The Demon Who Fed on a Shark (2 page)

uninjured cheek. “Go to sleep, baby. Things will look better soon.

You’ll see.”

Alexis closed his eyes and struggled to obey. He must have been

more exhausted than he thought because sooner than he expected,

slumber took hold of him and he surrendered to dreams of fire and

pain.

* * * *

Alexis’s parents arrived the next day. Alexis dreaded seeing them,

because he knew exactly how they would react. Morgan didn’t leave

his side, which made Alexis feel a bit better, at least until the moment his parents came into the room.

His mother gave Morgan a distinctly disgusted look. They weren’t

adepts of interspecies matings, and even if they bred with nonincubi, the chosen partners would always belong to other types of demons.

“Mr. Pierce-Cunningham.” She nodded in place of a greeting.

“Thank you for staying with our son, but that won’t be necessary

anymore.”

Morgan visibly tensed and offered her a tight smile. “That’s quite

all right. It’s no bother.”

Alexis’s father tilted his head, as if amused. “Of course, and we

appreciate it a lot. We’ll take over.”

“And now, if you will, we’d like to talk to Alexis alone,” his

mother added.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Morgan didn’t look very willing to comply, but Alexis knew it

needed to be done. “Go on, Morgan,” he said. “We’ll talk later, all

right?”

Morgan turned toward him, his dark-green eyes scrutinizing

Alexis’s face as if to see if he was being honest. Finally, he sighed and got up. He pressed a kiss to Alexis’s forehead and whispered

lowly, “I’ll be just outside if they give you any trouble.”

Morgan walked past Alexis’s parents and, with a polite nod

toward them, left the room. After he was gone, Alexis’s mother sat on the chair next to the bed. The cloud of perfume around her teased

Alexis’s nostrils, almost making him sneeze.

“We talked to the doctors,” she said. “According to them, you

should be stable enough to be moved. We’re making arrangements as

we speak.”

Alexis knew it had been coming. A disfigured incubus was an

embarrassment, and his parents would want to hide him away in some

remote location where no one could see him. In his heart, he knew it

would probably be best. He had very little to offer to Morgan, now

that his looks were gone. But Alexis didn’t want to leave. He didn’t

want to give up hope, not yet.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’m not going. I’m

staying with Morgan.”

“Don’t be stupid,” his father replied. “He only made you his lover

because of the way you looked.”

His mother nodded. “He might stay by your side now, but it’d be

out of pity. Do you really think you can give him what he needs in

your condition?”

“We’ve already readied the house in Britain.” His dad’s voice had

taken the coaxing tone incubi sometimes used on their lovers. It

disgusted Alexis. “You’ll have a place to stay there. No one will ever bother you.”

“You mean no one will ever see me and what I’ve become.”

Alexis suddenly felt very tired. “Look, I get what you’re saying, I do.

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

13

But Morgan said the doctors could fix me. There’s still a chance. I

won’t give it up.”

“You’re an incubus, Alexis.” His mother frowned. “Whatever

surgical procedures will be able to fix, it still won’t be enough, and you know it.”

Yes, he did, but it still hurt hearing it. He didn’t want to think

about it. He just wanted to curl into a ball with Morgan by his side

and simply sleep until the world ended. “Please, just go. Leave me

alone.”

“Alexis…” His father began again, a warning in his tone.

“Leave me alone,” Alexis repeated, louder.

The door burst open, and an alarmed Morgan stalked inside. “I

think you should go,” he told Alexis’s parents.

The shark took position in front of Alexis, effectively blocking his

sight of his mother. Alexis’s parents must have realized they couldn’t do anything more there, as they backed off. “Fine,” his father said in lieu of a good-bye. “But you’ll see we were right.”

At last, they took their leave, and Alexis remained alone with

Morgan once again. “Don’t listen to them,” Morgan said. “They don’t

know anything about you and me.”

“You heard?”

Morgan offered him a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to

eavesdrop, but I didn’t want to go too far in case you needed me.”

