Heart of the Incubus (17 page)

When her glasses began to slide off her face, he grinned and pushed them back. “What’s the point of being an incubus if you can’t get it up instantaneously?”

Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “You mean you can get aroused as many times as you want? All night long?”

He let out a hoarse chuckle. “Why don’t you let me show you?”

As his tongue slipped back into her mouth and his hand wandered down her body, she figured that probably wasn’t such a bad idea.

Chapter Ten

For the first time in a long time, Cresso awoke with a sense of hope and lightness. There was no doubt that had everything to do with the woman who lay beside him, sprawled out facedown on the mattress with her body half out of the sheets. What a delicious body it was, too, all soft curves and tantalizing angles. He couldn’t help but grin as he remembered all the ways they’d made love throughout the night. It had been everything he’d dreamed of, and more.

Genevieve was probably exhausted, and he longed to let her sleep, but she’d be pissed if he didn’t wake her for work. At least he knew of a few good ways to do that.

He reached out to trace the generous curve of her backside. Damn, she was so beautiful. Every moment he spent with her only reinforced how much he loved her.

That thought made him frown. He’d tried to tell her last night, but she’d stopped him. Whenever he’d spoken of how much he enjoyed being with her, she’d blown off his comment.

She didn’t believe him.

Well, he would simply have to find a way to make her believe. Because now that he’d had her, he could never let her go. That might be the right thing to do, though. Devil knew she deserved better than an incubus who needed sex to live. But he couldn’t give her up. He wasn’t strong enough.

Cresso grasped her shoulder and gently turned her over. Her glasses had slid partially off her face while she slept. He couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep with them on. After taking them off, he placed them on the nightstand.

“Mmm…” Her eyes fluttered open, and she gave him a dreamy smile. “Waz’it?”

“It’s morning. Time to go to work.”

She groaned and flung an arm over her eyes.

“Sorry.” He chuckled and buried his face in her neck, breathing in her honeyed scent. “Should I have let you sleep?”

“No,” she murmured.

“Maybe I can help you wake up.”

When he trailed his hand down her side, she whispered,
“Again?”

Hell, yes
. But mindful of the fact she was probably sore, he squashed his enthusiasm. “Only if you want to.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Okay. But I get to be on top.”

No way he’d complain about that. He flipped onto his back, dragging her on top of him. “Suit yourself.”

Genevieve straddled him, her hair tumbling over her sleepy eyes. She giggled, the sound so at odds with her usual prim and proper demeanor that he couldn’t help but be excited by it. When his cock hardened, pressing against the sensitive flesh between her thighs, she let out a gasp and undulated against him. Her core was already slickened with arousal.

“Ready so soon?” he teased.

She grasped the base of his cock and slowly slid down. “So are you.”

He’d always be ready for her.

He held onto her hips as she set the pace, sliding up and down, driving him to the brink of madness. Damn, but he loved the way she made him feel. This was more than just sex; it was a soul connection between two people. She must feel the same way. She had to. Anything else was unimaginable.

The desire to tell her he loved her almost overwhelmed him, but he held back. She wasn’t ready to hear it. Yet. But soon…

When she stiffened and pulsed around him, he dug his heels into the mattress and shoved upward, pistoning in and out until she came apart in his arms. Only then did he allow himself to take his own release. He pulled her upper body down, wrapping his arms around her and continuing to pump until he’d spilled every last drop inside her. It was heaven. Pure heaven.

She hadn’t mentioned using protection, not even once. Practically, he knew she was aware of the extremely low odds of her getting pregnant from having sex with a demon. Almost impossible. Yet she was so cautious about everything else in her life. He couldn’t help but wonder at the meaning of that. Maybe deep down the thought of binding herself to a demon—to
him
—wasn’t so reprehensible.

“That was good,” she gasped into his chest.

Beyond that. It was amazing. He allowed himself to repeat in his mind the words he so longed to say aloud.

I love you, Gen. I love you
.

…

Hours later, Genevieve looked up from her latest test batch.
I can’t believe it.
I did it.

After months of research, and despite everything that had happened in the past few days, she’d finally matched the chemical composition found in the type of flesh maliki demons favored. It should be an exhilarating moment, but she found herself numb to the excitement that generally followed such a major discovery. And the reason for that was obvious.

Cresso
.

Everything else paled in comparison to him, to the moments she’d spent in his arms.

Last night had been unbelievable. Incredible. She’d had mind-blowing, thigh-quivering sex with an incubus.

No, not an incubus. Cresso.

Classifying him into a general group somehow seemed wrong after everything they’d shared.

The memory of the countless times they’d made love last night brought a flush to her cheeks. She didn’t recall ever being so sore or feeling so completely exhausted, and she loved every bit of it. He was demanding in the bedroom, yet giving at the same time. In short, he was everything Jeffrey hadn’t been.

Maybe it was time to stop comparing Cresso to the ghosts of her past. He’d proven to be different—to be better—in every way. The man was amazing. Brave, intelligent, and sexy, too. The total package.

