could also pick up on an individuals unique attributes. I was the only succubus who inspired sensations of silk and tuberose perfume. In a room full of vampires, I would have been able to quickly determine if Cody or Peter were present.Likewise, I immediately knew there was an burden approaching Peters door, and I knew exactly which incubus it was. I would have known his signature anywhere, even after all this time. The fleeting feel of velvety on the skin. A whispered scent of rum, almond, and cinnamon.Not even realizing Id gotten up, I flung the door open, staring with delight at the same fox-faced features and mischievous eyes Id last seen over a century ago.Hello, ma Fleur , he said.