Succubus Soul Read online

  A strong pair of hands gripped on to my shoulder, an abdomen against my back as if bracing me, and I felt a sudden burst of strength as the invigorating odor of dust and sweat assaulted my nose.

  Aunt Alanna sent a careful look my way, then reached Hazel and Sheila, unharmed, urging them to move back toward the cabin, where the others had gathered. Already, Nelian guards were back up in position, but I had to manipulate my bubble of protection to allow them passage in order to strike at the boar, and I wasn’t used to this level of manipulation. A pocket here, tightening the bubble there around my uncles and aunt, who’d finally gotten the idiots to start running, another pocket there for Connak to squeeze through. My legs were positively shaking as the boar got angrier and angrier, headbutting against my pink bubble.

  “You can do it, Bry,” whispered Prince Zeke in my ear. “I’ve never seen a finer, more capable woman.” His hands shifted down my arms, clutching my forearms to help keep my arms up.

  I did summon the strength, letting the Nelian guards through to start ripping their arrows at the creature, covering the retreating figures.

  An arrow struck the boar in the flank and it cried out, its breath growing more harried as it ran toward us.

  “Bryony!” shouted Aunt Alanna.

  The boar was headed straight in our direction.

  “Shit,” muttered Zeke, and though I saw a flurry of figures headed our way, including Prince Zeke’s own guards, out of the corner of my eye, it was too late. They were too far, and I was too weak. My protection bubble was weakening and in the wrong position, forming an unintentional barrier between us and the beast and virtually everyone else on the other side.

  I tried to let my bubble drop, to redirect it, but my legs were jelly as I fell back into Zeke’s arms.

  “Fuck!” said Zeke, and I wondered if he’d tried using his powers to confuse the creature. It wouldn’t work around Alanna. “Hold on, Bry,” he said, tapping my arm quickly as if to wake me. “Just hold on!”

  With a grunt, he rolled us both sideways, into the cluster of vines, out of the path of the charging boar. My protection bubble flickered and snapped, allowing countless figures to head toward us, but the creature turned with a thunderous screech and made its way toward us first.

  “Get up!” shouted Zeke, dragging me to my feet. We both stood, but I was weak, stumbling.

  Zeke tightly gripped on to my waist with one arm.

  Another screeching squeal sounded behind us and I turned slightly, catching sight of another boar responding to its friend’s cries.

  “Zeke!” I shouted. We were trapped. Arrows shot off around us, but they weren’t flying far enough.

  “Hang on!” said Zeke, reaching for a dangling vine above us. With a mighty roar that almost sent the boars stumbling, he started climbing, one-handed, lifting both of us up.

  I knew that despite his unbelievable strength he couldn’t do it alone, so I willed myself to find the strength, clutching on to the vine above us with both hands, letting him get a better two-handed grip. The two of us shimmied upward and upward, our abdomens flush against one another’s, trying to reach a height above the creatures mere yards away now.

  With a crash, the two beasts plowed into one another, neither willing to slow for the chance of spearing their prey. They shook the vine we were climbing and it snapped, the two of us flying backward, landing together with a painful thud on the back of one of the beasts.

  I tried to push myself up, but I crumpled down and Zeke pushed me flat, gripping the creature with his other hand by the sheer body hairs. “Just hold on,” he said through gritted teeth, and it was clear as the squealing creature took off that we were in for a bumpy ride.

  The boar didn’t slow, angry and wounded, moving on and on through the forest, far away from the cabin and the group of anyone who might help us. It took me a while to recognize the thunder of the waterfall growing closer, finally eclipsing the sound of the boar’s own hooves. I clutched on to the wispy boar hairs as tightly as I could, feeling Zeke’s comforting grip on my back as we bobbed and moved forward. The gaseous smell of the boar beneath us wasn’t helping matters, as I was about to be sick.

  At last, after what felt like forever, the beast started slowing. The waterfall grew more thunderous, water droplets splashing across our backs as we neared the basin.

