HAPPENSTANCE
“What the fuck!”
Sterling’s voice rang through the apartment like a thunderous roar. I was instantly wide awake, my senses on high alert, each muscle ready to spring into action. Bean projected himself from my legs where he’d been quite content and knocked over my bedside lamp, trying to wedge his plump body under my bed.
“Dahlia!” He screamed my name in anger.
Grabbing my robe off the hook on the back of my bedroom door, I crept into the living room, hugging the walls as if an intruder would spring out at me at any moment.
“What is it?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it isn’t fucking okay.” He stood at the door with one eye glued to the peephole, his hand on his gun. “There is a fucking Incubus in the hall. He’s looking at your door! What the fuck is that guy doing out there? He looks like trouble. He has more tattoos than a drunken sailor, and his hair is long enough to pass as a woman. For Christ’s sake! You’re not safe here. You’re going to come stay at my house from now on.”
“Uh...” I stood there like a deer in headlights. Did he just demand that I move in with him? “He’s probably looking this way because he can hear you. These walls are super thin and you’re kind of screaming, Sterling.”
“I am not.”
I nodded. “You are. You scared the crap out of my cat.”
“Your cat’s a pussy.”
I stifled a giggle. “Oh, you have jokes today. I see.” I pulled my robe tighter around my waist. “That Incubus is my neighbor, Cole. He just moved in.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me about him?”
This man was exasperating. “Why? He hasn’t threatened me in any way. He’s been polite and hasn’t forced his way into my apartment, stolen my underwear, or tried to get me to live with him. He’s a step up from some of the other men in my life right now.”
“Men?” Sterling asked with a grimace. “Just how many men are in your life? And what constitutes being in your life? Have you fucked that guy?” He wagged a finger toward the closed door. A vein stood out prominently on his neck, an indication of his frustration.
“No, I haven’t, but if the opportunity expressed itself, I might not turn it down.”
Sterling’s jaw hit the floor. “Dahlia.”
“Don’t say my name like that. I am not your mate. I am a Succubus, and I will fuck whomever I want, when I want, and there is nothing you could do to change that. You need to accept that I am not going to submit to you.” I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. “I swear, I’ve never met anyone more hard headed than an Incubus who thinks he has a right to something.”
“You’re in danger.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I asked. “I’m having nightmares about it. When I fall asleep, I see David’s dead eyes looking at me. I’m having a hard time being alone in my own apartment because I’m afraid the monster will come out of the dark and get me. That fear isn’t going to keep me from living my life, though. I’m not going to fall into your arms and beg you to take care of me like some damsel in distress. I’ve always taken care of myself, and I always will.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
I grinned. “That may be true, but I’m going to have a damn good time before that happens.” Red haze covered my vision. My heart thumped with my anger. How dare he assume I needed him to survive? I was no one’s Succubus. I barreled past him and ripped the door open. Cole stood in the doorway of his own apartment, his phone in his hand, hair falling into his face deliciously.
“Cole?” I called out. “Could you come here, please?”
“What in the actual fuck?” Sterling asks behind me in a gravely tone.
Casually, Cole lifted his face and put his phone away. “What’s up, Dahlia? That other Incubus not doing it for you? He sounds like a real grump.”
“I’ll show him a grump,” Sterling grumbled. “Make him leave.”
“Cole, I need some attention. You’re right. My present company is kind of a downer.”
Sterling grabbed the back of my robe to pull me back into the room.
Turning, I glared in his direction, daring him to continue. “Go ahead,” I warned. “See if you ever get within ten feet of me again if you start trying to run me. I already made myself clear, I am not your mate. Don’t treat me like I am.”
“But we’re bonded,” he reminded me.
“Yeah, that doesn’t seem to mean much these days.” Cole stepped into the apartment and locked eyes with Sterling. “I’ve had the incredible misfortune of being bonded to her, too. I’m not going about the whole thing nearly as bad as you are, though. She doesn’t want to be mated; I don’t want to be mated either. I’m fine with just fucking and calling it a day.”
“That’s not fucking possible.” Sterling took a step toward Cole and thought better of it, turning his aggression to me instead. “He’s lying to you. A Succubus can’t have more than one bonded mate. He’s making it up to get close to you. He’s probably the killer, Dahlia. He’s out of his fucking mind, thinking you are the one he’s supposed to be with, and he is killing the ones he thinks are in his way.”
“Now just wait one fucking minute.” Cole stepped up, his chest square with the detective. “First of all, what fucking killer? Second of all, what would I have to gain by claiming she was my mate if she wasn’t? Don’t you think she would figure out that I’m full of shit really quick?”