Oh my God, I think I’m falling in love with him.

The realization slapped her in the face, blindsiding her with its unexpected force. Despite all her misgivings, despite the fact she’d warned herself against it, she’d allowed him to worm his way into her heart.

Genevieve staggered over to her desk and blindly took a seat. What the hell was she going to do about this? She was in love with Cresso, and if the words he’d tried to tell her last night could be believed, he loved her, too. At least he thought he did. But how could she ever trust that this thing between them was for real?

Maybe you can’t. Maybe you just take a chance and hope for the best.

Oh, hell. She had to see him. She didn’t know what she’d say, but her gut told her to seek him out. At the very least, she could inform him of her scientific breakthrough.

Genevieve rose and unlocked the door, then started down the hall. After Cresso had met with Mac, who’d been present all throughout the morning casing the building once again, he’d retreated to his laboratory to prepare for meetings with some of his test subjects. She reached the door to his examination room but shrank back when she looked inside.

Cresso was in there, and he was with a patient. It was one of the succubi who’d gone to his apartment several days before. The sudden wrenching in her stomach told her she was jealous. How could she not be? The willowy blonde was perfection.

Genevieve glued her back to the wall and slid as close to the door as she could get. Yes, eavesdropping was wrong, but she couldn’t help herself.

“It’s been a while,” the succubus murmured. The paper lining Cresso’s examining table rustled.

“Stop that.” Cresso’s voice sounded cold and distant.

The succubus let out a soft laugh. “I’m just playing.”

“Don’t.”

There was a moment of silence before the succubus spoke again. “It’s been almost a month, and you’ve been acting more and more strange lately. What’s up with you?”

Cresso sighed. “Listen, I just started seeing someone.”

Another beat of silence.

“Wait, it’s serious, isn’t it?” The succubus sounded shocked.

“Very serious, Samantha. I love her.”

Thankfully the succubus’s gasp drowned out Genevieve’s.

“You actually mean that,” the succubus said with a note of wonder. “I can’t believe it.”

Neither could Genevieve. Maybe he really did love her. The true kind. The lasting kind. Maybe she
could
trust him.

She heard the rustle of movement inside the room and straightened, then fled. She wasn’t ready to face Cresso yet, and she didn’t want him to know she’d overheard his private conversation.

Genevieve raced toward the ladies restroom a few feet down the hall. She made it inside without being spotted. A long mirror lined the sink area, and when she looked in it, she barely recognized the figure on the other side. Wide-eyed and shell-shocked. She stumbled forward and rested her hands on the counter, giving herself a more thorough examination.

He loves me. He really loves me.

And she loved him. God help her, she’d fallen in love with Cresso. What was she going to do about it?

Her heart screamed to take a chance, but her brain insisted on replaying that fateful night with Jeffrey over and over again. If that happened with Cresso, she didn’t know how she’d survive it.

She turned on the faucet and used her shaky hands to splash water on her face, in the vain hope that it would help to clear her mind. When she heard the door to the restroom open, she forced a smile to her face and looked up. Then she saw who it was…and froze.

Dr. Summers blocked the door, a fierce expression on her face. Will had informed them this morning that she’d called in sick again, and Mac had sent someone to her house to watch over her. So what the hell was she doing here?

Genevieve whirled around to face her. “Dr. Summers, I…I thought you were out sick.”

Dr. Summers stepped forward. She opened her mouth, but instead of words, the most horrible, shrill shriek emitted from her lips. Goose bumps broke out all over Genevieve’s body at the bloodcurdling sound.

When banshees wailed, it meant someone was going to die
.

Oh my God!

“Leave me alone!” She tried to run past Dr. Summers, but the superstrong banshee caught hold of her arm and shoved her so that her back hit the countertop. Dr. Summers’s right arm raised, and Genevieve saw that she had something cylindrical clutched in her hand.

A syringe. It had to be.

Dr. Summers was going to kill her, and she wasn’t strong enough to stop her.

She opened her mouth to scream, but before she could, the door to the restroom opened. Tom stood on the other side, and he had his maintenance cart right outside the door. He took one look at Dr. Summers and grasped his broom like a baseball bat. Dr. Summers lunged for Genevieve, who backpedaled just as Tom shot forward.

He swung the broom at the back of Dr. Summers’s head. It connected with a loud
crack
that tore a scream from Genevieve’s throat. Dr. Summers’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she tumbled to the ground.

Genevieve pressed her back into the wall and stared at Dr. Summers in dumbfounded silence. After long moments in which Dr. Summers didn’t get back up, Genevieve allowed herself to relax. Maybe he’d killed the banshee. The trickle of blood pooling on the floor next to her head certainly didn’t look good.

“You okay?” Tom asked.

“She…she tried to kill me.”

When he cocked a brow at her, Genevieve crept forward and knelt before Dr. Summers. She unclenched the banshee’s right fist to retrieve the object in her hand. “It…it’s a piece of paper.”

Tom shifted his weight, nervously staring down at Dr. Summers’s prone figure. “What did you think it was?”