The Demon Who Fed on a Shark (12 page)

they were so different, they were still so much alike, and Morgan had always dreamed that when he found his mate, Layton would love that

person as much as Morgan did. The knowledge that Layton and

Alexis were worlds apart, and would probably continue to be so, was

like a dagger through his heart.

For that reason, he found himself replying, “I don’t know if they’ll

allow you to see him. His brother gave me the impression that he’s

not well.”

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The words tasted like poison, and his stomach roiled, but he tried

to tell himself everything was all right, that the Whitakers wouldn’t have contacted him had Alexis not told them to. Perhaps Alexis had

suffered an injury of sorts, or perhaps he was simply afraid of talking to Morgan, but he must at least be alive. God, when had he begun to

doubt that?

Shivers coursed down his spine, and he felt a sort of dizziness grip

him. Layton’s hand on his arm steadied him. “Morgan? Are you all

right?”

“I’m okay.” Morgan cleared his throat, struggling against the

nausea. “We should probably make arrangements for tomorrow.

We’re allowed two guards to come with us.”

Knowing that he’d fucked up earlier, he turned to his father again.

“I’m sorry for what I said, Father.” He couldn’t apologize enough

because his respect for his parents demanded it. At the same time,

however, he was his own man, and he would not allow his family to

sway him. “But you must understand. I have to do this. I need it.”

“Very well.” The older shark nodded. “I understand. Just don’t let

it happen again, and be careful.”

They hugged awkwardly, which made the stone weighing over

Morgan’s chest a bit lighter. His father didn’t seem to begrudge him

his outburst of temper. However, Morgan had a feeling his family’s

attitude might change if they knew that Morgan was still convinced,

beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Alexis was his mate.

* * * *

Morgan waited on the helipad, scanning the skies for any

approaching aircraft. It was a futile endeavor since he would hear the helicopter long before it even came close to the mansion, not to

mention that the proximity alerts around the house would detect it.

That didn’t make him any less anxious. He was irritated that he

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needed to wait so long in the first place. Why hadn’t Rhys Whitaker

sent the helicopter earlier? What was the incubus waiting for?

“Stop fidgeting,” his brother chastised him. “You don’t want to

look too eager.”

“I doubt it’s going to matter much,” Morgan replied. “Incubi can

feel other people’s emotions. It’s one of their powers.”

Layton’s expression darkened. “I remember their powers all too

well. I wonder if you still do.”

Morgan couldn’t blame Layton for the accusing tone. His brother

had been hurt and offended, and Morgan could do very little to fix it.

He wrapped an arm around Layton’s shoulders and squeezed him

tight. “Just remember that, whatever happens, you’ll always be my

brother.”

Layton didn’t answer, not that Morgan expected him to. Behind

them, their parents approached, followed by a couple of guards. A

few moments later, the sound of a helicopter coming in reached

Morgan’s ears.

Morgan schooled himself to look completely calm and

emotionless. By the time the helicopter landed, he’d buried his

feelings under a thick mask, hoping the incubi would not sense his

concern and apprehension.

The aircraft finally landed, and its door opened. A tall succubus

stepped out. “We are here to retrieve Mr. Pierce-Cunningham,” she

said, her eyes on Morgan. “If you would please come with us…”

“My brother and father will join me,” Morgan said as he stepped

forward. “We will also be bringing a separate helicopter with our

guards.”

The woman just nodded. “Of course.”

They all entered the helicopter and waited while the second

chopper was ready. It seemed to take forever, but finally, the pilot

made the last maneuvers and then they were up in the air and flying

toward an unknown destination.

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Morgan didn’t bother to ask where they were headed. He didn’t

really care. His men would tell him later. Now, his full focus was on what he would find when he actually got there, on the reason behind

Alexis’s request to see him.

He didn’t ask any questions—the noise in the helicopter would

have prevented him from doing so anyway—and just sat there,

thinking, remembering. His heart ached as he recalled their first

meeting, their first kiss. If anyone had told him the day they’d last left the university that their relationship would be torn apart like this, Morgan wouldn’t have believed it.

He was so lost in his thoughts that time flew faster than he

expected. Before he knew it, they were landing. Morgan caught sight

of a huge mansion surrounded by lush gardens, and then he shot out

of the aircraft and onto the helipad.

A dark-haired incubus stood waiting, and his high cheekbones,

black eyes, and full lips painfully reminded Morgan of Alexis.

Morgan made his way to the other man’s side. “Rhys Whitaker, I

presume.”

The incubus nodded. “Welcome. Please, follow me. My brother is

very eager to see you.”

Behind Morgan, his dad and his brother followed. Rhys politely

greeted them and led them into the house, briefly explaining that this was a rarely used retreat belonging to the Whitakers. As they reached the mansion, an army of servants intercepted them, busying

themselves around Morgan and his family.

Rhys turned toward Skylar and Layton. “I have readied rooms for

your convenience. If you have luggage, it will be taken there for you.

Like I mentioned on the phone, my brother wishes to see Morgan

alone at this time.”

Layton exploded. “The hell with that. If he was fine with eating at

my parents’ table and sleeping in their home, he can see us now.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Rhys replied icily.

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Layton might have said something else, but then, Morgan

suddenly felt a very familiar presence close by, and he turned just as Alexis appeared in the hallway. Or…Was it really Alexis? He looked

more like a shadow of his former self, his cheeks sunken, dark circles under his haunted eyes, skinny to the point of skeletal. “Stop coddling me, Rhys,” he said. “I told you I’m not afraid.”

Rhys looked angry and concerned. Ignoring Alexis’s words, he

grabbed Alexis’s arm and snarled, “What are you doing out of your

room? I said I’d bring Morgan to you.”