  “I think,” said Zeke between breaths, “it’s stop—”

  But the boar, not oblivious to us being on its back like I’d suspected, came to a screeching halt, bending forward and flicking us both into the basin of water.

  I barely had time to think and throw up a bubble of protection to soften the impact as we slammed into the water. We floated along the bubble’s surface, the water not reaching us, but I was dizzy and I struggled to hold on to it.

  Zeke got his wits about him after a beat, righting himself and turning toward the shore. Both boars were drinking, ignoring us, their grunts echoing even over the roar of the waterfall. Behind us was only cliff face.

  “Can you—” Zeke took a look at me. “Bry, let go.” He closed the distance and grabbed my hand. “Let’s swim for it. Toward the waterfall. I’ve got you.” He bent slightly so I could fall on top of him.

  The moment his arms wrapped around my shoulders, the bubble collapsed, sending us both into the water. The stream was strong, but Zeke was stronger, projecting us forward with a sturdy butterfly stroke. In almost no time at all, he brought us to the very edge of the waterfall, onto the dark rock offering a walkway around and behind the raging waters.

  One of the great beasts lifted its head just as Zeke pulled me to his feet. Zeke turned his free arm toward it and bared his teeth, his pinched expression belying his efforts, no doubt, to project an illusion toward the beast.

  I rested a weary hand on his arm. “You won’t have your abilities for another hour.”

  “Even at this distance from the princess?”

  I nodded. “Natch and Nelian lose their abilities as long as they remain in her presence, and for an hour or so afterward.” I didn’t bother to explain that her negation abilities didn’t work when she was unconscious or sleeping, and he didn’t think to ask how she managed to travel back and forth between the two worlds if portal-projecting Nelians couldn’t somehow use their abilities on her.

  “Everyone except you,” he pointed out.

  I nodded.

  Taking my hand, he led me behind the waterfall, out of sight of the great beasts who loved to torment any and all beings they stumbled across.

  The rocks were wet and somewhat slippery, but I managed to find my footing, my sneakers offering the grippage I needed them to. We needed to get all the way across the waterfall and to the other side, then wait for the boars to leave before we tried heading back toward the cabin. The force of the falling water was mighty, the splashing soaking me through to the bone. Zeke’s workout attire clung to his skin, revealing two taut nipples on his broad chest, and every line, every muscle along his front and back. His long, orange hair clung desperately to his skin, and I found myself reaching over to wipe a clump of it off his brow.

  He yanked me to him, chest to chest, his breaths so shallow, his mouth so near, I could hear him clearly over the thunder of the waterfall.

  We lingered there for a time, and I knew if I didn’t step back, I was definitely going to kiss him—if he didn’t kiss me first.

  “Look!” I said as I put the slightest of space between us. Behind him, at the center of the waterfall, there was a sort of path. A cave through the rock, but it didn’t remind me much of a cave. Rather than dark rock, it glowed incandescent blue, the pathway lined with moss and grasses.

  “Maybe it’s a way out,” I shouted over the waterfall.

  Zeke grabbed my hand again and led me forward.

  Though the ground was still moist, our feet slinking slightly in the dirt, the farther we moved, the dryer the little grove became, the softer the thunder of the waterfall behind us.

  But then it all came
to an end, the mossy pathway opening up to a small grotto, no path to lead us farther.

  “Damn it,” swore Zeke, but he stared ahead for a moment, his green eyes seeming to reflect the blue light all around us. “I couldn’t project an illusion this beautiful.”

  Taking in the space, I had to agree. Though the moisture still clung to my skin, the temperature was just right in here, the blue glow seeming to almost float off the mossy ground, twinkling on the cave’s ceiling like stars in the sky.

  When I turned back, Zeke was staring at me, his hand going to my elbow, directing me to face him. “Bry,” he said, his voice husky. “Rio really likes you.”

  “Oh!” That was the last thing I’d expected from him just then. “That’s… I… I think he’s amazing.” I bit down on my lip, unable to look him in the eye. It was the truth, but judging by the fluttery sensation in my abdomen, the tingling between my legs, there was no doubt I thought Prince Zeke was amazing, too.