Alexis felt embarrassed and humiliated at the knowledge that his

lover overheard his conversation with his parents. He hadn’t dared to explain everything about incubus society to Morgan. Their time

together had been so short before the entire mess with Leiland

Travers’s murder had happened. And now, Alexis was too afraid to

delve into that sort of thing. He trusted Morgan with his life, but his parents were right about one thing. With his beauty gone, Alexis did

fear his relationship with Morgan hung from a very thin thread.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Still, he couldn’t tell that to Morgan. He couldn’t fall apart, not if he wanted to keep the shark by his side. He needed to be brave and

just believe.

“It’s fine,” he replied. “I don’t have any secrets from you.”

That wasn’t exactly true, but it must have been the right thing to

say. Morgan beamed at him. “Thanks, baby.”

The shark sat down on the edge of Morgan’s bed. He was so close

his appealing scent assaulted Alexis’s senses. Suddenly, the fear and despair were replaced by hunger, the all-encompassing hunger

familiar to all incubi.

Without allowing himself to hesitate, Alexis reached for his lover.

Morgan’s eyes widened as Alexis pressed their mouths together. It

was awkward, due to the bandage still covering the Alexis’s right

cheek. In fact, his entire right side still hurt like a bitch, but the hunger, God, the need, swallowed that pain, cancelling everything

except Morgan.

At first, Morgan seemed to want the same thing Alexis did. For a

few seconds, both of them lost themselves in the kiss, and Morgan’s

tongue teased at seam of Alexis’s lips, demanding entrance. Alexis

gladly opened for his lover, but as he did so, Morgan wrapped his

arms around Alexis’s neck, obviously intending to pull him closer.

Unfortunately, this caused him to come into contact with the bandage.

Instantly, Morgan pulled away. “Sorry,” he murmured. “We

shouldn’t.”

Alexis tried to protest. “But Morgan, I—”

His words were cut off by a brief, chaste peck. “Hush. You’re

hurt, and you should get some rest.”

Alexis’s heart sank. Nodding, he pulled away from Morgan’s

embrace and obediently lay back down on the comfortable mattress.

Even as Morgan retook his position on the armchair, Alexis

couldn’t help but remember his mother’s words.
He might stay by

your side now, but it’d be out of pity.
This time, sleep wouldn’t come, and instead, Alexis sank in memories.

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

15

It was his fourth day at the Academy. Alexis had been spending

virtually every moment of the day with his new friend, Angel

Williams-Wade. He kind of felt bad about it since he knew how much

it irritated Angel’s adoptive brother, Clark. Still, in the long run, he knew he could actually help both young men get their heads out of

their asses. After all, who gave a fuck if they shared a last name?

They were clearly gaga over each other, and Alexis would have to be

blind to miss it.

He did feel a bit nervous when Angel told him about the rest of

his friends. “Don’t worry,” the antelope shifter said. “They’re great guys. They’ll love you.”

“Yeah, right.” Alexis suppressed a sigh, not wanting to look like a

whiny bitch. “Okay, my little cherubim. Lead the way.”

Angel took him to the cafeteria. Even from the distance, Alexis

spotted the table with Angel’s friends. Other than the Clark, there

were three other men, two more blonds and one dark-haired man.

Alexis’s gaze went to that one brunet. He didn’t know why, but his

heart started beating faster.

He couldn’t remember half the things he told Angel while on the

way. Finally, they were at the table, and Angel began to make

introductions. “This is Alexis Whitaker. Alexis, my friends. Morgan

and Layton Pierce-Cunningham and Reed Denning-Holden.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” the shifter introduced as Reed said.

Alexis analyzed each of the men in question. Incubi could sense

the emotions of other people, and in Reed, Alexis felt a hidden

sorrow. However, their kind respected the privacy of others, so he

didn’t comment on it. Instead, he replied, “Likewise.”

