0748469001330321113 slavetoherdesires jillmyles (3 page)

I‘d seethed with hatred for David for one hundred and twenty years…and he‘d been ensorcelled the entire time, oblivious to the entire thing.

He’d gone to save a female friend from a vampire.

My world tilted. My knees went weak, and I shrugged off Noah‘s offered assistance.

Instead, I sat on the edge of David‘s bed, and stared down at his beautiful, unearthly still features. My mind was in turmoil. ―Why is he here in a storage unit?‖

―Every so often, the vampires – or the Serim - get in their heads that they want to track him down and find him. I move him every few years to someplace they won‘t expect. A storage unit is actually ideal – it‘s secure, well-locked, and no one needs to go in or out but me. I keep watch over him until he can be awakened. I figure that is best, since I don‘t think he wants to be in the grasp of either angel or vampire without his own say-so.‖

I brushed the dark golden curl off his forehead, still thinking. ―Did you ever try to wake him?‖

―Many times over the years, all without success.‖ Noah loomed over the two of us, placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as if he could somehow sense the turmoil in my mind.

―I have tried rituals, witch-doctors to remove the curse, spells, spell-breakers, all for naught.‖ He cleared his throat. ―It has been rumored for some time that Aloysius had the spell keyed specifically for you.‖

I could hardly swallow around the knot of confused frustration in my throat. ―Me?‖

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―That only you could break the spell. Irony, I suspect, given that he imagined you would be under his thumb for all eternity. Though I am surprised you have been free for ten years and never sought him out until now. Obviously Aloysius did not count for that.‖

Or perhaps he had
, I thought. He would have known of my intense hatred for him, and my angelic sire both. Confusion warred within me. I wanted to be furious at David, but staring at him here, unmoving in this bed and I was just…torn. ―I didn‘t know that he was cursed,‖ I said softly, then looked up at Noah. ―So how would I lift this curse if I wanted to?‖

Noah gave me a wry look. ―You could try the old fashioned way.‖

A kiss to wake up a sleeping prince, like in the fairy tales. My stomach churned at the thought. I‘d known that I‘d have to sleep with David to survive – my succubus instincts had accepted that part of the bargain – but for some reason, a kiss was…personal. Romantic. Tied to emotions that I couldn‘t possibly feel. I didn‘t want to kiss the man I‘d just spent the last century hating. To make matters worse, I wasn‘t even sure that my hate was justified. I brushed my fingertips over his cool face again, thinking hard. Did I want to wake David up? What would I say to him? I wanted to hold onto my anger, but what…what if he woke up and it was totally unfounded?

Who was I if I wasn‘t bitter with hatred for both of my masters?

I shook my head. This was stupid. It was just a damn kiss. I leaned in and slid my hands under his neck, pulling his face toward mine and pressing my mouth against his. His lips were cool, unyielding against mine, but the feel of them evoked a strong surge of emotion in me that I didn‘t like. I stroked my tongue into his mouth, parting his lips with my questing. Like it or not, I needed David, and his being cursed was a damn nuisance and an even bigger pain in the ass than I‘d anticipated.

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And he tasted better than I remembered, too. That was galling. Perhaps it was just my succubus curse, which was due to drive me insane within hours. Perhaps it was something to do with the Serim themselves, but his mouth was sweet under my own, and as I brushed my tongue against his, I felt a spike of desire.

I had to kiss the bastard. I hadn‘t expected to like it. Disgusted with myself, I dropped his head. It thunked back against the pallet and made a hard noise that my disgruntled psyche found oddly pleasing. And I watched him, waiting.

Sure enough, David‘s jaw moved slightly, then flexed in a yawn, and as I watched, his eyes fluttered open.

God, he was beautiful.

God, I hated him.

God, I was so,
so
confused.

David‘s eyes focused on me slowly, comprehension flickering over his face. He remembered me. Not surprising, given the circumstances of my immortality. His gaze slid over my hair, my clothing, and then back to my face. ―Olivia,‖ he breathed. One cold hand reached up to touch my cheek. ―You are safe.‖ His brow furrowed as he looked at my face, then my body.