  “I told myself to back off,” said Zeke, taking hold of my chin and forcing me to look at him again. “Out of respect for a mate. But I don’t want to.”

  Before I could even think of how to respond, his lips seized mine.

  I pushed into the kiss, my hand slipping from his and grabbing him by the back. The fabric was wet beneath my hand, and I pushed it aside to slide up and feel the warmth of his moist skin. The muscles were rock-hard beneath my touch.

  Zeke came up for air and chuckled. “He said you tasted different.”

  Gasping, I wondered what else Prince Rio had told him.

  “And delicious,” he added, going back in for another kiss.

  My groin pushed instinctively into his and his hand fell from my chin, his whole body thrusting forward as he gripped me by the back. We kissed and kissed, his lips exploring more of my face, my neck as I smooched his stubble, his salty sweat as appetizing as candy on my tongue. Like music, we timed coming up for breaths with peeling one another’s tops off, leaving his broad chest bare, a trail of soft fire tracing his pecs leading all the way down his abdomen, disappearing beneath his workout shorts. I stood there in my black sports bra, my sloppy bun long since knocked out, my hair probably wild and frizzy and a mess to look at.

  Zeke took hold of a lock of it and let it slip between his fingers, like a gentle rain. “I thought Nelians all had green hair.”

  If he looked close enough, he might see my roots. “There’s a thing called hair dye.”

  Out of habit more than anything, I moved to shift the hair back over my ears. Even when in a bun, I’d managed to cover the tips of it.

  He seized my wrist and stopped me, the corner of his lip twitching. “You look gorgeous as a redhead,” he said. “I was just curious. I didn’t think your mother had red hair, either.”

  I appreciated him not telling me to let my hair be its natural color, even if his attention was directed now to the tip of my ear, his fingers tracing it softly.

  I shivered, his gentle touch so reminiscent of Rio’s.

  “Rio told me you’re a bit, inexperienced,” he said.

  I glowered at him. Rio had said they were close, but it sounded like he’d gone and bragged about what had happened. Then again, I’d shared most of the details with Rajani myself.

  “Is that a problem?” I asked, tossing my head back.

  “No.” He grinned and kissed my forehead. “Not for me. But I thought you might want to take it slow.”

  He spoke as if this were the start of something, as if we’d have time later to pick up the pace. I placed my hands on either side of his face and kissed him full on the lips. “I’m ready. I’ll go as far as you’re willing to go.”

  He deliberately raised his eyebrows. “You might regret saying that, love.”

  “Try me.”

  He yanked me toward him again, his hard cock grinding tightly into my abdomen. “Will do.”

  His hands moved as one beneath my sports bra, rolling it up. I raised my arms above my head so he could get it off, and the moment it hit the ground, he took both of my breasts in his clutches, squeezing, pushing them upward, his thumbs pressing savagely against my nipples.

  I cried out, stumbling a little, and he softened his grip somewhat, but I leaned forward and bit his earlobe for good measure.

  Grunting, he sucked a nipple into his mouth, pinching it between his teeth just hard enough to hurt slightly, my nails digging into the sleek and hard skin of his back. He moved to the other nipple and I shrieked as his teeth clamped down on it, but I found one of my legs wrapping around his torso, grinding my groin against his thigh.

  His hands slipped down my leggings, the tightness of the material forcing his appendages to meld with my skin. He massaged my thighs as he nibbled my lip, his touch progressing to the sleek, moist area between my legs. His fingers caressed my clit, making me moan and lean even harder against him, the dance of his fingers over my apex less gentle than Rio’s, more greedy, more needy.

  He directed me backward, his bulk pushing against me until my back slammed up against a moss-covered wall. The kisses never stopped the whole time, his fingers dipping down between my folds and teasing at my pussy.

  Whimpering, I grinded the back of my head against the wall, trying to anchor myself before I floated off.

  I reached for the hem of his shorts and yanked down, revealing just an inch more of the fiery orange hair at his groin.

