Cherry Creek (24 page)

Roman grins widely, flashing white teeth. “Trust me, his shits not holy.”

That's enough to snap me out of my stupor. I shoot him a dirty look. “Don't be an ass.  This is all new to me, be nice.”

“I am being nice,” he says pleasantly as he finishes off his beer. “I'm sitting here with you instead of going to the club.”

“Go to the club. I'm not forcing you to be here,” I retort.

“I never said I didn't want to be here,” he contradicts.

True. “Okay, moving on. How old are you?” I ask as I brace myself.

Roman chuckles. “Seventeen.”

“No, I mean really. How old are you?”

“Seventeen. I turn eighteen in October.”

My eyes narrow. “You're actually seventeen?”

“Yes.”

“Like literally?”

“Yes, for real, Vee.”

Well, good. That's better than sitting out here with a guy that looks my age but turns out to be two hundred years old. I'm not sure I could handle that. A new thought hits me, and I look at Roman sharply. “What's my life span?”

“Same as ours.”

My mouth goes slack. “I'm...”

Roman nods. “Immortal. Unless you get close to starving yourself again,” he adds.

“But I'm only half,” I sputter.

“When you've got the genes, you've got the genes, even if they are mutated.”

“But I've been sick. I had pneumonia when I was seven and was in the hospital for two days,” I point out.

“That was before your genes kicked in. Have you been sick in the past year or two?”

“No. Not really.”

“There you go. I will warn you though, you are a slower healer than we are. A life threatening injury won't kill you, but it won't be pleasant, either. It'll take you much longer to bounce back from it than it would if it were one of us. So, you still have to watch yourself,” he warns seriously.

“This is crazy,” I mumble as I rub my hands over my face.

“You sure you want to continue on with this, or should we save the rest of this inquisition for another time?”

My hands drop, and I give him a firm look. “I want to know everything.”

“There is such thing as too much at once, Vee,” he points out.

“You guys have kept things from me long enough, don't you think? I just want to know what I'm getting involved in now that I know what I am.”

Roman nods at my insistence. “What else do you want to know?”

“Are we basically human, but for the feeding off energy thing?”

“No, we're not human. We're stronger, and like I said, we can heal from just about anything. We can also shift,” he says carefully.

“Shift?” I echo.

Roman suddenly grins. “It's a fun perk to being an incubus or succubus. Our lives depend on being able to feed. Since not everyone is going to find our original form attractive, we have the ability to morph into anyone as long as it's the same sex. I can't turn female, even if I wanted to. Just male.”

“You're serious, aren't you?”

He sits up in his chair and rises to his feet. He looks down at me, hands on hips. “Think of someone in your head, preferably male. I don't care what he looks like, just imagine someone.”

Trace flickers in my mind, and I can't help but latch onto a picture of him in my head. Then, before my eyes, Roman begins to blur slightly as his body and facial features begin to shift. His dark hair lightens slightly and grows in length until it resembles Trace's. His eyes fade to a light gray and his clothes begin to blur and change color and texture. He's literally turning into the vision of Trace. He's now wearing the shirt Trace had on earlier that day and his jeans. It's...Trace that now stands before me.

A scowling Trace. “Do I even want to know why you've got Trace in your head?” he asks with Trace's deeper, baritone voice.

I raise a hand to my mouth and cover it. I don't care that Roman/Trace seems mad. The only thing I care about is the fact that Roman just shifted into
Trace
before my eyes. The world spins, and I immediately drop my head down between my knees as I gulp desperately for air. I thought I was prepared for whatever Roman unloaded on me, but this... I don't know how to process it.

A warm hand touches my back. “You okay?” It's Roman's voice again.

I stay slumped over. “Just give me a second,” I mumble.

“You need something to drink?”

“No. Yes,” I say, promptly changing my mind. I manage to slowly sit up, and Roman kneels before me, holding out my soda. I accept it with shaky hands and take a sip. “Prepare a girl for that shifting crap next time, will you?”

His lip quirks with bemusement. “I thought I did.”

“No, not really.” I blow out a breath and shake my head. “You can really turn into anyone?”

