Succubus Heat CHAPTER 1

Sleeping with my therapist was a boastful idea.I knew it too, but I couldnt re entirelyy help it. There were only so many multiplication I could hear why dont you explain that and Tell me how you feel. So, I finally snapped and decided to show the zany how I felt. Ive gotta say, for a decent guy who had never cheated on his wife, he wasnt that hard to comprise reinforcement of. And by not hard, I mean ridiculously easy. His pseudo morals gave me a strong succuba vitality fix, and when you consider that what we did was probably the most productive thing that ever took place on his couch, it was nearly ilk I did a genuine deed.Still, I knew my boss was release to be pissed, seeing as he was the one whod ordered me to seek counseling in the first place.Do not submit Jerome, I warned my friends, tapping my cigarette against the ashtray. I dont want to deal with that flesh of fall kayoed.My friends and I were sitting at a booth in Cold July, an industrial club d birth in Seattl es Belltown district. The place was nighttime and loud, with crisscrossing pipes on the walls and ceiling forming the bulk of the d?cor. Because it was a private club, it didnt have to adhere to the citys public smoking ban, which was a perk for me. In the last few months, Id found nicotine was one of the essential things helping me cope. Other things on the essential list vodka, Nine Inch Nails, a steady supply of moral men, and an all-purpose cattish attitude.Look, Georgina, said my friend Hugh. He was an imp, a type of hellish legal assistant who bought souls for our masters and did consort middle-management tasks. He had dark-cropped hair and was big with proscribed cosmos fat. Im no expert in mental health, but Im discharge to go out on a limb here and say that probably wasnt a utile step on the road to healing.I shrugged and let my look scan the crowded room for potential drop victims. There were some pretty good pickings here. Well, he wasnt that good. At therapy, I m ean. Besides, I dont gauge I need it anymore.Silence met me, inasmuch as silence could meet me in a place so noisy. I turned back to my friends. Hugh was making no pretense of hiding his youre fucking crazy look. Our lamia friends, Peter and Cody, at least had the decency to avert their eye. I narrowed mine and put out the cigarette.I dont suppose, said Peter at last, that this is anybody youd possibly, uh, like to date long term?Yeah, agreed Cody, eyes large-minded and hopeful. I bet a therapist would be a great listener. And you wouldnt even have to right for it.My insurance pays for it, I snapped. And I dont really appreciate your passive-aggressive attitude about my boyfriend.Its not that passive, said Hugh. You could do better, sweetie.The guys corrupt and going to Hell. How is this a problem for you? And you didnt like my last boyfriend either. Maybe you should stop badgering about my love support and go back to figuring out how to get your latest secretary into bed.In what had to be a weird twist of the universe, none of my friends liked my current boyfriend, a dark magician named Dante. Dantes morals were pretty nonexistent, and he owned stock in bitterness and cynicism. That would make you conceive hed fit in perfectly with this group of damned souls, but for whatever reason, he didnt.You arent meant to be with soulfulness bad, said Cody. We were all immortal now but were considered slighter immortals. That meant we had once been piece before sell our souls into Hells service. Cody was young compared to the rest of us in our little circle. Hugh claimed almost a century. Peter and I had millennia. As such, in that location was almost a navet? about Cody, a charming idealism that rivaled the kind I used to have.It had been shattered when my previous boyfriend, a human named solidifying, had left me for a friend of mine. Seth was a good soul, quiet and infinitely kind. Hed made me believe in better things, like that maybe there was hope for a succubus like me. Id thought I was in love-no, I had been in love. Even I could admit that. merely as a succubus, I brought a dangerous chemical element to any relationship. When I had sex with a guy (or a girl-it worked either way), I stole their life energy, which was the power that fueled e precise human soul. It unbroken me alive and sustained my immortal existence. The uncloudedr the guy, the more energy I took. The more energy I took, the more I shortened his life. With Dante, I had almost no effect. He had little energy to give, so our sex life was relatively safe, and I therefore desire my fixes from meaningless guys on the side.With Sethwell, that had been a different story. Sleeping with him would have had very detrimental effects-so Id refused to do it. For a while, wed lived on love alone, our relationship being about a lot more than a physical act. Over time, however, that had taken its toll, as had a number of simple relationship complications. Things had finall y pursy up when Seth had slept with my friend Maddie. I bet hed done it to encourage me to break up, hoping to spare me afterlife pain. Whatever the initial intent, he and Maddie had actually gone on to establish a fairly hard relationship in the following months.I hadnt taken that very well.Theres no pleasing you guys, I growled, beckoning the host for another(prenominal) drink. He ignored me, irritating me further. You dont like good ones. You dont like bad ones. What the fuck does it take?A new voice abruptly cut into our circle. Please tell me were discussing your romantic hijinks, Georgie. Theres nothing I enjoy more.There he was, standing beside our table my boss Jerome, archdemon of Seattle and its greater metropolitan area. I glared. I didnt appreciate the mocking tone-or him calling me Georgie. He sat down beside Hugh, and the waiter Id been trying to summon speed over immediately. We ordered a new round of drinks.Jerome was clearly in a good supposition today, whic h always made our lives easier. He had on a black designer suit, and his hair was styled exactly the like as John Cusacks had been in a recent TV interview I watched. That probably bears mentioning Jeromes human body of choice was a clone of John Cusack. Succubi can change shape because thats part of what helps us with seduction. Demons can change shape simply because-like angels-theyre insanely powerful beings who have been around since the beginning of time. Theyre greater immortals. Because