  Zeke stepped back and kicked the shorts and shoes off, revealing his full, throbbing member, his wide, bare feet padding against the mossy stone as he stepped back toward me. I took the opportunity to peel off my own workout pants, kicking my sneakers to the side.

  Zeke took me in from head to toe, then grabbed hold of both of my arms possessively, yanking me forward so his lips could smash against mine.

  His hard erection dug into my bellybutton and I ground forward into it, feeling the area between my legs grow sleeker and sleeker.

  Zeke took hold of his cock and fixed its tip to my clit, directing it in little circles that made my knees buckle. He caught me by the upper arm with one hand and directed his cock lower, through the folds of my pussy, the massaging back-and-forth leaving a trail of throbbing slickness in its wake.

  His tongue grazed my forehead, his hand shifting through my hair and yanking it back until my face lifted to meet his. His lips hovered mere centimeters above mine. “Do you want me, baby?”

  “I do,” I said, my voice hoarse.

  He swallowed visibly, then lunged for my mouth, his kisses ravenous, his nibbling enough to make my lips swollen.

  All the while his cock traveled between my folds, caressing my clit and just teasing at my entrance, never quite piercing inside like my whole body ached for.

  Gasping for air between his sucking motions, I collapsed back against the stone, allowing Zeke’s massaging thrusts to send me to a euphoria a hundred times as dazzling as the illusions he’d shown himself capable of producing back in class. He ground harder through my tingling folds, and my mind grew blank as I rocked in time with his movements. His possessive grip on my hair wouldn’t let my head fall back for more than a second before it was turned back toward him, his lips skimming every part of my face. His warm breath simultaneously soothed me and caused me to break out in shivers.

  It didn’t seem possible that every pulsating stroke could build the hot and feverish euphoria building inside me, but it did, growing only greater and greater until everything but this moment simply ceased to exist.

  And then he froze, a guttural growl releasing from between his lips as his cock shuddered between my folds, and I cried out, the sound echoing off the cavernous walls.

  Before I was ready, he pulled back and gripped his cock at the base, turning slightly, shooting his seed off to the side.

  Panting, I watched him and he watched me, his chest rising and falling.

  Before I could say anything, ask why he, too, had held himself back from going all the way, his lips were on mine more gently now, caressing them sof
tly.

  He stroked my cheeks with tender fingers. “Let’s rest,” he said, kissing me on the forehead. “And then when you think my abilities may have returned, we can see if they’ll work on those monsters out there.”

  I kissed him back, then let out a deep breath, feeling my whole body relax against him, soaking up this moment.

  After a while longer of this euphoric, quiet tranquility, he barked a laugh. “You were right.”

  “I was right?” I asked, breathless.

  “My homeland’s mammals have nothing on those.”

  Curled up beside Prince Zeke in the beautiful blue glow of the cavern, I was able to calm my rapidly beating heart and wonder at the beauty all around us. Even though I knew I was currently in Nelia, I felt a million miles away from it all. Nothing bothered me in that moment.

  Every so often, Zeke raised his hand above his head, trying to test his abilities, no doubt, and then he gave up, wrapping that arm back around my naked figure.

  And then, after a while, the shimmery blue cavern ceiling above us disappeared with the movement of his arm, replaced by a mountainous valley at twilight, the sun setting just over the peaks.

  I clutched Zeke’s chest tighter. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this place… You created this scene in the classroom for us.”

  “It’s one of my favorite places back home,” Zeke admitted. “I get some peace and quiet, some alone time.” This was becoming a pattern with these visiting princes. With a flourish, the illusion vanished and the cavern ceiling reappeared. Zeke squeezed me to him and kissed my cheek. “But I’d rather show you the real thing. Someday.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know what to say.

  Would I only be able to see it if I chose to marry him?

  Was I leaning in that direction now?

  Stuffing down all thoughts of Rio and—Derek, why I had to think of him just then—I simply nodded. I wanted to see it. In this moment, I wanted to be with Zeke.