Demon Lover Read online

“I know that I’m not.”

  His frown was back. “Then why aren’t you screaming?”

  “I was going to,” she admitted. “But you looked so scared—even though I’m the one who should be scared.” A residual giggle bubbled out of her. “And, honestly, my life is such shit right now. Being dragged to hell by the demon under my bed might actually be an improvement.”

  His frown shifted from confusion to affront. “That’s not what I do.”

  “No?” She leaned back, resting against her bed. “What do you do then?”

  “I—uh…” he looked away from her. His face darkened, a purple flush suffusing his cheeks. Good lord, was the monster blushing?

  “Come on. I woke up in the middle of the night with you on top of me. You owe me an answer.” Not for the first time, it occurred to Autumn that she should be absolutely terrified. But despite his monstrous appearance, the creature looked so flustered and uncomfortable that she almost started laughing again.

  “I’m an incubus,” he muttered, his voice a low growl.

  Autumn was taken aback. “Did you say an incubus?”

  He nodded, still not meeting her eyes.

  She sputtered. “Were you—were we—actual sex?” Given a second to think, she might’ve come to that conclusion on her own.

  “Yes.” The incubus’s flush deepened. “But only by your consent.”

  Do you accept the covenant of fornication? echoed in her mind, along with her own impatient replies. I need you to tell me, he’d insisted.

  “Okay…” Autumn stared at him. She didn’t know where to go from here. After a moment, he seemed to gain the nerve to look up at her. His lips were pressed into a tense line, the tips of his lower canines overlapping his upper lip. His unnaturally blue eyes were shadowed with uncertainty as he searched her face.

  “So,” Autumn broke the tense silence. “An incubus. A sex demon, right?”

  He nodded, still watching her with cautious eyes. His tail lay in his lap, and he fiddled with it nervously.

  “What exactly does that mean, then?”

  The incubus hesitated. He seemed to need a second to work up his nerve. “I’m sustained by sexual energy. I’m summoned by the desire of women who have an abundance of unfulfilled—”

  “Okay, yep. Got it,” Autumn said quickly. It was her turn to blush and look away. She was so hard up for it that she’d somehow hired herself a supernatural gigolo. “Uh. So. What happens now?”

  “I could try to put you back into a dream state, but I don’t know if it would work. I’ve never had a hostess awake from the dream. Or remember me. Or…” he trailed off, then shook his head abruptly as if clearing it. “I could just…well, the thing is, you’re still radiating a great deal of sexual energy and if I don’t harvest a little bit of it… uh. Well. Without harvesting from you, I’ll dissipate.”

  “Dissipate?”

  “The energy that compels my physical form will run out, and I will simply… cease to exist.”

  “Are you telling me you will die without sex?”

  “Well, to be more precise, I can only harvest your sexual energy through orgasm. So, it’s not sex so much as it’s your pleasure.” He took a breath and straightened his shoulders, steeling himself for something. “So, if you wouldn’t mind? I can be quick about it.”

  Autumn stared at him. “You will die if I don’t have an orgasm?”

  He nodded. The end of his tail flicked in his lap. He clutched it in a white-knuckled hand.

  “Can’t you find some other lonely, sex-starved sad sack?”

  “I was summoned by your need. I can’t leave you until you release me.”

  “Oh. Uh…” Autumn sat back. “Then I release you.” She waved her hands vaguely. “Be free.”

  For the first time, the incubus’s posture eased, and his mouth softened from that hard line, revealing a full, firm lips curved into a rueful smile. “It doesn’t work that way. Your need summoned me. I will only be released when you no longer need me.”

  “How does that happen?”

  The demon shrugged, a surprisingly human gesture. “I’ve never been in a position to know. As soon as I’m no longer needed by one hostess, I’m summoned to another.”

  Autumn frowned. “Is that all you do, then? You just… fuck?”

  The demon went back to fiddling with his tail. “No. I come to this world at sundown every night. I have to wait for my hostess to enter a dream state. Once I harvest an orgasm, I leave her to sleep, and I can do whatever I like.”

