Page 5 of Darkest Need
I feel my eyes flash blue as I heal the wound, knitting the skin back together, but then I can’t let go. I start to pull away. How is her grip so strong when she’s not even conscious?
I tug again.
Her grip only tightens until her eyes flash open. They’re blood-red. She pulls me with inhuman strength right onto her bloody chest.
Her eyes don’t just lock onto mine. They hold me captive in a near chokehold around my body, suffocating me and pulling me closer and closer.
Despite her swollen face, she grips the back of my neck and pulls me in for a soul-sucking kiss.
I freeze, feeling my energy leaving my body. The last thing I remember is thinking,huh, so this is how it ends.
Death by kiss.
And then everything goes painfully black.
Chapter Two
Lilith
He tastes like a dream. The really good kind that you want to keep experiencing over and over again and maybe never wake up from because the pain of reality is too suffocating.
I know I should stop, but I just can’t. I want to taste him, suck him dry…again and again.
He’s asleep. They always are. It’s the effect of the venom I release when I start to suck. It actually pushes into their bodies and makes them go limp so I can do what I need to do.
Feed.
Like a spider attacking its prey and paralyzing them.
I remember the first time. I was sixteen and saw the hot chem teacher I had a crush on. I walked up to him, and he just…gave in. The janitor’s closet was never the same, and not because I had some crazy sexual experience, but because the guy’s body lacked any blood once I was done. It started seeping out under the door and running down the hallway.
This one tastes different than a human. He’s also pretty. Plus, he’s helping me… I kind of want to keep him for a while and see where things go in the next few days.
Normally, it takes twenty-four hours for me to feed on a human. If they’re immortal, it takes at least three days. But this guy...
He’s different. I wonder how he would handle it, and I also want to know what would happen to me if I tried.
So different. I inhale and press my mouth against his neck. Why does it feel this way?
“That tickles.” His gruff whisper has me jerking back. “But I kind of like it.”
“What?” I wave a hand in front of his face. What’s happening? “How are you even awake right now?”
“Because I’m amazing, and I just needed a fucking nap. Why are you sniffing my neck? And why the hell are you trying to suck me dry? That’s not even polite. At least, ask first. I think the conversation goes a little like this: ‘Oh, hi, I’m a succubus. I might suck your…bus’—haha. Okay, sorry, still delirious—and then you go on to do your thing. I do my thing and pretend to be asleep, and then you get your earth energy or whatever the hell they call it, and we go our separate ways. PS, I will not be your slave. I do not do well being told what to do. I’m more of a manager sort of person.Ilike to tell people what to do. But if it gets your kink on, I’m okay for the next”—he checks his watch—“five minutes. Then, I’m out.”
“Who are you?” I shake my head in disbelief. This has seriously never happened before. Granted, I control my need for blood and energy better now that I’m almost thirty, but he should literally be either dead or passed out for days. And I shouldn’t already be healing.
“Tarek.” His name sounds familiar. “Werewolf prince, all around badass, reads minds—except yours is frighteningly closed off. May need to work on that. So, are we good here? Can I go?” He starts to get up.
I push him back onto the couch. “I’ve never—”
“Let me save you words. I know, blah blah blah, you’ve never had anyone break the succubus demon spell. But here’s the thing. I’m not like you. I’m different. Special, if you will. So, if you don’t need any more of my energy to survive, I’m just gonna go out the front door. Thereisa front door, right?” He rubs his eyes. “See? I’m delirious. Not the front door, I mean the office door.” He yawns and stretches his arms over his head, giving me a beautiful view of his golden abs. Seriously, who is this guy? His body is massive lying on the couch.
I literally have no words. My mouth dry, I point to the door.
He nods. “Thanks.”
He gets his massive body off the leather couch and stretches again. “Do you know any good bagel places around here?”