Succubus Soul Read online

  I was beginning to understand why Mom and Aunt Alanna simply hadn’t been able to choose.

  “They must be worried about us,” said Zeke, getting to his feet. He offered me a hand and I took it. The two of us picked up our respective items of clothing and put them back on. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him slip his damp workout clothes back on, then run a hand roughly through his shaggy hair. He looked as hot getting into his clothes as he did getting out of them.

  He held a hand back out to me, his chest puffed out, a silly grin on his face. “Let’s see what those mighty pigs fear, shall we?”

  The walk back through the cavern and out behind the waterfall went smoothly, the thunder of the fall almost louder than I remembered as we stepped back into its domain. When we reached the very edge of the falls leading back to the forest, Zeke put a finger to his lips.

  The two boars we’d seen were sleeping in front of the water basin, their bulk shuddering with great snores.

  Zeke crept quietly, keeping as far from the monsters as he could. The soft earth beneath our feet aided in our near-silent movements, but just as we managed to make our way into the forest, my damp sneaker slipped across the top of a rock I hadn’t seen. I tumbled forward and a branch snapped beneath my feet, the loud crack echoing out over the sound of the waterfalls.

  Both boars’ heads snapped up almost immediately.

  “Oh, shit,” I mumbled.

  Zeke jumped right into action, both arms out in front of him as the boars spotted us and scrambled to their feet. The beasts’ eyes narrowed in tandem, one stomping its front foot.

  All of a sudden, the forest around us was replaced with a desert as far as the eye could see. The giant boars looked around, letting out little squeals.

  Then out of nowhere, a giant bat—at least twenty times the size of the boars and as wide as a skyscraper is tall, wingtip to wingtip—soared down from the skies, letting out a great screech. It had brown fur over a monstrously round belly, its sharp vampire-like teeth on display beneath a pig-like snout.

  I screamed and threw a protective bubble over our heads, but Zeke simply laughed as the bat swept down and the boars turned tail, running off in the opposite direction. Slowly, the desert smoothly melded back into forest, and the bat from the depths of hell dissolved into nothing but air.

  Right. The illusion. I lowered my protection bubble, my chin trembling as I tried to flash Zeke a smile.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “I’m used to practicing illusions around those who seem to know what to expect.”

  “I knew it was an illusion. I just…” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “That, love, was a lesser short-tailed bat.” He scratched the side of his nose. “Might have exaggerated it a bit.”

  “A bit?” I rolled my eyes at him but accepted his proffered hand, and we both trudged through the forest back toward the cabin.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We met up with the search party halfway, Natches and Nelians fully powered because Aunt Alanna had apparently gone to the heart of Nelia to get out of their range. Zeke’s bodyguards practically searched him over for scratches, which made the often sour-faced man chuckle. I was really seeing a lighter side of him after this whole ordeal.

  My uncles and brother checked in with me and explained that everyone else had gone back home, Rajani protesting all the while.

  They didn’t mention Derek doing the same, which wounded me somehow, like a sharp kick to the gut.

  But I didn’t ask about him.

  The two Nelians along who could produce a portal opened the way, sending us and the humans in the search party home. Zeke and I were back in the Veras Academy yard before we could manage to exchange another word—unless we wanted it overheard by a horde of onlookers.

  That didn’t stop him from making his way to me and kissing the back of my hand, the only princely act I’d witnessed of the man yet.

  “Until later,” said Prince Zeke.

  Flushing, I could almost tune out the crowd gathered around us. But toward the door leading to the college wing, there was Hazel and her cronies lobbying an icy glare my way, Pepper for once leading the charge. Running out of the door was Rajani and Derek, the former nothing but relief and the latter’s expression moving from relief to tight-lipped disapproval pretty fast. And from the grand entryway of the Academy came Princes Rio and Trey and their entourage of bodyguards. I didn’t have time to read any of their expressions before I was hugged from behind.