  “What do you like to do?”

  He gestured at himself. “I can’t exactly mingle among humans. I go to quiet, empty places, where I won’t be seen.”

  Autumn felt a sad little pang in her heart. “Don’t you get lonely?”

  He shrugged again, looking down at his tail. “In the summer it’s not so bad. If there’s a street festival going on, I can sit on a rooftop and watch. It’s a lot easier to keep hidden in a crowd, in the dark.”

  The sadness intensified. “What do you do in the daylight? Do you sleep?”

  “I’ve never seen daylight, nor do I sleep. Incubi are night demons and demons do not sleep.”

  Autumn frowned. “So, what do you do during the day?”

  “I am recalled to the Underworld.” There was a foreboding quality to his words that made Autumn shiver.

  “What’s that like?”

  He lifted his gaze to hers, eyes bleak. “Pray you never find out.”

  “Should I start going to church?” she asked nervously.

  The demon waved a clawed hand scornfully. “Religion,” he scoffed.

  An uncomfortable silence lapsed between them. They regarded each other warily. After a moment, Autumn got to her feet. The demon hurried to follow.

  “So…” she skirted around him, going to the narrow galley kitchen to pour a glass of water. “How is this going to work, then? Do I need to fall back asleep so you can… do your thing?”

  “That would probably be easiest for you. If you’re in a dream state, I can appear human to you—like somebody you’d be attracted to.”

  Autumn’s knee-jerk response was to insist that he was perfectly attractive, but her gaze was caught by the end of his tail, held in his blue-skinned, clawed hands. She lifted her eyes to his face, with those jutting canine teeth and eerie, snake-like eyes. “Um. Sure. The only problem is, I’m going to have a hell of a time falling asleep now that I know you’re here, especially with the anticipation of what’s going to happen once I do.”

  “Do you have a sleeping drug? I know many humans use them.”

  Autumn shook her head. Usually she had the opposite problem—she was tired all the time. She often felt fully capable of falling asleep while sitting upright at her desk. But right now, adrenaline and anxiety had her feeling wide-awake.

  “I could…perhaps if you’re tense… a massage?”

  She looked at his hands, envisioned those razor claws sliding over her skin, and shivered. “Um… no, that’s alright.”

  The incubus nodded stiffly. His face was flushed again, his cheeks purple. For a sex demon, he was not exactly a maestro at the whole seduction thing.

  “Are you sorta new at this?” Autumn asked gently.

  The demon frowned at her. His pointed ears flicked back like an angry horse. “No,” he said frostily. “However, I’ve always appeared to my hostesses in a body and scenario that they desired. This current situation is totally irregular, and as soon as I return to the Underworld, you can rest assured that I will—”

  Autumn held her hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t insulting your competence. You just seem so uncomfortable.” She glanced at the glass of water in her hands. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “No, thank you,” he said, still clearly miffed.

  Autumn leaned against the counter, finishing her water and thinking. “I know,” she said, putting the empty glass in the sink. “Allergy pills always knock me out. I’ll go take some.
”

  She returned from the bathroom with two little antihistamine capsules in hand and washed them down with another glass of water. The demon busied himself by righting her end table and putting her things back on it. Autumn quirked a little smile. He might not be a smooth operator, but he was not a bad guy for a demon. She’d met worse humans.

  “Alright. So, I’ll just lay down?” Autumn slid into bed.

  The demon stood awkwardly beside the bed, watching her.

  “Could you maybe not loom over me? You can sit.” She gestured at the little red armchair beside her dresser.

  “Yes, of course.”

  When he was settled in the chair, Autumn turned off her lamp. The room plunged into darkness, and for a minute, she couldn’t see anything. But then her eyes adjusted, and she saw his big, horned silhouette sitting stiffly in the chair.

  She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Her mind was racing, but it wasn’t long before the antihistamine kicked in, and her thoughts slowed. She yawned, shifting in bed. One last important though crossed her mind.

  “Hey, uh—”

  “Yes?” The incubus asked politely.