Once Roman sees that I'm fine, he sits back down on his lounger. “Yeah. Not every woman is attracted to the same type of guy. We can pluck out a vision from someone's head if they are willing to let us in, and we can shift into what they want.”

I stare at him. “You can literally become any woman's fantasy,” I say with a shake of my head.

“Pretty much. Same with the succubi. They can shift into any female form, but since you're only half, you can't. You're pretty close to being human but for the feeding and the faster healing.”

I nod to his body. “Is that your original form?”

“Yes.”

Okay. So I've learned I can't have kids of my own, but I can resort to adoption like Khristos had with Roman. I’m also immortal. I guess living longer will be nicer. Maybe there are a few perks to being a freak after all. I look at Roman suddenly. “Khristos looks like he's in his mid-to-late-twenties. I'm assuming our kind doesn't age after a certain age?”

“We quit aging in our mid-twenties. So will you.” He grins devilishly. “You'll always be beautiful, Vee. Just think, no wrinkles or sagging breasts.”

I grab the chip bag and pull one out, tossing it at him. “Ha-ha. Funny.” I have a sobering thought and turn wary. “Are we from Hell?”

Roman snorts as he tosses his hair out of his eyes with the flick of head. “No. Well, the first incubi are,” he amends “Those are the ones you want to avoid. They are evil through and through. I was obviously born here on earth, and so was Khristos. The ones that are born here, we tend to intermix better with the humans. The one's born in Hell, well, those are the ones that can't just fade in with the humans. They are much more dangerous than one would think. As for the succubi, I believe the first one was born on earth. In a way you come from Hell since it's in the genes, but if you think about it logically, you're from earth and you come from a human, which weakens the genes. I wouldn't worry about it, Vee.”

“How do you know the first succubus was born here on earth?” I ask as this conversation continues to inflame my curiosity.

“We don't for sure. But the oldest succubus known to anyone here on earth or Hell was born in ancient Rome.”

I lean forward with interest. “Tell me about her.”

“Her name’s Aurelia, and she was born in the second century. Her father's unknown, and her mother died from some type of disease. Aurelia was raised with a foster family, you could say, until she was old enough to be taken to the brothels. She was forced into years of prostitution, and it's said that once she grew into her powers and quit aging, she risked her life to flee the brothel. She hid for years until she experienced her first shift. By this time, she was already bitter from the complete disregard men had shown her body. Bitterness can turn a person into the ugliest soul, no matter how beautiful on the outside. She began to shift forms, becoming more and more beautiful only to kill every man she crossed, taking revenge from her years as a prostitute. She's the most notorious well-known succubus to date, and yet no one knows her true form. She roams the earth now as we speak, and she's the reason the succubi became known as deadly. Aurelia's pure evil,” Roman says simply.

“She's still out there?” I ask as I feel a shiver work its way up my spine.

Roman nods. “She's no longer leaving a trail of dead men in her wake, she quit that centuries ago. But that kind of evil takes root and doesn't fade. That is one succubus I would never want to cross,” he says dryly.

I would have to agree. “Do you think Khristos has met her? With as old as he is?”

Roman snickers. “Don't bring up his age, just a word of advice. Calling him decrepit is sure to piss him off. He's old as shit, and even though he doesn't look it, he still gets annoyed if you joke about it. I learned that lesson a long time ago.”

I store that information away for use at a later date. “You don't think he's met her?”

“I have no idea. I know she doesn't go by Aurelia anymore. She could be anybody, so I guess there's the chance he may have crossed paths with her at one time or another.”

“Can succubi feed off of other supernaturals?” I ask, switching the topic.

“Yes. You can feed off of anyone, just not another incubus. We kind of cancel each other out, you know? It just doesn't work. Though the sex is off the charts,” he says wickedly.

“Really?” I remember Tatum implying she's been with Roman, and she's a succubus. Plus, Trace had been willing to have sex with me.