  “We were so fucking worried!” said Pop Nash, practically squeezing the air out of me. “Don’t ever do that again.” He loosened his hold somewhat but stood there with his arm wrapped over my shoulder. “Hello, Prince Ezekiel. Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

  Zeke arched an eyebrow. “Oh, she took care of me.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Pop Nash didn’t seem to pick up on any of the innuendo, thank Mother Nelia. He patted my hair as I slunk into him, just wanting to vanish from the sight of all these onlookers.

  Like a jolt out of the blue, Papa Zander spoke in my head. “Pumpkin! You’re okay! I couldn’t hear you on Nelia and when they told me what had happened, I—”

  Between that and the crowd and what I’d just been through and the fact that Mom and Dad Jayden were on their way toward me now, too, my body decided that apparently, after the exhaustion of the ordeal and everything good and bad that had come with it, now was the perfect way to give me the only exit I had:

  Passing out in my pop’s arms.

  The quiet repetitive beep of monitors above my head was the first thing to register as I strained to open my heavy eyelids.

  “Her eyes are moving,” said a familiar voice. Rajani. “Should we get Professor Wade?”

  “Not yet,” said another familiar voice. One that made me freeze on this cushioned slab on which I found myself. Derek. “He said he’d be back to check on her, but his kid is sick and his husband is at work. He said Bry just needed to rest. We can get Jayden if need be.”

  I almost didn’t want to open my eyes, but I didn’t think I could outlast them until they left. I could practically feel them leaning over me with bated breath.

  “Hey,” I said to Rajani, who was leaning over me. Derek sat a few feet back in a chair, an open old-fashioned book on his lap, even though the overhead lights were rather dim. He pushed up his glasses and looked back at his book pointedly.

  “How are you feeling?” asked Rajani.

  “Sore,” I said, sitting up and cradling my head. It throbbed with the echo of a headache. “But okay.”

  Rajani sat beside me on one of Professor Wade’s infirmary beds and gave me a side hug. “You’ve been out for hours. It’s… What time is it?” she asked Derek.

  At least he was talking to her. “Three in the morning. You just missed your parents—well, some of them. We sent them on their way. They’ve got their hands full tracking down that fugitive.”

  Right. Xerxes, the Nelian held in Earth custody, had escaped, and here I was off having wild dates with princes. My chest tightened.

  “They’re sleeping in shifts,” added Rajani. “But I should go tell someone you’re up…” She got to her feet and patted my hand. “Maybe you should just spend the rest of the night here, just in case.” She beamed. “We all still got extra credit, but you got, like, all the extra credit possible. You saved those ungrateful dimwits.”

  I chuckled dryly. “I would have done it for anyone.”

  “Well, anyone else would at least have been grateful about it.” Rajani tossed her hair over her shoulder in her best impression of Hazel. “‘I bet she thinks she’s even more special now, doesn’t she?’ Derek had to literally hold me back from socking her.”

  Derek coughed into his fist at that and Rajani looked between him and me. “Right…” she said. “So, why don’t you two have a chat? I’ll, uh, well, I can wait a few hours to check in with your parents if you want.”

/>   “Why would—?” I said at the same time Derek said, “What are you implying?”

  We both stared at each other and then went silent. I bit my lip.

  Rajani patted my shoulder and whispered, “Whatever’s going on between you two needs to end now. He was worried sick about you, you know.”

  I should hope so, even if he did think I was promiscuous.

  Neither of us spoke to one another after Rajani left, the beep, beep, beep of a nearby machine the only thing filling the silence. My nails dug into the cushion of the infirmary slab as I checked over my shoulder to find none of the other beds occupied.

  “So…” I said, clearing my throat. It was clear he wasn’t going to be the one ending this tension between us anytime soon. “All the extra credit? Does that mean I widened the gap between you and me for valedictorian?”

  Derek slammed his book closed and tossed it on the table beside the bed. “I don’t care about that.”

