Sinfully Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 1) (5 page)

While I didn’t recognize my surroundings when I woke up, the
heat from Dylan’s body and the faint scent of his cologne mixed with sex were
oddly comforting. The realization that I didn’t want to leave his bed was more
than a little scary. This was a one-night stand, despite Dylan’s talk about
having lunch when we woke up—something he’d probably regret suggesting. Even if
he didn’t, that would be a very bad idea. I didn’t want to get too attached to
Dylan because I didn’t want to get hurt. Despite how good the sex had been, I
had a moment of regret. I’d had a lot of fun with him, and there was this part
of me that wished I could keep him as a friend like Trevor. Then we could just
hang out and have fun, but you couldn’t have that with someone you’d had
mind-blowing sex with. There was no way I could be around Dylan without thinking
about having him inside of me. No, the desire to have Dylan would always be
there.

Too late for second thoughts. Now, I just needed to minimize
the damage by getting myself out of Dylan’s house while he was still sleeping.
As I slid out from under his arm, Dylan stirred and mumbled something
incoherent. Holding perfectly still, I waited until I was certain he was
sleeping before sliding off the bed. I looked around for my clothing before
remembering it was still downstairs with my purse. Quietly walking downstairs,
I saw my clothes in a pile by the front door, which is when I remembered my
panties were in the drawer of Dylan’s bedside table. I was seriously
considering going back into the room to get them, but that would make it more
likely Dylan would notice me leaving, possibly leading to a very uncomfortable
conversation.

Deciding to abandon the panties, I slipped on my dress and
left my shoes off so they wouldn’t make any noise on the tiles at his front
entrance. Yes, I knew I was a coward for refusing to face Dylan and tell him I
was leaving, but I was pretty sure he’d appreciate this in the morning when he
didn’t have to admit he wasn’t really interested in having lunch with me.

Holding my breath, I hoped Dylan had forgotten to set the
security spell on the front door when we arrived. He’d been busy with other
things, and I hadn’t noticed him doing it, but I’d been distracted myself. I
unlocked both locks and turned the knob. Opening the door a crack, I waited for
something to happen. When there were no ear-piercing sirens, and Dylan didn’t
race down the stairs, I released the breath I’d been holding, locked the bottom
lock, and headed out the front door.

When I’d first woken up, I’d assumed Allie was downstairs in
the kitchen or exploring the rest of my home, a thought that brought a smile to
my face because I was looking forward to spending the day with her. Not once
had it occurred to me that she’d sneak out in the middle of the night.

I’d never taken another woman back to my home. Since I slept
with humans, and most humans complained of a strong ammonia-like smell in witch
homes, it hadn’t been an option. That smell was the result of a safety spell
set up to keep humans from moving into preternatural neighborhoods. Each
neighborhood had a different odor. Admittedly, we did get the occasional human
who couldn’t smell anything moving in. In a vampire subdivision in Castro
Valley, there was an elderly human couple who were notorious for their efforts
to try to wake their young neighbors for Sunday barbeques.

Even if I could have brought humans back here, I wouldn’t
have because I didn’t want to deal with women lingering or showing up at some
later date. So, I went to the woman’s place, and I usually stayed the night if
she wanted me to. Some women wanted me out of their home right away. I was
honest about it being one night only up front, and I rarely ran into them
again.

Now, I’d taken a woman—no, a succubus—back to my home and
invited her to spend more time with me. Instead of taking me up on my offer,
the annoying demon had walked out on me, leaving no note. I didn’t even have
her phone number, which was not going to work. Allie wasn’t like the women from
my past, and I had every intention of spending more than one night with her.

After showering, I decided to wake Trevor up. They were
friends, meaning he’d have Allie’s number and probably her address.

Trevor’s phone rang four times before going to voicemail.
Hell, I had to call him back three times before he finally picked up the phone.