of a weird fan obsession that he adamantly denied, Jerome chose to interact in the mortal gentleman looking like the actor. The strange thing was that when we were out like this, humans never seemed to notice the resemblance.You havent been out with us in a while, I pointed out, hoping to change the subject. I thought youve been busy with demon stuff. rumor had it that Jerome was sparring with another demon, though none of us knew the details.He took one of my cigarettes out of the pack wit hout asking. A moment later, the end of the cigarette lit on its own. Show- finish up.Things have actually taken a loving turn, he said. He inhaled deeply and then let the smoke swirl around him. One less thing to deal with. Id hoped the incessant babbling about your romantic woes was withal going away, but I suppose thats too much to hope for. Are you still with that charlatan?I threw up my hands. Why does everyone hate Dante? You guys should be embracing him as a brother.Jerome considered, dark eyes thoughtful. He annoys me. You can do better.Jesus Christ, I said.Maybe shed see that if shed stop doing stupid shit like sleeping with her therapist, illustrious Hugh, in what was apparently speculate to be a helpful tone.I turned on him, eyes wide. Did you listen to anything I just said? Plenty, he said.Meanwhile, Jeromes lazy, pleased expression disappeared. He fixed his wish on me, eyes burning like flame yet inexplicably making me feel cold all over. He smashed the cigarette o ut and shot up from his seat. Grabbing my arm, he jerked me up from my own defect and started dragging me from the table.Come with me, he hissed.I stumbled with him out to the hall that led to the restrooms. Once out of the thought of others, he pushed me against a wall and leaned toward me, face filled with fury. It was a sign of his agitation that he was behaving like a human. He could have simply transported both of us to some isolated place.You fucked your therapist? he exclaimed.I gulped. I wasnt making much progress.GeorgieWhy is this a problem? He was a good soul. I thought that was what you wanted me to doI wanted you to get this fucking chip discharge your shoulder that youve had ever since that boring mortal dumped you.I flinched. It was kind of a weird thing. Id been so depress after the Seth breakup that Jerome had finally flipped out and told me to go seek help because he was degenerate of listening to me bitch and moan. The strangeness of a demon encouraging couns eling for one of his employees wasnt lost on me. But honestly, how could he understand? How could he understand what it was like to have your heart smashed? To be ripped from the person you loved most in the world? My whole existence had lost meaning, and eternity had seemed unimaginable to bear. For weeks, I wouldnt go out or talk much to anybody. Id isolated myself, lost in my own grief. That was when Jerome had thrown up his hands and demanded I snap out of it.And I had, kind of. Id swung the other way. Id suddenly become angry-so, so angry at the way life had treated me. Some of my misfortunes were my own fault. But Seth? I didnt know. I didnt know what had happened there, and I felt wronged by the world and the lifetimes of hurt it kept giving me. So, Id started getting back at it. Id stopped caring. Id thrown myself into full succubus mode pursuit out the most moral men I could, stealing their life, and breaking their hearts with little remorse. It helped with the pain. Somet imes.Im doing what Im supposed to I yelled. Im scoring soul after soul. You have nothing to complain about.You have a cattish attitude and take hold picking fights with everyone-and you arent getting better. Im tired of it. And Im tired of you.I froze, my antagonism turning to pure fear. When a demon said he was tired of you, it often resulted in being recalled to Hell. Or being smote.Jerome I tried to assess my best strategy here. Charm? Contrition?He stepped away and took a deep, calming breath. It didnt help much. His anger came through loud and clear.Im sending you away. Im going to outsource you to someone. What ? My anger returned, force my fear away momentarily. Outsourcing was a huge insult to a succubus. You cant do that.I can do whatever I fucking want. You answer to me. A lanky guy turned down the hall, mien toward the restroom. Jerome fixed him with a piercing, terrifying look. The guy yelped and hastily headed back the other way. Theres an archdemon in Vancouver who wants someone to keep an eye on a cult he has an interest in up there.Up there My mouth dropped open. You mean Vancouver, BC? Youre sending me to Canada ? Fuck. I really had gone too far. There was also a Vancouver in Washington. That wouldnt have been so bad. At least I would have stayed domestic.Hed wanted a succubus since he only has one and couldnt spare her. Theyve got their work cut out for them up there, you know. I almost considered sending them Tawny. He made a face at the mention of his recently acquired and very, very inept succubus. But, well, shes notoptimal. I hadnt wanted to give up you either, but now I think itll be worth missing my useful succubus for a while to get you out of my hair. I need some peace and quiet.Look, Jerome, I said, hoping I sounded penitent. What do you want me to do? Get another therapist? I can do that. Ill get a woman. An ugly one. And Ill try to lay send off the attitude and-Thats my decision, Georgie. You need something to occupy you, and thisll make Cedric happy. He figures a succubus is the best choice to dawn his little devil-worshipping cult.Devil wor-what, you mean like, Satanists?Something like that.I stared. Canadian Satanists? Youre sending me to a group of Canadian Satanists?His only answer was a shrug.If this were happening to anyone else, it would be hilarious, I said. But why are you doing it? Since when do you help anyone-let alone another demon? Demons tended to be insanely competitive with each other.Again, Jerome didnt answer. He took out a cigarette-honestly, if he had his own, whyd he steal mine earlier?-and did the lighting trick again. He seemed a little less tense after taking a deep drag on it.Something else is going on, I said warily. Youre using me to use him. Whats this really about?Altruism, he said, rolling his eyes.JeromeGeorgina, he returned, eyes hard. You have no right to question this, not as much as youve pissed me off lately. Now go pack your things and brush up on the metric syste m.