Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
SIN
T his house was not without its problems. Drafty, old as fuck, more than likely haunted, and built like a maze. I couldn’t find my way around to save my damn life. If it weren’t for the unmistakable scent of coffee calling to me like a siren called a sailor to his death, I’d probably still be lost in some random corridor. I’d found the billiards room, though, so it wasn’t all downside.
“Who does an incubus gotta fuck around here to get some coffee?” I called as I stumbled my way into the kitchen. “Oh, Christian. My bad.” I gave the groundskeeper a sheepish grin.
Christian slid a full cup of freshly brewed liquid gold across the massive stone island between us. “There you are. No fucking required.”
“You sure?” I asked with a little wink, figuring if he was comfortable enough to joke about it, so was I.
“Positive.”
“Your loss. I’m delicious.”
I brought the mug to my lips and closed my eyes as the rich flavor of the coffee coated my tongue. “I take it back. This is delicious. I’m trash.”
Christian chuckled and turned back to whatever he was doing as I made love to my coffee.
Glancing around the enormous kitchen, I looked for any clue my comrades were up and about. Grimsby barely slept, so I was certain the grumpy fuck would be here somewhere.
“Where is everyone, Chris?” I asked.
He stiffened at the nickname. “So far, the only one I’ve encountered is Mademoiselle Merri. She opted to take her coffee in the morning room.”
Pretentious fuck.
I wasn’t sure if I was referring to Malice or Christian, but a morning room? Come the fuck on. What douchebag had so many rooms in their house they had to keep track of them by the time of day?
“And where can I find that oh-so-special-it-has-its-own-name room?”
The groundskeeper smirked. “It’s just across the foyer on the east side. It will be the one with all the beautiful sunlight streaming in the windows.”
Ah, because morning. Now it wasn’t as pretentious, I guessed.
“Thanks.”
Christian tipped his head. “My pleasure.”
“So is this going to be a regular thing? Coffee with Christian?”
He chuckled. “Non. I was just putting away the last of the supplies. Per Monsieur Laurent’s directions, I will return to my cottage unless summoned so that you may have your privacy.”
“I see. Well, in that case, it was nice meeting you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to see a pretty redhead about my morning smooch.”
His brows raised, but he stayed silent.
That’s right, Frenchie, she’s not just Grim’s.
Without further ado, I spun around and headed off in the direction he’d indicated. It wasn’t that hard to find the room after all. I just followed the scent of Merri. We’d spent enough time around each other now that it was easy for me to pick out the distinct notes of her natural perfume.
The pocket doors that led into the morning room were mostly open, affording me a perfect view of her as she sat on a tufted sofa in a beam of sunlight. If I didn’t know she was a succubus, I’d have mistaken her for an angel, or maybe a fae. Her coffee sat untouched on a small round end table within arm’s reach.
“It’s a shame to waste good coffee, kitten,” I said, stepping into the room as I spoke.
She jumped, so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t heard my approach. Eyes wild and hand pressed against her chest, she gaped at me. “Sin, Jesus. You startled me.”
“I see that.”
She stuck her tongue out, and suddenly all I could do was think about sucking on it. The image sent a wave of need straight to my dick, which was now very obviously thickening in my jeans. Fuck, she was the most arousing creature I’d ever known.
Merri sucked in a deep breath, her eyes darkening as she caught the unmistakable rush of lust. Now that I was standing in front of her and could really take in her appearance, it was so obvious how badly she needed to feed.
She would be stunning no matter what state she was in, but I couldn’t help but notice the smudges beneath her eyes, the dull quality of her hair, or the paleness of her lips. If she’d been a painting, I’d say that she’d been bleached by the sun. The life was just sort of draining out of her.
“How long has it been since you fed?”
She stiffened at the accusation in my voice. “Um, not since Malice. Well, I got a little hit off of Chaos, but it wasn’t exactly filling.”
“We need to get you taken care of. A hungry succubus is dangerous.”
Her gaze flicked away from me, shame washing over her face. “You don’t have to remind me. I already know.”
“Already know what?” Malice said from the door.
“Ah, perfect timing, Mal. Our little sex demon needs you to get her camming situation handled ASAP. Where are we at with that?”
Merri sat up a little straighter, hope in her eyes.
“It’s all ready to go. I just came from delivering my spare laptop to your room, hellcat. You can log in whenever you like, and there’s no way you’ll be traced.”
He’s said something similar before, but it seemed counterproductive to point it out. Merri needed access to her website unless, of course, she wanted to begin regularly feeding on the four of us, but even though things had started to shift, she clearly still wasn’t comfortable enough to come out and ask us. Until she was, she needed an alternative that would keep all of us safe.
Chaos came barreling into the room, his eyes a little wild, expression frantic as he zeroed in on Merri. “There she is. Fuck, Malice, why is your house so large? How can we keep her safe if every inch of this place is like a game of hide-and-seek?”