“Dammit, Dylan,” Trevor complained in a sleepy voice. “Why
are you calling me at this hour? It’s Saturday.”

“It’s ten in the morning,” I reminded him.

“And I got to bed about three hours ago, meaning I got to
sleep about an hour ago,” he complained as a woman’s sleepy voice came from the
background. “Nothing,” he said to her in a much kinder voice. “Go back to
sleep.”

“This won’t take long,” I assured him. “I need Allie’s
number. Scratch that, I need her fucking address, and she can give me her
number when I see her.”

Trevor let out a sleepy chuckle. “What is this? Is my aloof
friend getting worked up over a woman? Don’t tell me she blew you off last
night.”

“Fuck you,” I snapped. “Just give me her address.”

There was a long hesitation before Trevor spoke again. “No,”
he finally said. “I get that you’re kind of into her. Not gonna lie, I was
shocked by your reaction last night. In case you missed it, I was also not very
happy about you hooking up with Allie. She may be a succubus, but she’s
innocent in a lot of ways. Well, as innocent as a succubus can be.”

“I picked up on that,” I responded. “Allie’s a big girl, and
she was just as into it as I was.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t,” he argued. “The thing is, Allie’s
my friend. If she wanted you to know where she lived, she’d have told you.
Before you ask, same goes for her number. I’m assuming she took off while you
were asleep and didn’t leave a note. If she’d taken off before that, you’d have
called me earlier to try to track her down. The fact that she left without a
word means she’s not interested in seeing you again, which is going to be
awkward for me since you’re both my friends. Then again, it took you a month to
meet, so maybe keeping you away from her won’t be an issue.”

I could not believe what I was hearing. Trevor was actually
refusing to give me her number. “Fine,” I said. As much as I wanted to be
pissed at Trevor, I was glad he wasn’t willing to screw Allie over by giving
her information out to some horny warlock, and yes, I was horny as hell and only
interested in having one woman help me with that problem.

“She did tell you where she works,” Trevor reminded me, and
I could hear the smile in my friend’s voice.

I chuckled, realizing Trevor was doing his best to avoid
pissing either of us off. “That she did. Now, I just need to find out when
she’s working again.”

Trevor laughed. “Oh, this should be entertaining. Before you
ask, I am not telling you her schedule. Promise to call me if she slaps you for
showing up at her job. I need to know about these things.”

“Fuck you,” I said before hanging up on Trevor.

Checking the time, I realized SpellBinders wouldn’t be open
for several hours. While I might be able to get someone at the office now, I
decided to grab some breakfast first. Anticipation thrummed though my body at
the thought of pursuing Allie. I hadn’t chased after a woman since high school.
The challenge of getting Allie was exciting, and part of me wanted to pretend
that was all it was, but I’d never been one to lie to myself. While I wasn’t
sure what was going on between the two of us, we’d connected on some level, and
I needed to see her again.

The annoying buzz of my phone woke me at two in the
afternoon, which was crazy because I didn’t usually sleep that late. Then
again, I didn’t usually work until ten before going to a party and getting
thoroughly fucked by my high school crush, either. For just a moment, I
wondered if it might be Dylan calling—a ridiculous thought. We hadn’t exchanged
phone numbers because that wasn’t how one-night stands worked.

Thankfully, the annoying phone stopped buzzing, so I closed
my eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. When I’d gotten home, I’d showered before
heading to bed, because smelling Dylan all over me had made me uncomfortably
aroused. Of course, washing his scent off did nothing to rid me of the
memories, and my trusty rotating showerhead hadn’t come close to satisfying me
like Dylan could. Needless to say, sleep had not come easy, and my dreams had
been restless and filled with images of hot sweaty sex with a certain warlock.

All I needed was a couple more hours of sleep and a few
dozen sex dreams about Dylan. A small smile played on my lips as I started to
doze off again. Then the annoying phone once more started vibrating on my
nightstand.

Giving up on sleep, I snatched up the phone and answered
without looking to see who was calling.