  “What’s your name?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, I’m here,” he said. His deep, baritone voice sounded odd.

  “Do you not want me to know?”

  Another beat of silence. At last, he said, “You may call me Irdu.”

  “Irdu,” she repeated sleepily. “I’m Autumn.”

  “I know,” he said in a low voice. “Go to sleep.”

  “Okay. Goodnight Irdu. See you soon.”

  And with that, she drifted away.

  2

  He appeared as an ordinary man—human colored, and without horns, fangs, or claws—laying with her in a cabana on a tropical beach. Gauzy white curtains fluttered in the breeze. The sound of the waves shushed over the sand. He leaned over her, cupping her face with one hand. His lips were a hair’s breadth from hers as he whispered, “Do you accept the covenant of fornication?”

  “Irdu?”

  He huffed impatiently, leaning back. “Yes. Now, tell me—do you accept the covenant of fornication?”

  Autumn searched his handsome new face. He had short black hair, swarthy skin, and warm brown eyes. She took his hand and examined the blunt fingertips. She ran her finger over the smooth edges of his fingernails. When she looked back up at him, his eyes flickered to electric blue.

  “This feels weird now that I know what you really look like.” She traced her fingertips along the line of his jaw. Beneath her touch, human skin faded to demonic blue. “I feel like I’m making you put a bag over your head.”

  He caught her hand, pulling it away from his face. “Stop that. You’re breaking the dream state again.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Just answer me—do you accept the covenant of fornication?”

  “Yes.”

  The flickering instability of the dream state seemed to settle. Irdu looked completely human as he cupped her face again and brought his lips to hers in a tender kiss. Autumn tried to relax into the kiss, but she couldn’t stop opening her eyes to peer at the handsome, human face and try to reconcile those features with the blue-skinned demon.

  “What are you doing?” Irdu’s lips moved over hers, his tone more than a little annoyed.

  “I don’t know if this is going to work.”

  Irdu pulled back. He looked down at her, brow furrowed. “Would you prefer if I looked different?”

  His human features flickered and faded. Around them, the cabana dissolved.

  They were on Autumn’s bed, Irdu’s big, strange body poised over hers. His harsh features looked oddly endearing with a perplexed frown. Moonlight streamed through her window, illuminating everything with a silvery glow.

  Irdu looked up at their surroundings and growled in frustration. “You broke the dream state again!”

  Autumn slid back, raising herself up on her elbows. “Sorry.” She chewed her lip. She was the one who’d summoned Irdu, whether intentionally or not. And now, he was dependent on her for his survival. But slipping into dreamland wasn’t going to work—not when she knew it wasn’t real. “What if we just forgot about the dream thing?”

  Irdu sat back on his haunches, putting distance between them. “I can’t change my appearance if you’re awake.”

  “That’s probably better.”

  He stared at her. “You would—you would have me like this?” He gestured skeptically at his body.

  Autumn let her eyes roam over him—blue skin, fangs, claws, tail, and all. She nodded. “It’s not like I don’t already know what you look like now.”

  Irdu remained where he was, watching her with a wary expression.

  “Is that okay?” Autumn asked gently.

  “I’ve never served a hostess this way—as myself.” He was back to plucking fretfully at his tail, but he didn’t look away from her.

  “Well, I can try to go back to sleep,” Autumn said, checking the time on her phone. “But sunrise is only three hours away.”

  Irdu nodded, looking a little stupefied. “You would really have me in this form? You aren’t revolted?”

  Autumn sensed that he needed a sincere answer, so she sat up, taking her time to consider him. Despite all his peculiarities, he wasn’t revolting. He was big and muscular, with broad shoulders and strong arms. The tattoos that covered his body only highlighted the peaks and valleys of those muscles. Despite the craggy harshness of his face, he had lovely lips and striking eyes. They were such a bright blue, they seemed to glow from within. And then there was his cock. It was a perfectly shaped marvel of phallic beauty. Even in its relaxed state, it was long and thick. Autumn wondered what it would feel like in her hand. And her mouth. And her—

  A faint blush heated her cheeks. “No,” she told him honestly. “I’m not revolted. You may not be human, but you’re still a man. And besides, human women have a long tradition of wanting to get it on with inhuman creatures—werewolves, vampires, cursed princes, tentacle monsters, the minotaur… the list goes on.” As a teenager she’d had a thing specifically for gargoyles, thanks to an animated series she had been addicted to.