―You are…changed.‖

A succubus always changed with the transformation, and I knew what he meant. Some women had intense changes – breasts growing to an enormous size, hair lengthening, height changing – the works. My changes were subtle, enhancing what I already had. The freckles that had dotted my skin were long gone, and my nearly-flat chest had filled out to small, high breasts.

My face had smoothed from prettiness into beauty, thanks to the curse. I never remembered my old looks, but to David, seeing the changes in me seemingly overnight must seem bizarre.

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And it confirmed that Noah had been telling the truth. David didn‘t know what was going on.

I swatted his hand away, unease churning in my stomach. This wasn‘t how I‘d pictured our reunion to go. A few death threats, some grudging concessions, and a round of angry sex to sate my urges before I could ask him to help me with Aloysius.

Kindness? Not part of the plan.

―I‘m glad to see you‘re awake, David.‖ I kept my voice polite but cold.

He touched a hand to his forehead, as if the bright fluorescent lights overhead bothered his eyes. ―Aloysius?‖

―Not here,‖ I said flatly.

―How…how long have I been out?‖

―A few years,‖ I said.

Noah cleared his throat. ―It is 2010, David. Much has changed since you were last awake.‖

A human might have met that with disbelief or anger, but David was immortal. He simply gave a sad sigh and began to sit up in the cot. The blanket covering his loins slid away, revealing the smooth perfection of his chest and his cock. Embarrassed at the stirring I felt within myself, I grabbed the blanket and hastily shoved it back over him.

David looked startled at my actions, then gave me a soft smile. ―My apologies. I forget that I find myself in the presence of a lady.‖

I could have wept in that moment. When David and I had met, I was one of the demimonde. A milliner‘s daughter brought into high society circles by the patrons I chose to 20

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sleep with. Not a lady, but David had always treated me as such and to hear him reference it again made me think of those times, long gone.

I was nowhere close to a lady anymore. So I gave him a brittle, fake smile and moved away.

Noah helped David to his feet behind me. ―Much has changed, David. What do you remember last?‖

I glanced over as he remained silent. One hand pressed to his forehead, and then David shook his head. ―My mind is filled with terrible dreams of last night. It played in my mind over and over while I slept, to the point that I do not recall which portions are truth and which are fiction.‖

Except it wasn‘t ‗last‘ night. It was lifetimes ago. ―I remember that night,‖ I said in a sour voice. ―Why don‘t you tell us what you recall and I‘ll tell you if you are correct or not.‖

Noah glanced at his watch. ―The sun will be going down shortly, and I must be somewhere secure before my evening sleep.‖ He glanced over at the newly-reawakened Serim at his side. ―David as well. The story can wait.‖

―And how are we going to get David out to your car?‖ I asked. ―He‘s not wearing anything but that robe.‖ Trust me, I had noticed. The Itch wouldn‘t let the sight of a handsome, well-sculpted chest go without notice. ―Unless you want to pretend this is the Playboy Mansion and we‘re all about to ham it up with Hef?‖

David rubbed his head, tousling his dark blonde curls and then rubbing his long sideburns. ―The what mansion?‖

Noah shook his head and dug through one of the old boxes. ―I kept an extra set of clothing here just in case, though I imagine it is somewhat out of date.‖ He opened a box and 21

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shook out a pair of men‘s jogging pants, probably circa the MC Hammer era. Classy. ―Here. You can put these on.‖

David took the clothes and glanced over at me. ―Have women‘s gowns become so…short in the past hundred and twenty years?‖

So he‘d noticed that my ass cheeks were hanging out of the back of the costume? Not surprising. ―You know me,‖ I said, forcing a teasing note in my voice. ―I like to keep on the cutting edge of fashion.‖

―If that is the case, then we do not know each other as well as you suggest, Miss Rhodes.‖

Was that an insult? It was hard to tell from David‘s carefully smooth voice. ―Can we get out of here then? I‘m cold.‖

David began to shrug off his robe. ―I will give you my--‖

―No.‖ I pushed it away with a scowl. Not only could I not take it, thanks to the command Aloysius had given me, but I didn‘t want it. I didn‘t want David‘s pitying cast-offs. I needed him to free me from Aloysius‘s commands, and then I‘d be on my merry way.