“Hello,” I answered groggily.

“Hey, Al, it’s Marcos,” my boss said by way of greeting.
Marcos was an asshole, which wasn’t that uncommon for an incubus, but Marcos
made every other incubus seem nice.

“What’s up, Marcos?” I asked, already knowing why he was
calling me when I was off for the next three days. It sure as hell wasn’t
because we were friends. I wasn’t really sure Marcos even had friends, or if he
simply had people he used.

“I need you to come in tonight,” he stated, sounding bored
and distracted. It wasn’t a question, and in Marcos’ mind, needing me to come
in meant I’d come in. Goddess forbid I have plans. This had happened four times
since he’d hired the new succubus, Marissa, a month ago.

“Tell Marissa to get her ass in there. I am not covering
another one of her shifts, while you let her play sick just because she sucks
the customers off when you ask,” I snapped. I was tired of filling in for her
every time she wanted to get laid or go out partying.

“No can do, Al,” Marcos said. “They found Mar’s body this
morning. Apparently, someone grabbed her after work for some sort of
ritualistic killing—pretty gruesome stuff, from what the cops told me. Anyway,
she’s dead, so I need you to cover her shift.”

Sitting straight up in bed, I tried to think of something to
say. Marissa was dead? It was hard to believe, especially with Marcos talking
like it was no big deal. Goddess, he was such an insensitive jerk!

“I don’t have all day to stay on the phone with you,” Marcos
huffed. “There’s a lot of work to get done, and some guy left four messages
asking about reserving a room, so I need to call him back and find out how much
I can get him to pay. Desperate people are always willing to pay more. You
still there, Al?”

“Yeah, I’m still here,” I said. “Do the police have any idea
who the killer is?”

“Don’t know,” Marcos said. “Some shade detective stopped by
here earlier today. Guess, he’s looking into it, but there’s not much to go on,
from what I can tell, at least. Anyway, I need you in at five. Since Mar was
supposed to be closing tonight, you’ll be here until two,” Marcos said before
hanging up without waiting to hear if I’d agree to come in.

“Glad you are so fucking concerned about your employees,” I
muttered. Marcos’ reasons for opening SpellBinders were similar to my reasons
for working there. Neither of us wanted to be forced to have sex to feed our
demon side. It’s not that I didn’t want sex, but the feeling that I
had
to have it made it seem more like a chore. In Marcos’ case, he didn’t want to
deal with anyone long enough to have sex with them. As an incubus, sex meant he
had to consider his partner’s pleasure, as well. That was the crazy part of
being a sex demon—sex had to be good for your partner or it wasn’t any good for
you. Not only wouldn’t the sex demon be able to climax if their partner wasn’t
enjoying it, but we fed off our partners sexual pleasure, so it was a necessary
component. In Marcos’ opinion, that was too much work, so he owned a sex club
where he could feed from the sexual energy in the air. There were plenty of
satisfied customers at SpellBinders—pun intended.

I let out an annoyed sigh and climbed out of bed. As much as
I wanted to sleep longer, I needed to run some errands today, and I was
starving. That reminded me of my most important errand today. There was an
elderly human in my apartment building who couldn’t make it to the grocery
store anymore. I’d told her I would stop by today to help set up some regular
grocery deliveries. I was also supposed to stop by and check on Gryph, a
werewolf friend, later, but I’d have to do that tomorrow or I’d be late for
work.

Looked like I wouldn’t be getting more sleep today.

My job sucked!

“No, I do not participate in any of the scenes,” I said to
the greased up demon in front of me for the fifth time because he was refusing
to take no for an answer. Getting hit on at work didn’t bother me, but pushy
customers who refused to accept I wasn’t a prostitute pissed me off.

The leer on the demon’s triangular face revealed scary
looking pointed teeth. Only other preternatural beings could see demons in
their true form. While most looked human, many species did not, and some of
them left me wishing I could see them through human eyes.

