Chapter 5
Lily
The moment the sunburnt idiot started spouting his bullshit about incubi and what he thought about them, I knew there was no way I could keep my mouth shut.
I just hoped I managed to defuse the situation instead of making it worse, because I had a feeling that knocking some sense into the buffoon with my magic would definitely make things worse.
So that meant I had to rely on playing the dumb blonde, something I loved using to my advantage.
It worked so well on stupid men, and some women too.
I could have fun with this, especially since I managed to tag one of them with my innate charm talent.
Too bad my natural magic talent was so weak that I could only influence one person at a time.
It should be enough to give me a little extra sway.
Despite my charm talent, the two asked if I wanted to speak with them privately, like they thought I was too scared to tell the truth with Julian being there.
Julian hadn’t invited them in, and that told me enough already.
Tension oozed from him, and I knew that he’d have a problem if he lost sight of me.
I also didn’t want to be alone with anyone, uniformed or not, with what had been happening.
What if whoever it was paid a corrupt cop?
Why couldn’t it be Officers Hayes and Cooley? They were cool. But these guys, not so much.
I deflected by telling them that I’d known Julian for years… which technically was true. I’d known him… just not very well.
“So how can we help you?” I said, not planning on helping at all. I didn’t plan on saying anything more than I already had. I’d confirmed that I was, in fact, not missing, and that was it.
The lobster-red one’s eyes were glued to my cleavage, so I used my magic to covertly cover up a little bit more, then tugged the cardigan closer.
The taller one cleared his throat. “We had a report of a woman with your exact description going missing last night after visiting Delerium,” said the taller one.
“Me? What do you mean?”
“Pink hair. Late twenties. Five foot six-ish. Short silver dress. Heels.”
I frowned prettily. “Well,” I said, keeping my voice sugary sweet, “aside from the pink hair and the heels, that’s not me at all. Also, I’m right here,” I repeated. “And I’m not missing.”
“Could anyone you know have called in to report you missing?” he asked.
I shrugged. Then, in my most dulcet tone, I repeated like a fucking broken record, “I’m not missing though.” I blinked several times.
“You have pink hair. That’s not very com—”
Julian butted in. “We had pink and purple lights flashing yesterday, and any blonde would look like they have pink hair.”
“That’s right, you did!”
That had both of them stumped. I took advantage of the silence.
“Well, it’s so nice of you to come make sure I’m okay. It means a lot.” I laid it on thick. “I know it’s hard work keeping Darlington safe.”
I stuck out my hand for a goodbye shake. The key was to get them to go for the shake, because they usually left afterward. It was drilled in to people. Shake, say goodbye, then leave.
They went for it, and I thanked them again even though they did jack shit. And soon they were getting back into their cruiser, and Julian and I were bounding up the stairs to his apartment.
The moment the door clicked shut, our eyes met, and we both broke into laughter.
“That was smooth as fuck,” Julian said, grinning.
I leaned back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. “Honestly? I wasn’t sure it would work. I might’ve cheated.”
“Magic?”
“Just a smidge.”
He stepped closer. “Still impressive. It didn’t feel like a normal spell. What was it?”
My face heated, and I waved a hand like I could shoo the question away. “It’s nothing.”
He didn’t budge. “That wasn’t nothing, Lily.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding?”
I sighed. “You know how some witches can cast spells, and others are born with weird little talents they can’t quite explain?
Well… I’ve got both. And this—” I waved my hand in the general direction of the door “—is my talent. I don’t know if it has a proper name, but my parents called it Charm.
As in, charming the pants off someone. I don’t use it often. ”
“Why not? And why does it seem to me like you’re embarrassed about this talent? That’s a damn useful gift.”
I shook my head, suddenly feeling like I was four years old again and caught using my talent to weasel candy from a shopkeeper.
“I was told it’s cheating. That it’s not real magic.
My parents meant well, I think. They wanted me to learn proper casting, not rely on something I didn’t earn.
I think they were also trying to keep me out of trouble. But that belief? It stuck.”
“Well, I think it’s a fantastic talent. And it definitely came in handy just now. Is that why you didn’t use it to keep your job?”
I winced. “No. Honestly? I was so pissed off, I didn’t even think about it.
I probably should have. But I doubt it would have worked for the long term.
I might have saved my job for the one day, but if that asshole Steven wanted me gone, I’d get fired eventually.
The effects are not long-lasting. I can’t change people’s minds for long. And it doesn’t always work.”
“Well, it’s very impressive.”
“What, the talent? It’s raw and untrained.”
“No,” he said, voice dropping into something low and dangerous. “Not the talent. I meant you.”
His gaze locked on mine, hungry and flicking with violet fire.
Oh.
Before I could respond, he was there, his body caging me against the wall.
“Tell me no and I will stop,” he growled.
But I didn’t tell him to stop. Instead, I clasped his belt and pulled him closer.
He let out a feral-sounding growl, and then he was kissing me, devouring my lips, stealing my breath.
My entire body ignited. And with every expert slide of his lips, every flick of his tongue, moisture rushed to my pussy. It wasn’t just his expertise and touch though. There was something else. Magic. Not mine, but his. His incubus sex magic.
When his tongue licked at the seam of my lips, I couldn’t help but imagine it licking lower over my clit. And when my lips parted and he slid his tongue into my mouth, my sex throbbed and I imagined something else, something a lot more substantial, filling me.
I clung to his shoulders, my knees having been turned to jelly. But even if my knees failed to work, I wouldn’t fall far, because Julian had shoved a thick thigh between my legs. I was trapped between him and the wall, and neither had any give.
