Dahlia's Kiss

“That doesn’t explain how you came about.”

“Doesn’t it though?” he asked. “She was taking as many as ten men a night. Husbands, brothers, sons, she didn’t care. If they could pay her, she fucked them.” He looked at the ceiling before continuing his tale. “They came for her in the middle of the night. She was dragged out of her bed and taken to the town jail. There, the men took turns on her after drugging her so she couldn’t control them with her waves of pleasure. She was held for a full year before labor overtook her and I came into the world screaming.”

Shock must have been apparent on my face because he started to reach for me, then reconsidered.

“None of those men were Incubi. One of them managed to impregnant her. I don’t know who my father was, or how he was able to do it, but I was the result of a year of captivity and rape. They left me with her, and I should thank God that they did, because having me was the driving force she needed to escape. She never talked about how she got away. It must have been traumatic, because on the few times she tried, she broke down and I got nothing out of her after that.”

“Drake, I don’t know what to say.”

He put a hand up and silenced me. “She ran away with me. I was raised to think I was a human until it became apparent I was both, and she had to tell me everything. I ran away from her after that. When I finally came to grips and returned, she was a shell of who she once was. I tried to learn what I could during that time with her, but she took her own life only about six months after.”

“I’m sorry,” I tried to console him.

“What I do know is that a Succubus and an Incubus have one true mate. When you first walked into my law office, your smell lit me on fire. I knew exactly what you were, and who you were. I’ve been too afraid to bring it up. As time went on, I grew more and more agitated by your feeding schedule. I could feel the difference in the air after you fed, and it would drive me crazy.”

“How come I can’t smell you?” I asked. “If you’re my one true mate, I should be able to smell you the way you smell me.”

“It’s one of my human traits. No one of our kind can identify me. How do you think I got by that cop's detection when he was in the conference room. I could smell him. I know he kissed you. I almost burst into that room to beat his ass, but I resisted. But I couldn’t control myself with the humans.”

“It was you the whole time. You were the one committing the murders?”

He nodded. “I couldn’t stand the thought of them putting their dirty hands on you. You should have been feeding from me, and me alone. It was only a matter of time before they figured you out and did what they did to my mom to you. I thought that if I killed them, you would get scared and see that it was only logical to only feed from me. But then those other Incubi showed up.” Drake’s face went dark.

“How did you get my underwear?” It was a question that had been driving me mad.

“That one was easy. You never lock your damn door. Often when I was on my way to a trial, I would stop by and run my hands over your things. Your scent was so strong there. One time, I couldn’t help myself and I masturbated on your bed. You couldn’t smell me, so you never knew. That’s when I started taking them. I had to make a statement that those men were dying because of you, so you would leave them alone. What better way than to leave an article of your clothing behind at the crime scenes?”

I felt sick. It was only by sheer force of will that I didn’t vomit. This had been going on for so long, and I had no idea. “I can’t believe you.”

“When the other guys started coming around, I got frantic. That’s when I took all the pairs of panties from your place. The door was locked more than it was open, and I was afraid I wouldn’t get another opportunity. I also took the hair out of your brush and put it at the scene as well. When they took you out of the office to question you, I was afraid they were going to blame you for everything, so I torched the place to get rid of the evidence. I did that for you. I needed to get your undivided attention.”

I glared at him. “Well, you have it now. You know they’re going to come for me, right? They aren’t going to let you get away with this.”

Drake chuckled. “Do you think any of them even know you’ve been coming here? I can’t imagine that you told them.”

I bit my lip. The only way I was going to get out of here was by pretending to buy into his delusion. “You must have had a really hard life.”

He looked at me. “I did. But now I found my mate. Everything is going to be better now. I’m finally going to have the life I’ve always wanted to have. With you by my side.”

“Do you think I'm going to want to stay by your side with you keeping me tied up like this?” I asked.

“The ropes are staying on until I know I can trust you.” Drake said.

“Where am I going to go?” I asked. “I came here for a reason. The others weren’t really who they claimed to be. They were using me.” I felt acid on my tongue from the lie, but he needed to believe I had no knights in shining armor.

“I could kill them,” he said. “Like the others. If they hurt you, they won’t survive.”

“One of them hit me. That’s why I ran away.” It was the truth, but not in the way I was spinning it. His concern gave me hope that he was believing it.

“I’ll fucking shoot him. Which one did it?”

“I’ll tell you all about it. But Drake, I’m cold. Please untie me. Give me some clothes. I’m so uncomfortable.” I pursed my lips and tried to look as pathetic as I could.

“You promise you won’t run?”

“I promise.”