Soul Stripper (13 page)

A
ccording to Lucien, no one else was allowed to know about my situation. Meaning, I had a secret to keep from Wills on our date. And this was like the mother of all secrets. Because when your life is being threatened, all you want to do is crawl into someone’s embrace and let them hold you and say everything is going to be okay.

I had to rush over to the bar right after Drew’s church thing. I had already canceled on one date with Wills this week—I could not cancel twice in two days.

Julian and Lucien must have made contact at some point during the night. As Julian and I left the church, I saw Lucien parked across the street—as far away from the blessed area as he could get.

I rolled my eyes when I saw him, growing more and more annoyed at needing a bodyguard. Julian flicked a glance at me but said nothing. I guess Lucien’s better at handling my temper flares.

“Shut up, Monica,” Lucien said as I approached him. “This is for your own good. Even if you’re too fucking stubborn to admit it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I huffed.

Lucien looked at Julian. “I see you’ve given her the kiss.” There was a pause as Julian gave one sharp nod and something silently passed between the two men. “So much for not interfering, huh?”

“The counsel has given their blessing.” Julian looked over at me and wrapped one of my blond curls around his finger. “Have a good night, my friend.” He checked over his shoulder, and with a
crack
he was gone.

“Why does he always talk like he’s in a fucking Jimmy Stewart movie?” When I didn’t offer an answer, Lucien moved on to the next important matter. “Where to now?”

Lucien followed me to the bar so that Wills wouldn’t see us arrive together, and I sent him into the pub first to get a table close to us . . . but not so close that he’d be spotted. He was reluctant to go in first, to leave me out in the parking lot alone, but I reassured him with the fact that it was not late yet, the parking lot was still fairly crowded, and I would come inside within five minutes of him or he could send out the SWAT teams.

I saw the front door to the pub swing open and looked at my clock. 9:24. I had to enter those doors at exactly 9:29 or Lucien’s head might explode. I leaned my head back against the driver’s seat and closed my eyes. To my left, there was a tap at my window. I jumped at the noise and turned to see a large, shadowy figure standing outside. “Go away.” I tried to sound tough, but my voice sounded squeaky, even to me.

“Not a chance.” His voice was gruff—it was familiar but I didn’t recognize it immediately.

The figure leaned down and rested both elbows on my car; his forearms crossed one over the other. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down and Damien stared back at me. I looked at the clock. 9:25.

I exhaled and unclenched my hands from the wheel. Damien was mysterious, but I doubted he was dangerous. “What do you want?” I said, rolling the window down.

“Well, hello to you, too. Is that any way to welcome a guest?”

“You’re not a guest, you’re an intruder.”

There was a hint of a smile behind his eyes. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who smiled much. “I’m a guest. Because of you, I’m going solo tonight.”

“What
are
you? You’re not a demon. You’re not an incubus. You’re not an angel, that’s for sure. And I think you’ve been following me even before today. I saw you at my club the other night.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’m not an angel, huh? What makes you so sure?” He was leaning into my window now, his face inching closer and closer to mine.

“I know angels. I just . . . I
know,
okay?” I looked at the clock. 9:27.

He nodded. “Okay. You’re right—I’m not an angel. An angel would never do this.” He leaned all the way and pressed his lips to mine, wrapping a large hand around the back of my neck. His tongue twisted around mine like a ribbon, and his hand traveled down to my breast and gave my nipple a hard twist. I shoved his shoulders away from me, and he finished the kiss with a bite to my bottom lip. I tipped forward in my seat, falling into the steering wheel. My pocket was warm and I touched a hand to it, remembering the stone Erik had given me earlier that day. I reached my hand in and felt the smoothness of it against my fingertips and the same tingly sensation that I experienced with Drew earlier this morning.

“Seriously. What are you?” I asked, breathless.

He backed away from the car. “I’m no angel.”

“Yes, I think we’ve established that,” I said, clutching my shirt around my breasts.

