Succubus Heat CHAPTER 1

Sleeping with my therapist was a unhealthful idea.I knew it also, notwithstanding I couldnt really help it. in that respect were only so many generation I could hear Why dont you explain that and Tell me how you tactile property. So, I ultimately snapped and decided to show the jackass how I felt. Ive gotta say, for a decent guy who had never cheated on his wife, he wasnt that hard to take advantage of. And by not hard, I mean ridiculously easy. His pseudo ethical motive gave me a strong succubus energy fix, and when you consider that what we did was probably the more or less ample thing that ever took place on his couch, it was almost bid I did a easily deed.Still, I knew my boss was going to be pissed, seeing as he was the matchless whod ordered me to seek counseling in the first place.Do not tell Jerome, I warned my helps, tapping my cig artte against the ashtray. I dont command to deal with that kind of fall tabu.My supporters and I were sitting at a booth in Cold July, an industrial club mint in Seattles Belltown district. The place was persistent and cheap, with crisscrossing pipes on the walls and ceiling forming the bulk of the d?cor. Beca put on it was a private club, it didnt fork over to adhere to the citys public smoking ban, which was a privilege for me. In the last few months, Id found nicotine was one of the essential things dowery me cope. Other things on the essential list vodka, Nine Inch Nails, a steady supply of moral men, and an all-purpose plainy side.Look, Georgina, give tongue to my friend Hugh. He was an imp, a type of hellish legal assistant who bought dispositions for our work the hang and did assorted middle-management tasks. He had dark-cropped hair and was big with go forth being fat. Im no proficient in mental health, but Im going to go protrude on a limb here and say that probably wasnt a facilitatory step on the road to healing.I shrugged and let my eyes regard the crowded room for potential victi ms. There were some pretty good pickings here. Well, he wasnt that good. At therapy, I mean. Besides, I dont think I need it any much.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 vampire friends, Peter and Cody, at least had the decency to avert their eyes. I narrowed mine and put out the cigarette.I dont suppose, said Peter at last, that this is any dust youd maybe, uh, like to date farseeing term?Yeah, agreed Cody, eyes wide and intrustful. I bet a therapist would be a great listener. And you wouldnt even perplex to give way for it.My insurance pays for it, I snapped. And I dont really appreciate your passive-aggressive attitude more or less my boyfriend.Its not that passive, said Hugh. You could do better, sweetie.The guys corrupt and going to Hell. How is this a job for you? And you didnt like my last boyfriend either. possibly you should stop wo rrying roughly my love animation and go back to figuring out how to get your latest secretary into bed.In what had to be a unearthly crimp 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 lease you think hed fit in perfectly with this group of damned souls, but for whatever reason, he didnt.You arent meant to be with someone bad, said Cody. We were all never-failing now but were considered lesser im psyches. That meant we had once been human before change 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, there was almost a navet? somewhat Cody, a charming idealism that rivaled the kind I used to digest.It had been shattered when my previous boyfriend, a human named Seth, had left me for a friend of mine. Seth was a good soul, quiet and infinitely kind. Hed make 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. But as a succubus, I brought a dangerous element to any relationship. When I had grammatical gender with a guy (or a girl-it worked either way), I stole their life energy, which was the power that fueled every human soul. It kept me alive and sustained my immortal existence. The purer 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 sought my fixes from meaningless guys on the side.With Sethwell, that had been a contrasting 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 h ad taken its toll, as had a modus operandi of simple relationship complications. Things had finally blown up when Seth had slept with my friend Maddie. I think hed done it to encourage me to break up, hoping to liberal me future pain. Whatever the initial intent, he and Maddie had actually gone on to testify a fairly serious relationship in the following months.I hadnt taken that very well.Theres no pleasing you guys, I growled, beckoning the waiter 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 suddenly rationalize 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 da shed over immediately. We ordered a new round of drinks.Jerome was clearly in a good sense of humour today, which always made our lives easier. He had on a black condition suit, and his hair was styled exactly the same 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 push aside change formulate because thats part of what helps us with seduction. Demons can change shape simply because-like angels-theyre dementedly powerful beings who have been most since the beginning of time. Theyre greater immortals. Because of a spiritual fan obsession that he adamantly denied, Jerome chose to interact in the mortal world 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. narrative ha d 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 without asking. A moment later, the end of the cigarette lit on its own. Show-off.Things have actually taken a pleasant turn, he said. He inhaled secretly and then let the smoke swirl around him. One less thing to deal with. Id hoped the incessant babbling about your romantic woes was also going remote, 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, noted Hugh, in what was apparently supposed 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. H e fixed his gaze on me, eyes burning like flame yet inexplicably making me feel cold all over. He smashed the cigarette out and apoplexy up from his seat. Grabbing my arm, he jerked me up from my own spot and started dragging me from the table. add together with me, he hissed.I stumbled with him out to the hall that led to the restrooms. Once out of the sight 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 separate place.You fucked your therapist? he exclaimed.I gulped. I wasnt making much progress.GeorgieWhy is this a riddle? He was a good soul. I thought that was what you wanted me to doI wanted you to get this fucking chip off your shoulder joint that youve had ever since that boring mortal dumped you.I flinched. It was kind of a weird thing. Id been so depressed after the Seth breakup that Jerome had finally flipped out and told me to go seek help because he was tired of listening to me bitch and moan. The strangeness of a demon encouraging counseling for one of his employees wasnt confounded 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 unaccepted 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 begin angry-so, so angry at the way life had treated me. many 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 acquire back at it. Id stopped caring. Id thrown myself into full succubus rule seeki ng out the most moral men I could, steal their life, and breaking their hearts with little remorse. It helped with the pain. Sometimes.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 cumber 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 trump 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 displace you away. Im going to outsource you to someone. What ? My anger returned, pushing my fear away momentarily. Outsourcing was a huge insult to a succubus. You cant do that.I can do whatever I fucking want. You declaration to me. A rangy guy turned down the hall, heading toward the restroom. Jerome fixed him with a piercing, scare 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 displace 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 belatedly 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 lose 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. I ll get a woman. An ugly one. And Ill try to lay 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 infiltrate 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 dementedly 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 system.