Oh, Chaos. You’re just as much of a goner for her as I am.
Malice raised an eyebrow. “And where exactly do you think she’d run off to?”
Chaos shrugged. “I dunno. That’s sort of the entire point.”
“We’re on an island with only one access road, not to mention the gate surrounding the property. Even if someone swam their way to shore, no one is sneaking up on us here. She’s as safe as we can make her, Chaos.”
“That’s what you said about my penthouse. Now it’s gone.” Grim’s deep voice rumbled through the room as he joined us.
“To be fair, you were the one who said your penthouse was safe. I simply said it was as safe as I could make it. Had you left it up to a vote, I’d have suggested the chateau sooner.”
“This isn’t a democracy.”
“Can we not make Daddy angry this early in the morning?” I asked in a weak attempt to lighten the mood.
“Merri needs to feed. I can feel it,” Chaos said, abruptly turning the ship around.
“Yes, we’ve established that. She’s all set.” Malice sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned his focus back to the woman in question. “You shouldn’t have any trouble. If you do, you know how to find me.”
“Do I? Is there some special Pestilence signal I should flash into the night sky or something?”
The corner of Malice’s lip twitched up in the semblance of a smile. “Just call out my name.”
“So she’ll be camming?” Chaos asked, his expression unreadable but his disappointment palpable.
My, how things had changed. Just a couple of weeks ago, you couldn’t have paid the guy to fuck Merri, but now he was all but foaming at the mouth to volunteer. Glancing around the room, I realized it was the same for all of us. Without even trying—and despite our best efforts—she’d managed to wrap each and every one of us around her little finger.
“Don’t sound so sad, Chaos. She puts on one hell of a show.”
“How do you...” Merri’s eyes flew wide. “OriginalSin. I should have fucking known!”
I could have reacted one of two ways. Tried to hide the truth or owned up to it. Honesty was always the best policy.
Slipping into the southern accent I gave my persona, I smirked. “In the flesh, darlin’. I have to admit, I’ve been missing your outfit of the day posts. And that private session we had was”—I sucked in a sharp breath and let my eyes flutter closed—“fucking perfect.”
She gaped at me, her pouty lips opening and closing like a fish. “How... I... but...” She finally gave up trying to form a coherent sentence and just shook her head. Then something else seemed to occur to her because she scowled and cast a squinty-eyed glare at the rest of us. “Who else has been spying on me?”
“I mean, is it technically spying when it's on the internet?”
“Malice!”
He held up his hands. “That wasn’t an admission of guilt, just an honest question.”
“Your whole platform is based on anonymity, kitten. I was protecting my identity and feeding you at the same time.” I knew she wasn’t really that mad at me. If anything, I’d bet she was annoyed she hadn’t figured it out based on my handle alone.
“Ugh, fine. But you didn’t have to give me a fake-real name, Emmett. ”
“Who said it was fake?”
She blinked at me, and I used her surprise to distract her further.
“Besides, if you think the expression ‘Death is always watching’ didn’t stem from somewhere, then you aren’t paying attention. Not a single one of us is innocent here.”
Grim’s brows pulled together as he straightened his shoulders. “Leave me out of your nonsense, Sin.”
“But throwing you under the bus is so much fun.”
Grim glared at me. “It seems you have the matter well in hand. I’ll be in the garden.”
He left before any of us could reply.
Merri took that opportunity to get to her feet. She swayed slightly, and I swear to God, all three of us moved at once to help her steady herself.
“I’m okay,” she protested.
“No, you’re not,” Chaos said, gripping her bicep.
“I will be.”
Chaos, Malice, and I all exchanged worried glances. Our dynamic with Merri had changed so dramatically since we’d almost lost her twice now. Each one of us seemed more devoted to our cause, but it was more than that. We weren’t just interested in fucking her.
I knew I really liked her now. I more than liked her, if I was being honest with myself. I cared about Merri. The thought of something happening to her made me ragey. I could only imagine what it did to Chaos. He’d run in here like the house was on fire when he thought she might have disappeared right under his nose. Chaos never worried about people like that. And Malice... Well, his heart may as well have been carved out of ice, he was so cold and indifferent most of the time. Still, even he was drawn to her warmth. She’d thawed him in a matter of weeks.
And that didn’t account for the changes in Grim. He was about as cuddly as the thorns on one of his prized rose bushes, and yet he followed her around like a sunflower chasing the sun. He was as obsessed with her as the rest of us. Even if he wasn’t prepared to admit it.
Poor girl.
If she’d thought we were insufferable when we were trying to keep her at a distance, she was in for one hell of an awakening now that she had our joint attention.
“I’ll be in my room. Thank you for your help, Mal. I’m sure after a session, I’ll feel a lot better.”
We watched her go, all of us quiet until she was out of sight.
My gaze slid to Malice. “Sooo, do we all get our own laptops, or are we all piling in your room?”