Succubus Dreams Page 0,55

was what I did to men...but, well, I couldn't help how I felt. And just then, I felt nauseous at the thought of some parasitic creature coming to me tonight because I was full of energy. It made my skin crawl. Bad enough this thing was using me. It was also using me to use Liam.

I looked back at him; he was so cute and so nice. I shook my head. I couldn't do this. I needed the energy, but I was going to put if off as long as possible. I wouldn't give this thing what it wanted.

"Liam..." I said slowly. "I should tell you something. I, um, just recently got out of a long relationship, and I went to the auction because I thought I could, you know..."

He sighed, not appearing angry so much as regretful. "You aren't ready."

I shook my head. "I'm really sorry. I wanted to help at the auction, and I thought I could move on."

He squeezed the hand he was still holding and released it. "Well...I'm sad, but I understand. And I like you...if we went out, I'd like to work on something serious. That can't happen until you're ready, and I'd never want to force you."

Oh, God. Nice, nice guy.

"I'm so, so sorry," I said. I meant it. I so wanted his energy.

"Nothing to be sorry about," he told me, smiling. "Come on, I'll take you home."

He returned me to Queen Anne, and I kissed him on the cheek before leaving the car. He told me to call him when I was ready to date again, and I told him I would.

Once he was gone, I didn't go inside. Instead, I called Dante.

"It's your favorite succubus," I said when he answered.

I heard him yawn. "Debatable. What do you want? It's late."

"I need to talk to you. Something weird happened."

"I'm in bed, succubus. Unless you plan on joining me, I'd rather not receive visitors right now."

"Please, Dante. It's important."

He sighed. "Fine, come on over."

"I don't know where you live."

"Of course you do. You've been here a gazillion times."

"You live in your store?"

"Why would I want to pay rent for two different places?"

I drove down to the shop. The sign read CLOSED, but there was a faint light inside. Dante opened the door when I knocked. He wore jeans and a plain T-shirt, nothing unusual, but the disheveled hair suggested he had indeed been in bed.

"Sorry," I told him. "Maybe I should have waited."

"Too late for regrets. Come on in."

He led me through the storefront, back to the small door I usually saw closed. On the other side was a large room that appeared to be a combination living space, office, supply closet, and...workshop.

"Erik was right," I said, walking over to a high set of shelves. They were filled with jars and bottles of herbs and unidentifiable liquids. "You are a magician." I considered. "Or at least you're pretending to be."

"No faith in me. Probably smart." He pointed to a bean bag chair and a plaid ottoman. "Take your pick if you don't want the bed."

I chose the ottoman. "Well, it's not that I don't trust you...but everything else you do is a scam. Of course, Erik has to hate you for something legitimate, and he wouldn't have sent me to you in the first place if you didn't have some kind of skill."

"Interesting logic. Maybe he hates me for my charming personality." He rubbed his eyes and yawned again. With the motion of his arm, I noticed faint punctures in the middle of his arm that I'd never seen with long sleeves.

"Maybe he hates you for your vices."

Dante looked at where I was staring. He shrugged, unconcerned. "Nah, Lancaster has better things to worry about than a casual hit now and then."

"From my experience, there's no such thing as a casual hit."

"What, are you here to do an intervention now, succubus?"

"No," I admitted. I had neither time nor interest to reform Dante. "But I heard a voice tonight."

"I heard a voice too. It called and woke me up."

"Dante!"

Angrily, I explained the situation. A hint of his sarcastic smile remained, but otherwise, he actually seemed concerned.

"Huh. Interesting. It actually raised its ugly head."

"What do you think that means?"

"Not a clue until we know what it is. The only thing I can guess is that it was desperate for some reason. Until now, it's done a pretty good job at hiding itself - aside from your energy loss, obviously." He brightened a little. "I don't suppose