Succubus On Top Read Free

me.
    â€œWhat?” I demanded. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œYou are,” said Hugh. “You’re a glutton for punishment.”
    Cody smiled. “Not to mention totally love struck. Listen to yourself.”
    â€œShe’s not in love with him,” said Peter. “She’s in love with his books.”
    â€œNo I’m—” The words died on my lips, mainly because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to argue. I didn’t want them to think I only loved the books, but I wasn’t entirely sure I loved Seth yet either. Our relationship had blossomed with remarkable speed, but sometimes, I worried what I actually loved was the idea of him loving me.
    â€œI can’t believe you guys are still doing the sexless-dating thing,” continued Hugh.
    My temper flared. I’d already taken this from Jerome; I didn’t need to hear it here too.
    â€œLook, I don’t want to talk about this if you guys are just going to nag me, okay? I’m tired of everyone telling me how crazy it is.”
    Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not that crazy. You always hear about these married couples who never have sex anymore. They survive. This would be almost the same thing.”
    â€œNot with our girl.” Hugh shook his head. “Look at her. Who wouldn’t want to have sex with her?”
    They all looked again, making me squirm.
    â€œHey,” I protested, feeling the need to clear up a point. “That’s not the problem. He wants to, okay? He’s just not going to. There’s a difference.”
    â€œSorry,” said Hugh. “I’m just not buying it. He can’t be with you in the clothes you wear and not crack. Even if he could, no guy could handle his woman seeing as much action as you do.”
    It was a well-worn point in my mind, the same Jerome had made, the one that worried me more than our ability to keep our hands off each other. One of my greatest nightmares involved having a conversation akin to: Sorry, Seth. I can’t go out tonight. I have to go work this married guy I met, so I can get him to sleep with me, thus leading him further and further down the road to damnation while I suck away part of his life. Maybe when I’m done, you and I can catch a late movie.
    â€œI don’t want to talk about this,” I repeated. “We’re doing just fine. End of story.”
    Silence fell, save for the sound of cards and money hitting the table. Glancing around, I saw Carter watching me levelly. Only he had stayed out of the Seth bashing. This didn’t surprise me. The angel usually just listened until he could interject some sarcastic or esoteric quip. This used to infuriate me, but recent events had changed my attitude toward him. I still didn’t fully understand him or know if I could trust him, but I had come to respect him.
    Troubled by the scrutiny, I glanced back down and discovered I finally had a respectable hand after several rounds of shit. Three of a kind. Not the greatest but passable. I raised high, wanting to get the others out before more cards came into play and made my hand less passable.
    My strategy worked on the vampires. The next card fell. Seven of spades. Hugh scowled and folded when I raised again. I waited for Carter to drop out as well, but instead, he reraised further.
    I hesitated only a moment before calling. As the last card was about to play, I puzzled over what the angel might have and whether I could beat it. A pair? Two pair? Ah. The last card came out. Another spade. There was now a strong possibility he had a flush. That would beat me. Still hoping I could bluff him out, I raised even more. He reraised me again, more than doubling my initial bet.
    That was a lot of money to add, especially considering what I’d already put in. Centuries of investments kept me pretty comfortable, but that didn’t mean I had to be stupid. What did he have? It had to be the flush.