Dahlia's Kiss

“I shouldn’t have gone to your house,” I said. “I never meant to give you the impression that it was anything other than physical.”

“Who was he? I need to know for my own sanity.”

“His name is Cole.” I formed the name with my mouth, and it felt like a betrayal to say it out loud.

“Cole what?”

“Why does it matter?” I felt myself getting defensive. Who I kissed was really none of his business, even though I wanted to reassure him however I could. I also felt the need to protect my men.

“I’m just curious. That’s all. Does he know about us? What we do on the side?”

“Yeah, he does.” If I were human, this whole conversation would have made me feel dirty. As a Succubus, it meant nothing.

“And he’s okay with it?”

“I’m not in a relationship with anyone.” That felt like a lie. “Everyone I sleep with knows I owe them nothing, and sex is all they will get. Apparently, you missed the memo on that, and I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed our time together.”

“But?” he asked.

I fidgeted. “But... maybe under the circumstances, we should stop doing it. When feelings get involved, I don’t like it. I can’t give the emotion back to you. I’m not equipped for monogamy, nor do I want to be. I enjoy being my own person, and that includes sleeping with whoever I want to. I thought you were the same way.”

“I was.”

“But?” I asked, repeating his question.

“But no one else I’ve been with has compared with what I feel when we are fucking.”

Oh, boy. How do you tell someone, that’s because you’ve been sleeping with a Succubus? You know, the very thing you accused me of being the last time you put your cock in me? I'm sure that conversation would go over well.

“Maybe that’s because I get so much practice?” I offered.

“Don’t try to play this off as if you’re some kind of whore. I don’t believe that about you.” Drake squinted at me, as if trying to figure out what was going on inside my mind. He sighed and looked at his hands. “Maybe you should take the day off. I have a lot of work to get done today, and it’s going to be hard to do that thinking about this conversation and seeing you at your desk.”

“Are you firing me too?”

“No, I just need some time away from you.” He went back to his papers, and I knew that was a dismissal.

I was crying by the time I reached my car. CeeCee’s space was vacant, and I thanked God for small miracles that she hadn’t lingered long enough to see me looking like a wreck. It took a few tries to get my key into the ignition, but when I did, I hit reverse hard and listened to my engine whine as I pushed it to its limits to get the heck out of there as fast as I could. Only a block away, I realized someone was following me.

“I don’t have time for this,” I mumbled, trying to get a clear view of the black Subaru that had been making all the same turns I had since I left the lot. I wrapped my hand around my phone, ready to call in reinforcements, before I realized I knew the car.

Slamming on my brakes, I pulled into the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant and idled. Sure enough, the Subaru pulled in too, parking directly behind me. Before he could get out of his car, I exited mine and jumped in his passenger seat.

“I told you to go home,” I said to Cole as he cowered beside me.

“I was going to, but then that woman came outside and told me you were a fucking whore and I needed to watch myself with you, and I decided I needed to stay.” He threw his hands up to ward me off. “What happened? Your eyes are red like you were crying.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I shoved my hands between my thighs.

“I suppose I should be grateful that you cared enough to stick around and make sure I’m okay.” I looked at him and his expression softened.

“Do I need to hurt someone for you?”

A slip of red fabric caught my eye on the floorboard of the back seat. “What is that?”

“What?” he asked, twisting in the seat to see what I was looking at.

I grabbed whatever it was and pulled it into my lap. I unfolded the garment and gasped as it became clear. “These are mine!” The pair of underwear was one of my favorites and were among those that had been stolen from my apartment.

“That is not what it looks like,” he belted. “I can explain why I have those!”

I threw them in his face and got out of the car. This was not what I needed after the day I’d already been having.