His mouth curved into a smile. “You better get inside. Your ArchDemon and your
date
are waiting.” He said the word with a sneer. “And as for the club—I wasn’t following you. I just like to watch beautiful women dance.”

I walked in just as the clock turned to 9:30. To me, that meant I was just barely on time. To Lucien, I was sure it meant that I was late. I saw Wills sitting at a little, circular high top table by a window. I didn’t dare look around for Lucien. I knew he was there somewhere; that’s all that mattered.

Wills smiled widely at me as I approached. “Hello, Pocket. Beautiful, as always. What else should I expect from a succubus, though, huh?” His accent gave me a gooey, warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. He stood and pulled me in for a kiss. “Hmm, you smell different tonight—like peppermint. Not your usual lavender scent.” His eyes traveled over my face, lingering for a moment on my forehead where Julian kissed me.

I nodded and kissed him again. “New shampoo,” I said.

“Ah,” He stood and pulled out a chair for me. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Gin and tonic, please.”

He gestured to a waitress and placed an order for our drinks, then turned back to me, still smiling. “Monica, we have so much to catch up on.”

I nodded. He obviously knew that I was a succubus back in the thirties when we were an item. And now that he knew the terms of being a succubus, he probably understood that the reason he had died before his time was quite possibly a direct result of me. “Look, Wills.” I started to give my apology as our drinks were set down between us. “I feel like I need to explain . . .”

“Yes, yes, yes,” He cut me off in a very British manner and held up his pint. “But first a toast. To reconciliation.”

I held up my glass, a sad smile splayed across my lips, and clinked it against his. After a sip, I continued. “Wills, I don’t know how much you know or understand about the succubus lifestyle, but there are things you should know about me. I’m not the typical succubus.”

That seemed to get his attention a bit. “Oh?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“I was an angel. An angel for quite some time. Most succubi are made directly after their human lives end—they’re recruited, much like you were. They trade something for their souls. I, on the other hand . . . I’m more like a fallen angel–succubus hybrid. I’m still not sure exactly what happened, it was so long ago. Lucien took me in almost immediately, taught me the rules and took care of me. Most succubi don’t have a conscience. But the fallen angel in me has regret. With each soul I steal, I hate myself a little more.”

Wills was nodding, his eyes soft and eyebrows creased together. “Why are you telling me this, Monica?”

“Because I’m sorry. Back in London—I fell for you. And I stayed with you longer than I ever should have. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I took your soul.” There was a catch in my throat as I apologized.

“Oh, Monica.” He grabbed my hands across the table, “Don’t apologize. I loved every minute of it. If I had to do it all again, I would. You remember our first date?”

I nodded. “You came to see me dance, then we went to dinner.”

“Well, you’re half right.” Wills leaned back in his chair, “I came to hear you
sing
. Then we went to dinner.” He paused. “Why don’t you sing anymore?”

I shrugged. “There’s not exactly time for it. And to be honest . . . singing isn’t the turn-on for men as it was back in your day.”

“Our day,” he corrected.

“Whatever.”

“But you were beautiful. Your voice was beautiful.”

I didn’t answer and played with the stirrer that rested across the edge of my drink. Lifting the glass to my lips, I drained the remaining clear liquid, ice clinking against my top lip in the process.

“Care for another?” Wills gestured to my empty glass. I nodded and forced a smile.

He ran off to get us another round and I heard my phone buzzing. I grabbed my purse and dug in. Somewhere at the bottom, tucked under Altoids and the stupid Newton’s Cradle, I grabbed my phone to find a text message from a private number.

My hand trembled, and I dropped the phone onto the table. I turned and looked at Wills, who was actively engaging the bartender with ordering our drinks. My eyes darted around the bar trying to find Lucien.
Where was he sitting, damn it?
Maybe he shifted to be invisible. Isn’t he supposed to be watching me?

With the phone still in hand, I pushed the redial button. Since the number was private, I couldn’t see the area code or anything. My eyes darted around the bar while I waited for a phone to ring. Maybe the person was here and I’d see them pick up their phone. On the other end of the line, an operator’s voice came on stating that the number had been disconnected. Shit. I didn’t know what I had expected, but I was both worried and relieved that the call hadn’t panned out.