He focused on the other two men, and the name finally sparked

something in his memory. The Cunningham family was a bit of a

legend for the incubi. Growing up, Alexis had always heard all sorts

of stories about Byron Cunningham, the head of the family. “Oh, I

know you,” he said. “Well, of you. Your dad’s Byron Cunningham,

right?”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

The smaller of the two, Layton, nodded. “Yup. Well, one of them

at least. My other dad is Skylar Cunningham.”

The pride in Layton’s voice arose a wicked part of Alexis. Under

normal circumstances, he might have held his tongue, but now, he

asked, “Is it true your dad has two penises? Oh, oh, and did you

inherit it?”

Layton seemed both shocked and pissed off. Alexis waited for the

insult to come, knowing he’d wiped away all possibilities of

befriending Angel’s group. However, Layton didn’t get the chance to

say anything. His brother Morgan, the dark-haired man who’d drawn

Alexis’s attention, smiled at Alexis, at the same time silencing Layton with a brief, comforting gesture. “And I hear incubi are gender-neutral. Does that mean you can’t get hard? Do you get a period like

women? Can you give birth?”

Alexis stared. He couldn’t believe his ears. Some of those things

were true, others not, but no one had ever dared to ask him to his face.

The attraction he felt toward Morgan increased tenfold, and he burst into laughter. “Touché.” He grinned as he sat down. “I’d love to

answer those questions but in private.”

“Then maybe you’ll find out then if I have two dicks, huh?”

The promise in that husky voice awoke the hunger inside Alexis.

“Maybe.”

He didn’t know what would have happened if Layton hadn’t

interfered. “All right,” the other man said, “can we stop talking about penises and erections at breakfast, please?”

“Sure. We can continue at lunch,” Alexis offered coyly.

As it turned out, the conversation didn’t continue at lunch because

Morgan took Alexis out. Alexis had never been on an actual date. His

kind didn’t woo each other. They just fucked, at least until they found the person meant for them. Alexis had not expected meeting someone

special here out of all places.

The Academy wasn’t exactly a center of entertainment, but close

by, there was a town controlled by shape-shifters, with everything it

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

17

entailed. Angel had showed him around a bit, and Alexis admitted

he’d been taken with the quaint charm of it all. It was like an oasis in a world that moved so fast, built for shape-shifters who needed it so badly.

And if he’d liked seeing it with Angel, with Morgan, it felt even

better. Morgan took him to the most romantic spots. They walked

hand in hand through the park and stopped by a small café to eat

croissants and, later, ice cream. The treat was quite messy, but delicious. Alexis had never eaten ice cream, well, not for strictly the fun of it. He’d tested it on lovers sometimes, purely as a kink. But incubi didn’t eat food, so he’d never enjoyed it as nutrition.

With Morgan, though, everything changed. Food no longer tasted

bland, and when Morgan wiped Alexis’s lip of a leftover bit of ice

cream, Alexis nearly melted like the sweet did.

“So how do you like our little town?” Morgan asked as they

headed back.

“So far, I love it.” He didn’t even mean it as an innuendo, but it

came out as one.

Morgan arched a brow at him and grinned. “I’m glad. Did you

have fun?”

“Yes.” Alexis almost couldn’t believe just how much fun he’d

had. “Very much. Thanks.”

They’d driven here in Morgan’s car, and as they got inside, it

occurred to Alexis that he didn’t want this date to end. “Let’s walk,”

he suggested on impulse.

Morgan gave him a surprised look. “Walk? The Academy is a

good distance away.”

Alexis shrugged. “I know. Who cares?”

“We’ll miss the rest of the classes.”

Alexis deflated. He’d completely forgotten about the very reason

why he’d come here in the first place. “Right.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

“Tell you what. We’ll compromise.” Morgan offered him another

of those heart-stopping smiles. “We’ll drive there, and then you can

visit my room.”

Blood roared in Alexis’s ears. He’d been the one to suggest it just

a few hours back, but now, he was anxious. What if Morgan didn’t

want him anymore after they had sex? Then again, why did he even