  Irdu seemed to relax somewhat. “Yes. I’ve had hostesses who…” he trailed off, glancing at Autumn guiltily.

  She laughed. “Never had to talk to one of us about your past lovers? Don’t worry, I’m not offended.”

  “Well.” he glanced out her window, at the darkness of the sky. “Er… shall we?”

  Autumn laughed again, this time nervously. “Okay.”

  Irdu crawled forward cautiously, his expression uncertain. He stopped just in front of Autumn, searching her face as if waiting for her to recoil.

  Instead, she leaned forward, closing the distance between them, and cupped his cheek. He froze at her touch. “Could you—I mean, would it be alright if I… uh, explored you, a little bit? Just to get comfortable?”

  “Of course,” Irdu said, sounding just as unnerved as she was. “Should I sit here, or…?”

  “Could you lay down on your back? Will that bother your tail?”

  “I can do that.”

  Autumn moved over so that he could ease onto his back in the middle of her bed.

  “Is there anywhere you don’t like to be touched?”

  Irdu glanced up at her, looking as though he wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. He seemed to realize that she was. “You can touch me anywhere.”

  “Okay.” She let out an embarrassed little huff. “Just tell me if you don’t like what I’m—”

  “Touch me anywhere it pleases you, Hostess.”

  Autumn grimaced. “Blegch. Call me Autumn.”

  He looked uncertain. “That’s not really—”

  “Please?”

  He huffed. “Alright then. Autumn.”

  She smiled. “Can I touch your tail, Irdu?”

  His eyes widened at the
sound of his name. “Of course,” he said faintly.

  He lifted his hips and slid his tail out. The end was tufted like a lion’s, with the same cobalt hair that grew on his head and chest and arrowed down to frame that intimidating blue cock. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Autumn caught the end of his tail and ran her fingers through the tuft. Irdu laid stiffly, watching her with poorly concealed unease.

  “Are you sure this is okay? You seem really uncomfortable.” She dropped his tail.

  “No, no. It’s fine.” He lifted the tip of his tail, draping it back in her hands. “It’s just that I’m not usually the passive one in these encounters. It is very odd to simply lay here. I feel I should be doing something for you.”

  She smoothed the tuft again. “You are doing something for me—you’re letting me explore you.” She lay his tail down and edged closer to his body. He laid calmly, but Autumn could still see a little reticence in his eyes. “Can I touch your horns?”

  He nodded.

  Autumn slid astride his torso. She was still wearing the t-shirt and underwear that she usually slept in, but the heat of his naked skin seeped through the thin fabric, warming her intimately. She squeezed her thighs compulsively, gripping his body. Irdu’s big hands came to rest on her hips. She felt the faint prick of each claw against her skin and shivered—and it wasn’t a bad shiver.

  Irdu’s gaze flashed to hers. His slitted pupils dilated wide until his whole eye was consumed by black. Autumn gasped and froze.

  “I’m sorry,” Irdu said hoarsely. “I’m sorry, when I feel your arousal, I react. My eyes—”

  “Shh, it’s fine. I was just surprised.” She wiggled a little, adjusting her seat. The friction on her core was just what she needed. Warmth kindled low in her belly. Irdu’s grip tightened on her hips. His claws bit into her skin, sending delicious tension coursing through her.

  Irdu let out a shaky breath. Though they were entirely black, Autumn could tell his eyes were searching her face. “You are truly reacting to me? Like this?”

  Autumn smiled lazily. “Sure seems like it.” Feeling more confident, she leaned forward, bracing one hand on the mattress and reaching out with the other to stroke the curve of one of his horns. “Does that feel like anything for you?”