I didn‘t want – or need – his pity. So I crossed my arms over my chest and left the room, shutting the door behind me. ―Get dressed.‖

A few moments later, David emerged in a sports-shirt and the pants. His feet were bare, but it didn‘t seem to bother him. He stared at his surroundings with intense eyes, as if trying to decipher how much things had changed in the last hundred twenty years. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him, knowing he would quickly be overwhelmed, but squelched it.

Noah locked the storage room and we headed back to the front.

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―My word,‖ David said, rubbing at his sideburns. He stared at the hallway and the rows of locked doors with astonishment, then the ceiling lights. ―I see the gas lamps are vast improved, but the decor of this time is appalling. Are all things in 2010 quite so bleak in decor?‖

I smothered a laugh. ―This is a storage building, David. It‘s not meant to be attractive.‖

―I see. Not an inn, then?‖

My lips twitched at his rueful tone. ―Not hardly.‖

David ran a large hand down his face, as if that would change the view. He gave me a wry, self-effacing look that made my heart do a curious flip-flop. ―I see. There are a great many things that I need to prepare for, aren‘t there?‖

―There are indeed,‖ I agreed. I would ignore that small, heart-breaking little smile of his.

It had once turned my stomach to knots, but I wouldn‘t let that happen again.

When we arrived back at the front desk, the guard‘s jaw dropped. He stared at David‘s outdated clothing, then frowned at Noah and myself. ―You‘re not supposed to be sneaking in others—―

I moved forward and placed my hand over the security guard‘s, putting him to sleep and easing into his mind. He was a good man, if a bit unimaginative. Three kids at home. No funny business on my end, then. I stroked his hand and focused my powers into his mind, subverting his anxious dream-thoughts and replacing them with different mental images. Of the three of us –

David, myself and Noah – entering the building together, and now leaving together. His earlier thoughts of just the two of us had been mistaken.

I repeated the mantra of the dream-suggestion until his subconscious began to pick it up, and once it did, I stroked his hand to wake him up.

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The man blinked awake and paused, staring into my smiling face for a moment. His eyes flicked back to Noah, then David, then myself. ―Sorry about that. I must have dozed off.‖

―It‘s all right,‖ I said in a soothing voice, my hand continuing to stroke his across the counter, as if this were the most normal thing in the world. ―It‘s all right if we go, isn‘t it?‖

A sheepish look crossed his face and he nodded at us. ―Of course, miss. You folks have a nice day.‖

―Thank you so much,‖ I said in my sweetest voice. ―We will.‖ I let his hand go and pushed on the glass front door. The bell clanged as it opened and I moved out into the bright afternoon sunlight of the parking lot.

David‘s reaction was almost comical – he staggered at the sight of the concrete parking-lot. His eyes blinked rapidly at the sunlight and I watched his gaze bounce from the parked cars to the nearby highway where cars zipped past at high speed. He looked back to me, his expression concerned, though he masked it a moment later. That puzzled me. Looking to me for help? Reassurance? Noah was his brother Serim; I had simply been his mistress for one night.

―You‘re very good at manipulating humans,‖ Noah said behind us, his voice disapproving.

I winced. Oh great. So Noah, despite his seemingly nice demeanor, was as straight-laced a Serim as I had been warned about. This wasn‘t good. I needed Noah‘s help. I thought quickly and gave him an apologetic look. ―One does what one must to survive,‖ I said. ―Aloysius required that I learn a great many things in his service. I‘m afraid that reaching into heads and manipulating their thoughts is a bad habit of mine. I‘ll be more careful in the future.‖

Especially when I am around you
, I noted to myself.

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―Aloysius,‖ David said, his face breaking with agony. He turned to me, as if just now remembering. His hand grabbed my arm. ―Vampire…where is he? We have to save him.‖

Bad memories for both he and I. Again, that funny feeling slid through me, of uncertainty. Of the sensation that maybe David wasn‘t the bad guy after all. That I‘d just spent a hundred and twenty years loathing a man that didn‘t deserve it.

I didn‘t like that sensation. ―He‘s beyond saving,‖ I said sharply. ―Look to yourself for now, David. Forget about him.‖

And just because I had a mean streak, I moved forward to Noah‘s car and kicked the tire. The alarm went off, wailing and beeping, the horn blaring, lights flashing.

David staggered in shock, fumbling backward.

Noah scowled.

Damn. That had felt good.