  “You always care about that. That’s like the only thing you consistently care about.”

  “You could have died,” he said, clasping his hands together between his legs. “Or been hurt.”

  “And would you have regretted what you said to me?” My voice was hoarse. Even as I spoke, I knew I was being bitter.

  “Bryony.” His eyes finally met mine, the piercing hazel boring through his glasses.

  “What?” I answered sharply. “We apparently haven’t been on speaking terms. What am I supposed to think?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “And yes, I would have regretted it. I would have regretted the fact that my best friend, my… Thank you for thinking so little of me.”

  He’d gone suspiciously quiet after calling me his “best friend.”

  “What is this really about?” I asked, my voice barely squeaking out of me.

  Straightening in his chair, Derek took a deep breath and then let it out. “I’ve had a crush on you since we were five, Bry.”

  Five? Five? “We’re almost twenty-two,” I pointed out. “And you never—not once—gave me any hint to suggest—”

  “Of course I have!” Derek threw up his hands. “This whole competition to get better grades, that just started as me trying to get you to think of me as your equal.”

  “What are you talking about? Of course I think of you as my equal. You’re smarter than me in some ways. More driven, certainly. You know exactly what you want out of life and I…”

  Derek took hold of both of my upper arms, his glowing gaze burning into mine. “You’re heir to the Nelian throne. You barely have to study to pull off good grades. Your powers are so special that not even Princess Alanna’s negation can take them away. And now… Now you’re being courted by three of the most handsome princes on the planet.” His hands slipped back to his lap, his eyes darted downward. “I’m not good enough for you.”

  A chill wracked over my body at the absence of his touch. I reached over to cradle his cheek. There was the slightest hint of dark stubble there, which was surprising, as he usually groomed quite fastidiously. “Don’t say that,” I said. “And don’t act like my marriage to someone else is set in stone.”

  Derek leaned away from my touch. “Things didn’t look too casual between you and Prince Zeke after that crisis.”

  My back straightened. I wouldn’t let him shame me, even if… Even if his words made more sense now. He’d been jealous, plain and simple. “They went well with Prince Rio, too,” I said boldly.

  “And you haven’t even dated Prince Trey.” Derek scoffed. “Not that three men fighting over you won’t be hard enough, but once he gets to know you, he’ll love you, too.”

  My mouth gaped open as Derek’s eyes met mine. I didn’t know where to start. Clutching my hands together, I squeezed them between my thighs, determined to calm the tingling going wild at the way his chest rose and fell with deep, savoring breaths.

  “You love me?” I asked, realizing he counted himself among the “three” he considered currently in love with me.

  “With all my heart,” he whispered, taking my hand in his.

  “But you… You plan to travel the world after graduation,” I said. “You’ve always planned to leave me.”

  “I planned to get out of your way,” he said, clearing his throat. “I knew a childhood friend would never be enough for the Queen of Nelia—”

  “Why would you think that?” I demanded to know, my heart beating wildly, and not just with desire. We could have had so long together, him and me, but no, we’d just been friends—tongue-in-cheek rivals for the best grades, friends with different plans for the future.

  He’d never given me hope that our futures could entwine in any possible way.

  “Daddy’s partner is an Earthling,” I said, “and he shares her, and she’s almost never on Nelia.”

  “But you’re being courted by princes for alliances—”

  “But if I’d been dating you for ages, they probably wouldn’t have even suggested it!” I pulled my hand out of his and clenched it into a fist. “You’re so… You’re so…”

  “Stupid?” he offered.

  “Stubborn,” I finished for him. “How dare you decide who’s good enough for me? Without even asking me?”

  Derek went quiet for a few moments. “You’re right. But it doesn’t matter now. It’s too late.”

  I opened my mouth. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t too late, but my mind was reeling with the possibilities—with what he’d just admitted to me.

  “Derek, you hurt me,” I said. “Implying there was something wrong with me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

  “My mom and dads and my aunt and uncles—”

  He cut me off. “I know.”