Not that I wanted any. I ached for him. We’d teased each other since that first dance weeks ago, and I was done waiting. I ground against his thickly muscled thigh and moaned into his mouth at the friction against my clit. God, I was so wet I was going to leave a mark on his pants.
But then he shifted, and his clothes disappeared, reminding me that as a demon, Julian didn’t need clothes. This was all him. Any time I touched him, I was touching the real deal. An incubus. Older and more experienced than I could possibly imagine. Feral, lusty, and right now, all mine.
His mouth left my lips, marking a trail down my neck.
I gasped for air because his mouth wasn’t the only thing doing the exploring.
His many hands, attached to smoky demon limbs coming out from behind his body, touched me everywhere they could, sneaking under my dress and claiming every patch of skin as his.
With nothing but the slide of my dress—which had turned back into the silver satiny one from last night—between my nipples and his chest, they hardened to little nubs.
Nubs he promptly found with his fingers and rubbed.
His thigh changed texture, ribbed for my pleasure, and he rubbed it against me, making me cry out.
He covered my mouth with his again, swallowing the sound.
With one last suckle on my lower lip, he pulled away. I was left panting for air and dizzy with lust. I was sure that if I moved, I’d collapse on the floor from how weak he’d made me.
And Julian? He was fully dressed again in that sexy casual suit, not a piece of hair out of place, and looking like the cat who caught the canary.
“Come, Vixen. Let’s get you all set up.” He walked away like he hadn’t just completely rocked my socks off. “Then I have some errands to run to get the club open later tonight. But I’ll be back soon.”
It turned out that Julian owned the entire building—yes, the whole damn thing—and lived alone on the top floor. He had a personal gym, gourmet kitchen, office the size of my old apartment, gaming room, and wait for it… only one bedroom.
Which, after that toe-curling kiss, I was more than okay with sharing.
Julian let me take over the dining room, claiming he only ever ate in the breakfast nook in the kitchen, like we did this morning. So, I’d set up my stuff, including my laptop and charger.
The whole place was finished with heavy oversized furniture, more befitting a traditional manor than a place in the city, but with the high ceilings and sprawling layout, it worked.
It was barely afternoon and I already felt like I’d been steamrolled by a herd of centaurs, and not in a sexy way.
In the past twenty-four hours, I’d lost my job (boo), danced my butt off (yay), gotten magically roofied (rude), woken up in the bed of a dangerously hot incubus (double yay), had my apartment broken into (ugh), watched my wards and charms get obliterated (ruder), outwitted two nosy cops (go me), kissed said incubus (triple yay), and now I was parked on Julian’s ridiculously comfy couch wondering what the hell to do now.
But as much as I wanted to pretend being a responsible adult was optional, reality had other plans. It was officially time to dig up my dusty old résumé, slap some lipstick on it, and bring it back from the dead.
But how was I supposed to focus on anything so mundane when my house had just been broken into?
Add in the fact that witches were vanishing like socks in a dryer, and I had a sneaking suspicion I was next on the magical hit list. The missing women weren’t just a pinned forum chat anymore; they were a warning.
Yesterday’s drama of losing my job felt like a minor inconvenience now.
Should I post something on the forum about what happened last night and the break-in? But what if they weren’t related? And Julian didn’t need any more suspicious eyes on Delerium. I still couldn’t believe the cops thought he kidnapped me or whatever. And who the hell had reported me missing?
And then there was the irresistible incubus himself and whatever the hell was budding between us. I still had no idea what to make of it. Julian had introduced himself as my friend to Mr. Kim. And then I’d one upped him while I was packing, adding the word benefits to the title.
That was all he could be, but I could handle that.
In fact, keeping it casual was probably for the best. I wasn’t one of his groupies.
Julian was a self-proclaimed manwhore, and he said it with pride.
He wasn’t someone I’d want a romantic relationship with anyway.
But friends with benefits? I could do that.
Everyone knew he was an incubus with zero interest in settling down. And why the hell would he when he had a bevy of incubus-obsessed groupies practically throwing their thongs, and themselves, at his feet for one night of toe-curling, scream-his-name fun?
A demon like him didn’t know what commitment was. But they did have friends.
And right now, he was being a damned good one. I’d much rather be here, in his warded home, than be at my place with no front door and no wards.
The only thing I was worried about now was Shadow. But I tried to remind myself that Shadow was still technically a stray and she’d managed to survive before I found her, even though she was so young. Or did she find me? Either way, she’d be fine.
After making sure I was comfy, Julian left to get some chores done. Imagine that! A responsible incubus.
My laptop called to me, mocking me with its closed lid, as it sat untouched on the dining table. I thought about getting up, but the couch convinced me otherwise. Did I mention it was super comfortable?
Suddenly, everything snapped into focus like being slapped with a double shot of espresso.
Or maybe, just maybe, it was my subconscious throwing me a bone so I could avoid resurrecting my sad little résumé from the graveyard.
Either way, the message was loud and clear: I needed to stop playing the damsel in distress.
Because let’s be real: I wasn’t some helpless waif waiting for a knight in shining armor to save me.
I had magic. I had brains. And I had a mean right hook when provoked.
It was time to stop reacting and start investigating.
Witches were going missing. And if I didn’t figure out who or what was behind it, I was going to be next. No doubt about it.
Worse? Julian was going to get blamed. Sweet, snarky, dangerously charming Julian. If I disappeared, they’d pin it on him faster than you could say “witch hunt,” and I wasn’t about to let that happen.
So yeah, screw the résumé. I had bigger fish to fry.
Time to stop being the bait and start being the hunter.