“Your boss said everything was for sale,” the demon argued,
flicking his forked tongue out to play with his lip ring. “He also mentioned
you’re a succubus, so why don’t you be a good girl and do what you’re told?”

If I didn’t need this job so much, I’d be tempted to slip
out of my shoes and slam one of the heels into this demon’s temple. The other
shoe, I’d save for Marcos’ balls. That slimy incubus was getting on my last
nerve. This was the second time in the last month I’d had to deal with this
shit, and if I complained, all I’d get was a raised eyebrow and a suggestion
that I be more flexible. In Marcos’ mind, anything short of sleeping with the
customers was being unreasonable and prudish.

The door opened behind me, and I was annoyed to see Marcos
step in with a sleazy smirk on his face. “Sorry, my friend, but Al’s already
reserved for the evening,” Marcos said as he grabbed my arm to lead me out of the
room. I recoiled a little at Marcos’ touch, but I might not put my heel through
his balls because he was giving me an easy out with this customer. I was
completely shocked that he was saving me, since Marcos wasn’t the type to save
anyone. He’d pimp his own mother to Satan to make a dollar.

“What about my scene?” the demon whined, his skin turning a
bright shade of red, almost like metallic Christmas wrapping paper. That was
how this type of demon looked when they were angry or aroused. I had no idea
how anyone could have sex with someone that color. Even when their skin wasn’t
begging for a shiny bow, the teeth and tongue always repulsed me.

“I’m going to send someone else in to help you,” Marcos
assured the demon before guiding me out of the playroom.

“Thanks, Marcos,” I said once we were out of the room. “I
was beginning to wonder if I’d need to call security on that one. He seemed
like the type to push things.”

Marcos laughed, and it was not a nice sound. “He’d push it,
but his money’s good, and he’d probably tip you well enough to compensate for
any damage he did. The other girls say he’s pretty talented and has a cock that
looks like a corkscrew.”

“Not a picture I wanted in my brain,” I muttered. How was I
ever supposed to get turned on again with the image of a metallic red corkscrew
penis in my head? I wasn’t sure if it made me want to giggle or gag more.
“You’ve ruined sex for me,” I grumbled.

Marcos snorted. “I wasn’t aware you spread those legs for
any man, so there’s not much to ruin, is there?”

With my fists clenched at my sides to prevent myself from
punching my boss in the balls, I seethed in silence. Punching Marcos in the
balls would definitely get me fired, but I was beginning to think it might be
worth it.

If I didn’t know Marcos, I might find him attractive, like
so many women who came to the club. Just shy of six feet tall, with a lean
muscular build, brown eyes that seemed to have liquid gold swirling around in
them, a face that made most women breathless, and long black hair which fell to
his shoulders, one could easily be blinded by his beauty. That was only if they
didn’t know him.

“You really need to loosen up,” Marcos complained. “I hire
sex demons for a reason, and it isn’t so you can play demure virgin with the
customers—that is, unless they want a demure virgin. Your job is to keep the
customers happy using any means at your disposal.”

Since setting up scenes involved anything from prepping the
room to showing couples how to use the kinkier sex toys, I’d hardly consider
myself prudish at work. While I’d never done anything truly kinky, I could
teach someone how to wield a flogger like a pro. An hour ago, I’d helped a
demon strap a naked warlock to a St. Andrew’s cross, after which the couple
asked if I’d be interested in participating in the scene. The difference
between them and the demon is that they’d taken my no seriously and thanked me
for my help.

“My job is to set up scenes for our customers, not
prostitute myself,” I said angrily.

“I’m not asking you to prostitute yourself,” he ground out.
“I’m asking you to take that self-righteous stick out of your ass and have some
fun with my customers. Sure, that’ll make me money, but what the hell does it
really hurt? You’re a succubus, which means sex is your whole fucking life. Getting
a little dick at work won’t hurt you.”