Morgan’s hackles rose, his instincts immediately screaming at him

to remove Rhys’s hand from Alexis. Alexis broke free of his brother’s grip before Morgan could intervene. “And I would like to at least

keep a modicum of dignity, thank you very much.” His black eyes

fixed on Morgan. “Hello, Morgan. You look well.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Morgan answered.

They were cruel words, and he knew it the moment Alexis winced

and looked away. “I know. I wouldn’t have pushed you to come face

my current state if it wasn’t important.”

“If I may,” Skylar piped up, “I’m very interested as to what

exactly you consider important enough to summon Morgan here. As

you can probably understand, I don’t want my sons anywhere near

you.”

His voice sounded cooler than Morgan had ever heard it.

Morgan’s dad had always been friendly, a social butterfly to a certain extent, but the situation in the past weeks had affected him greatly.

Layton had been hurt by Alexis’s manipulation, and Morgan was still

suffering from the incubus’s abandonment. In a way, Morgan had

expected his dad to treat Alexis like this, and he realized now that

he’d have preferred to go with Rhys’s original plan and meet Alexis

on his own.

“I agree,” Layton offered. “Just say what you have to say so we

can get out of your poisonous presence. You make me sick.”

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Alexis didn’t seem to register any of the vitriol. Instead, he met

them head on and said, “I’m pregnant.”

Standing there, still in the hallway of the Whitaker mansion,

Morgan stared at his former lover. Pregnant? Alexis? How? It

couldn’t be. Well, judging by what Alexis had told him, it wasn’t

impossible, but Alexis had also said years would pass before his body matured enough to carry a child.

Unfortunately, his dad recovered from the shock before him.

“Pregnant,” he repeated. “And I suppose you’re going to claim it’s

Morgan’s.”

Alexis went stiff as a board, for the first time looking offended.

“You can say whatever you want of me, Mr. Cunningham, but don’t

even think of insulting my child. I won’t allow it.”

“Who do you think you are?” Layton looked ready to attack.

“Why should we believe you? For all we know, you’ve been fucking

half of the world’s population in the past weeks.”

His brother’s words were like a physical blow for Morgan, and he

couldn’t help a pained hiss. The slight noise drew Alexis’s attention toward him. “I haven’t been fucking anyone,” he replied. “That’s why

I need your help, Morgan. I’m hungry, so very hungry, and you’re the

only one I can feed from.”

Silence fell, that absolute silence before the storm ripe with a

tension that burned over Morgan’s senses. His heart thudded and his

ears were ringing, and he couldn’t believe what Alexis was telling

him.

He looked at Alexis once again and recalled what his former lover

had told him once, that incubi fed off sexual energy. If Alexis hadn’t been having sex, his sickly appearance made sense. “Why?” he asked.

“Why do you need me?”

“I just do,” Alexis whispered, rubbing his arms as if he were very

cold. “I couldn’t touch another when I’m pregnant with your child.”

“Wait a minute,” Layton intervened. “Back up. Feed? What do

you mean by feed?”

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“Incubi don’t eat actual food,” Rhys explained. “Our bodies and

our magic are sustained by sexual energy. Our organs are specialized

in transforming that energy into nutrients. This is also what allows the possibility of children born out of same-sex relationships.”

“So you want to eat Morgan?” Layton grabbed Morgan’s arm and

forced their gazes to meet. “Did you know about this?”

Morgan nodded. “To a certain extent, yes. He told me

before…Before he disappeared.”

“I knew incubi magic depended a lot on sex, but I never would

have dreamed it reached this extent,” their dad murmured. He shook

himself, pushing away the shock. “No. I won’t allow it. I won’t allow you to seduce Morgan again.”

“If you want your grandchild to live, you don’t have a choice,”

Rhys said brusquely.

They were at a stalemate. Morgan’s dad and brother were

trembling with anger and indignation, while Alexis just looked sad.

His hand was hovering over his abdomen, his gaze far off, as if he

weren’t really in the room, but thinking about something different.

Rhys, on the other hand, looked as tense as a bow string, and Morgan

found himself strangely thankful that Alexis had someone on his side.

He wished he could have been the one to protect Alexis. He wished

things were different. He wondered what could have determined

Alexis to act the way he did. For the nth time in the past weeks, he

asked himself whether they were being too harsh, whether there was

an explanation for all this, and he just needed to hear Alexis out.

Whatever the case, Morgan knew he couldn’t refuse, and not only

because of the child Alexis carried. He doubted he could ever refuse

Alexis anything, and their separation might have changed the

dynamics of their relationship, but it hadn’t changed that.

“All right,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

All eyes turned to him, and the hope in Alexis’s gaze nearly tore

Morgan apart. “Really?” Alexis asked in a whisper.

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Alexis looked so open to him then, so lost and broken that Morgan

wanted to rush to Alexis’s side right then and there. He actually took a step forward, and he would have definitely reached for Alexis had

his twin not grabbed his arm.

Even though Layton’s hold on him was strong, Morgan was still

stronger than his brother, and he could have freed himself. However,

he felt reluctant to do so. Their relationship had been strained by

Layton’s idea that he’d betrayed Morgan with Alexis, and they were

only just now regaining their closeness. “Let go,” he said.

“No.” Layton shook his head stubbornly. “I allowed you to fall for

his tricks once. I won’t allow it again.”

Morgan was practically in physical pain, torn between the two

people he loved most. In the end, the absolute need he felt coming

from Alexis made the decision from him. He ached for his brother,

but Alexis was his mate. He broke away from his sibling and joined

Alexis and Rhys. Alexis reached for him almost hesitantly, his eyes

watery, holding a desperate hope, as if he couldn’t quite believe this was happening.