  “I know your mom and dad are normal, so to speak, that my relatives are an exception to the rule. But I don’t look at my family with disgust.”

  “I don’t, either. Bry. You know I don’t.” His hand covered mine. His skin was rough, his touch gentle. My heart was thundering at the simple connection between us. As if we’d never touched before.

  But this was different.

  “Bry, I said those things, and I’m sorry,” he repeated, sitting taller. “I have no excuse. I just have a reason: I was afraid I’d lose you. I told myself I wasn’t good enough for you and then at the first sign of you potentially choosing someone else, I balked.” He slumped, removing his hand from mine. “What an idiot I am.”

  “Don’t say that.” It was time to rip the bandage off. “Especially since… you were right,” I admitted. “I guess I do take after my family.”

  Derek’s mouth parted slightly, but he waited for me to go on.

  “I… do love you. I don’t think I’ve ever properly realized it before, but I do.” I clutched my hand to my chest, thinking it over. “But I’m so confused, Derek. I really connected with both Rio and Zeke. I… I don’t want to dismiss the idea of marrying a prince.”

  I expected to see Derek’s brow furrow or for his posture to slink. Instead, when I looked up, I found him smiling, his eyes boring into mine.

  “You love me?”

  “Yes, but—”

  He cut me off with a kiss, his book on the stand beside me somehow cluttering to the floor.

  When your best friend kisses you, you’re not supposed to feel an invigorating of your senses as a weight in your chest lifts. You’re not supposed to grab him by the back of the head and kiss back, craving more of him than is already in your hands, hunting for more of his touch.

  But that was what I found myself doing, some hidden part of me breaking loose, blurring the boundary between lover and friend.

  Derek pushed me back on the infirmary bed and crawled on top of me.

  “Wait!” I said, putting a palm on his chest.

  He stopped, his lips parting, his skin visibly hardening as he drank in the sight of me.

  “You didn’t hear me,” I said, trying to put mind over matter. “I like Rio and Zeke. More than like them, I—�
��

  Derek coveted my lips once more. “I heard,” he said, his voice richer, huskier. “And I don’t mind.”

  I arched my back, falling into his kisses again. “You don’t mind?” I asked.

  “I love you, Bry. I’m with you, however you’ll have me.”

  His fingers slipped up the spaghetti-strap pajama top I found myself in. My pussy buzzed with anticipation and I yearned for more of his touch.

  “But I—”

  “Let’s talk later,” he said, his kiss sweeter, softer now. His face hovered over mine. “If that’s okay with you.”

  Biting my lip, I nodded.

  It was like I’d opened the floodgates. His cock flush against me, his thighs gripping either side of my own, he rolled my pajama top up. I helped, getting myself out of my clothes. I was naked underneath, a few circles on my skin from where Professor Wade must have attached his monitor modules, visible even in the dim lamp glow of the dark room.

  Derek rolled off his shirt, his eyes never once leaving my breasts, and though I’d seen him shirtless before, there was something about the way his chest rose and fell that accented those lean, defined muscles like nothing else.

  My hands were running across them before I even realized I’d reached up, the soft fuzz across his pecs at odds with the rock-hard muscle beneath.

  His bulge grew harder beneath his pants, his thighs shifting just slightly to grind it against my pelvis in a way that lit a fire between my legs.

  Moaning, I leaned back with the rocking movement, my eyes closed.

  His lips found my breasts, his tongue teasing at one nipple, sucking, flicking.

  He seized me by the sides and with a sudden roll, I found myself on top of him, the weight lifted, but my buzzing pussy not satisfied without grinding as hard as I could against his groin.

  His package was bursting at the seams of his workout pants, and his eyes rolled up just slightly, a lament escaping his lips.

  “What about protection?” he asked. “I didn’t think to bring any. Can’t say I was expecting this.” His voice grew almost wistful.