“Are you saying I have to let your customers screw me?” I
asked, knowing he couldn’t legally tell me that. The preternatural community
might not frown on prostitution, but they frowned on anyone being forced into
prostitution. There was also the fact that my dad would destroy Marcos if he
even suggested something like that. At times, it paid to have a powerful
father.

“Of course not,” Marcos said with an innocent grin before
grabbing my arm and guiding me across the club.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, suddenly worried I was
about to get fired. Even though Marcos insisted I didn’t have to screw around
with his customers, I suspected he’d fire me for refusing eventually.

“Didn’t I already tell you I have a request for you?” he
asked irritably. “This guy has paid me some serious money to have you to
himself for the next three hours. He wanted the whole night, but I have to let
Lara leave at ten. Some bullshit about her mother’s birthday. I expect you to
make this guy very happy, Al.”

I stopped and dug in my heels. “Are you telling me you
expect me to have sex with this guy because he paid you?” I demanded. Hadn’t we
just argued about this very subject?

“He didn’t say anything about having sex with you,” Marcos
said with a shrug.

“What’s he getting out of this deal?” I asked.

“Not my problem,” Marcos replied. “He insisted he wouldn’t
hurt you, as if I really give a fuck, but it should make you feel better about
the whole thing.”

“Glad you’re worried about my safety,” I grumbled.

So much for thinking Marcos was rescuing me. Sure, I might
get lucky and this guy might just want my exemplary skills helping with a scene
he had in mind for his partner. Yep, and I could also spout wings and a halo.
Marcos had only pulled me from the demon because he’d been offered more money
by another horny asshole. At least this horny asshole had promised not to hurt
me. Something told me the demon I’d left would have made no such promise.

The playroom Marcos led me to was one of our more vanilla
rooms. It was also one of the few with a bed. That wasn’t the only furniture
the room had, because even housewives who’d never tried anything other than
missionary were turned on by the thought of playing BDSM games. For that
reason, there was a padded spanking bench, and some of the tamer toys were
hanging from the walls.

There was only one man in the room, and his back was to me.
With the dim lighting, I shouldn’t have been able to recognize him from behind,
but I knew who it was. I’d recognize Dylan’s presence anywhere, and I couldn’t
decide if I was relieved or furious. Probably both. While I was glad Dylan’s
arrival had saved me from having to fight my way out of the last playroom, I
was still angry that he’d had the audacity to buy time with me like I was some
kind of whore. Worse than that, I was feeling hot and achy just from the scent
of his cologne.

Marcos’ grip tightened on my arm as he leaned down to speak
quietly in my ear. “Don’t fuck this up, Al,” he warned.

Without waiting for a response, Marcos walked out of the
room, leaving me alone with Dylan. That’s when Dylan turned toward me. I’d been
expecting some flirty smile, or maybe a cocky grin. Instead, Dylan looked
seriously pissed.

“Will your partner be joining us?” I asked, looking away
from Dylan because it was impossible to look at him without thinking about all
the things he’d done to my body. “I can start getting things set up for you
while we wait for her, or him, to get here.”

“Why did you sneak out of my house this morning?” he asked,
and I felt the heat from his body. He’d moved closer, much too close.

I turned and looked up at him, working hard to keep my
breathing under control and my expression blank, as my traitorous body reacted
to his proximity. “Last night was fun, Dylan, but it was just sex. Why would I
stick around for the uncomfortable morning after talk?”

“Just sex?” Dylan asked. “Fuck that! We had a great time
last night, and it was more than just sex. I enjoyed spending time with you,
and you felt the same.”

I had, but I wasn’t about to admit that. “About the scene,”
I prompted him, even though what I really wanted to do was beg him to bend me
over the bed and fuck me.

Dylan laughed, but it wasn’t the same fun-loving laugh as
last night. Goosebumps rose, and I swallowed hard, realizing I might be in over
my head.