My outer leg felt so warm. Not hot, like dangerous hot, but just a natural body warmth. I pulled the stone out of my pocket and rolled it around my fingers, letting the smooth rock comfort me. I set the stone down and forwarded the text to Lucien. Maybe he had a way of tracking the number.

“What’s that?” Wills’s voice startled me and I jumped in my seat, hiding my phone from him quickly. It wasn’t until I saw him looking at the stone that I realized he wasn’t talking about the text message. He set another drink down on the napkin in front of me.

“I’m not exactly sure. It’s, um, some sort of stone. A . . . friend gave it to me. Not exactly sure what I should do with it.”

“A
friend,
huh? The kind of friend who pays you for your time?” He paused for just a second before I could answer. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

“Wills, I—”

“Why don’t you turn it into a pendant? I know a guy. Could do something really beautiful with a piece like this.” I ignored the fact that he cut me off. Best to let that subject pass without a fight.

“Yeah?” My voice rose at the end of the word. It was so beautiful, it would make a gorgeous necklace.

Wills pocketed the stone. “Sure. I’ll have him do it tomorrow for you.” He leaned down and kissed me sweetly on the lips. “In the meantime, why don’t we finish these and then go back to your place.” He kissed me again, less sweetly this time.

It only took twenty minutes to down our drinks and go back to my apartment complex. It didn’t take long before we were making out in front of my apartment. Wills leaning against my door—me leaning on Wills, with my arms above him against the doorframe. “We should probably go in, huh?” I said, taking a deep breath in between kisses. He had his hand up my shirt and was caressing my breast.

He leaned in for another kiss before answering, swinging me around so that my back was against the apartment door, switching places with him. His hands traveled down to my waist and tugged on my low-riding jeans. He pulled back, lips red and swollen, and his thumbs hooked into my pants. “Ever since you, all those years ago I have this affinity for doing the risqué in public.”

“Oh yeah?” My one eyebrow twitched into a devious arch and I half smiled at him. “Well, allow me, then.” I undid the top button of his pants and wrapped a leg around his waist. That’s when I heard it—a tearing sound coming from my jeans.

Wills pulled away and looked at me curiously. “Did your trousers just
rip?
”

My face grew hot and a blush rose from my breasts up over my neck, creeping onto my face. I did
not
just rip my pants. Fuck. How much did I eat today? Humans don’t really gain weight this quickly, do they?

“Monica?”

I was standing there like a fish with my mouth wide open. I snapped out of it, remembering what Lucien said about no one else being allowed to know about my missing powers. I debated telling him. He was Wills. My—well, he wasn’t my boyfriend yet, but we were headed in that direction. I couldn’t lie to him, could I? Then again, Lucien had given explicit instructions.

“I shifted myself to look a bit curvier in the ass—I remembered how much you liked my soft curves back in the day. I guess my clothes just didn’t fit this new body well enough.” I shrugged and gave my best innocent eyes. The kiss mark on my forehead burned at the lie, but I ignored the sensation and kept looking into Wills’s eyes.

“Oh. Okay.” His face relaxed, but those eyes of his gleamed with skepticism.

I needed to take his mind off the lie. I grabbed his suspenders and pulled him close to my face. His pocket watch chain clinked against my belt buckle. Our noses brushed and I flicked out my tongue, running it along his bottom lip. He moaned and parted his lips. I pushed my tongue slowly into his mouth and pressed my lips to his, moving my hips against him. His hands once again found my breasts and alternated between massaging them and scratching my back. He moved his mouth down my neck and pulled my shirt down over one breast, licking and sucking at it. My head fell back against the door and I groaned, tugging at his full head of sandy brown hair. I opened my eyes, and off in the dark I saw Lucien’s SUV parked, the driver’s window directly facing my door. I squealed when I saw it and pulled at my shirt to cover myself.