“Oh, yeah. Our pheromones are strong. Everyone's attracted to us unless they are blood relation.” He gives me a slow, knowing smile. “That attraction you feel for me, it's the pheromones. You and I aren't blood, so we're aware of it. Let's just put it this way, everything is better with a succubus or incubus. That's why humans come back for more, we can become addictive. Throw an incubus and succubus together that aren't related—the pheromones intermix, and the sex is pretty powerful. You can play around with an incubus if you want, but it won't ever be anything more than just good sex,” he warns. “We can't commit to a monogamous relationship with another of our own kind.”

I nod, thinking of Trace.

“Oh, and Vee?”

“Hm?”

“You and I? I'd fuck you in a heartbeat if you weren't relation through adoption. But that's never going to happen, because family matters more than sex. We have to agree never to act on it. Don't flip your switch around me, you hear?” he warns in a dangerously serious tone.

I look at him with confusion. “Flip my switch?”

“You get yourself all sexed up, and if you're in the mood to play, the pheromones you secrete get stronger. It's hard as hell to resist when a succubus is on the prowl,” he says bluntly.

“Oh. I wasn't planning to flip my switch as you call it,” I say awkwardly.

“You will, trust me. Just stay away from me when you do. I don't want anything fucking things up between us.”

I nod in agreement.

“My advice would be to stay away from any incubi unless all you're after is a good time. If you want commitment, you can hook up with any other supernatural and feed off them permanently. As a supernatural, they won't go insane if you leave them, because their will is stronger. They'll crave you and what your body can provide, but they won't go crazy or try to kill you,” he explains.

“So, I could have a long term relationship with the same person?” I ask, unable to hide the hopefulness from my tone.

Roman nods. “Yes. But I am going to warn you, interracial couples are frowned upon in our world. It dilutes the bloodlines as most races claim. There are couples out there that make it work, but it's not easy.”

“But it's possible,” I point out with relief.

“Yes. Just be careful, Vee. Don't go diving into anything with anyone right away. Take the time to learn the rules and whatnot before you go trying to bend them.”

“My ex-boyfriend tried to kill me. I'm not looking for anything, Roman. But it's nice knowing I could possibly have a solid future with someone,” I say quietly.

“Like I said, take your time. And
feed
,” he says pointedly. “Headaches are the very first sign that you're low on energy, and you need to feed. Learn how long you can go in between feedings and try to make it a routine, like eating. Don't let yourself get too low, okay? You can feed off Nathan maybe two more times, then he's permanently off limits for at least a year. Do you understand?”

I nod. “How often do you think I'll have to feed?”

“I'm not sure. We won't know until you start developing headaches again. Just pay attention to your body, and don't ignore the signs.”

“Addie made me that special tea of hers. Does that prolong the debilitating symptoms?” I ask as my thoughts once again shift to a new thought.

“No. What she gave you was simply to help with the pain.”

“Is Addie one of us as well?” I ask tentatively.

“Nope. She's a Sieben witch. Khristos hired her a few years ago when he thought there was a possibility you'd come to live with us. She likes it here, and Khristos is very generous to her and her Coven, so she's become a regular employee.”

Addie's a witch. I would have never guessed. “What about you? How often do you have to feed? Or am I not supposed to ask that?” I quickly add as I realize I might have just asked something that's considered rude.

Roman’s lips curve. “You can ask, I don't care. But I wouldn't go around asking others of our kind that question.”

“Okay. I'll try to remember that.”

“As for your question, I feed every five days.”

Wow. I was expecting maybe once a month or something. Guess I was way off. It's weird knowing Roman has to have sex once every five days to survive. I wonder how long I'll have before I have to feed again. I hope it's quite a while. I'm not ready to try this whole feeding thing again. Especially after what happened last time.

Chapter Fourteen

I'm still trying to process everything a few days later, but I've managed to at least go back to my normal routine as far as my job is concerned. Working at the store helps give me a sense of normalcy. However, I'm still avoiding Khristos, and he's not pushing to talk to me at this point. He's giving me space, and I am grateful for that. I’ve managed to let go of some of my anger towards him over Brad, but I am still annoyed with how he announced my mom's betrayal. He'd just dumped it on me without cushioning the blow. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to realize that's just who he is. Roman already warned me that their kind isn't very soft-hearted.