The Demon Who Fed on a Shark (5 page)

“I’m afraid you misunderstood me and my husband’s intentions.”

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “We merely want to take

care of Alexis.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

“We’re perfectly capable of doing that here,” Morgan answered.

The succubus sighed. “It’s just that…He hasn’t had the best

experience here. It’s best if we return to our own people.”

Unfortunately, Morgan was forced to agree with the first part of

her reply. Still, selfishly, he didn’t want to let go of Alexis. After the conversation he’d overheard, he wouldn’t believe a word that came

out the succubus’s mouth, and she was an idiot if she thought he

would.

“And like I said, I disagree.” He extracted his hand from hers.

“People might have been reluctant to trust Alexis at first, but that’s changed now. And I will make sure he is always protected.”

“We appreciate that,” she said eagerly. “But you don’t need to do

it.” Her palm landed on his chest, drawing a line over his muscles, as if mapping them.

Morgan opened his mouth to answer, but he was distracted when

Mr. Whitaker also appeared behind him. “We understand your

scruples, and your friendship is much valued,” he added.

“But we’re sure you’d much rather find someone more beautiful

and more interesting to spend time with,” the succubus purred.

Morgan could feel the power coming from her, the seduction she

was trying to shower him with. As if that weren’t enough, her

husband reached for his shoulder, his hand warm and skilled,

massaging slowly.

They were both shorter than him, and their bodies fit against his.

Morgan’s mind was invaded by sinful images involving the three of

them, bodies writhing together in a tangle of passion. He could almost feel the heat of her pussy squeezing his cock, taste her juices on his tongue. He could smell the scent of the incubus’s sweat, sense the

other man’s ass taking his prick.

And then, at the bottom of his mind, a different picture popped up,

that of Alexis beaming at him, his eyes full of trust and that unique blend of innocence and affection. Everything else disappeared in front

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33

of that smile, and he found himself pushing the induced seduction

away with striking ease.

He blinked and gave Alexis’s mother a glare. He caught her hand

and roughly pushed away from her, slipping out of her husband’s grip

as well. “You’re lucky you’re Alexis’s parents,” he said, putting a

clear warning in his tone. “Had it been someone else trying that trick, they’d find themselves in a very nasty situation right now, one

involving shark teeth.”

Mrs. Whitaker’s eyes widened in an expression of almost comical

shock. Her husband took a step back, obviously surprised as well.

They must usually have great success with their seduction routine.

The succubus gaped at him. “You’re really—” she started to say.

Mr. Whitaker cut her off with a harsh look. He grabbed her hand

and started to pull her away. “We’ll stay off your back, Mr. Pierce-

Cunningham, but remember this. Our son isn’t what you make him

out to be. You’ll get tired of him eventually, and then he’ll be more broken than he is now.”

With those final parting words, the demon couple took their leave.

Morgan mused over the Whitakers’ reply for a few moments,

wondering what Alexis’s mother had meant to say and what her

husband’s warning implied. He shrugged it off, deciding it didn’t

matter. Forcing himself to put the entire scene out of his mind, he

headed back toward Alexis’s room.

* * * *

A few months later

Alexis frowned at his own reflection as he combed his long hair

over the right side of his face. Truly, the surgeons had done a great job in fixing him, and he no longer looked like a comic book villain.

However, some things couldn’t be changed, and even all the

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interventions he’d suffered through had been unable to give him back

his prior beauty.

Partially, it was due to his incubus nature. Advanced medicine

didn’t work on incubi the same way it did on other creatures. Magical beings were supposed to heal through their magic, and that played

havoc with his recovery.

He was left with a scar crossing the right side of his face and

body. With the advances in medicine, one would have thought that

eventually, Alexis would have recovered his previous looks.

However, it was still too soon for real corrective surgery. His burn

had been severe, and while the original surgery had helped, the

doctors had recommended at least a three-month period of waiting

until they proceeded with an actual plastic surgery.

It would have irritated Alexis, and perhaps he might have insisted

on taking the chance and risking an operation earlier, except he knew it wouldn’t work. Intellectually, he knew he’d already made quite an

improvement, but the scar would never truly go away. He would

never have his old looks back.

“Ready?” Morgan shouted in the other room.

Alexis sighed and resigned himself to the inevitable. No, he

wasn’t ready, but he couldn’t back out of this, either. Morgan had

been amazing throughout these past few months, always by Alexis’s

side, as loving and caring as ever. Many times, Alexis remembered

his parents’ words, but he studiously refused to accept they might be right. He loved Morgan too much to give him up.

Because yes, Alexis now admitted he was desperately in love with

Morgan. He probably had been from the very first day they’d met,

and every second that passed, he fell more and more for the shark.

This was why he couldn’t refuse Morgan, no matter what his lover

asked.

“Be right there,” he told Morgan.

He pocketed the comb and returned to his room. “I’m ready,” he

told Morgan.

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35

Morgan smiled at him and pressed a brief kiss to his lips. “Don’t

worry. This is gonna be great.”

Alexis nodded, even if he didn’t truly believe in Morgan’s words.

Not that Morgan would lie to him. No. It was just that Alexis couldn’t bring himself to be as optimistic as his lover.

Their bags had already been taken to the car. All the preparations

had been made. He was the one delaying their departure. They

grabbed their jackets and left the dorm room. Layton was waiting

outside, next to their cars.

“Finally.” The seahorse huffed. “I thought you’d changed your

minds.”

The comment was actually half serious since Morgan and Layton

were well aware of Alexis’s apprehension regarding the upcoming

visit with their parents. Nevertheless, Alexis knew that if he wanted to be with Morgan, he’d sooner or later have to face the other man’s

family. So he just grinned at Layton and answered, “Of course not.”

They all got in their cars with Alexis riding shotgun in Morgan’s

vehicle. Morgan’s brother had wisely chosen to give the two of them

a little privacy during the drive and brought his own car. Alexis was thankful for it. Even if Layton had actually befriended him after an

initial period of dislike, Alexis still felt so very apprehensive about this visit. He stole a look at himself in the mirror, grimacing as his eyes caught sight of the burn scar. A part of it might be vanity, but truth be told, Alexis was afraid. What if Morgan got fed up with

seeing Alexis’s ugly face? So far, Morgan had shown no intention of

breaking up with Alexis. Their sex life remained active, something

which, for Alexis, should have been encouraging. In his darker

moments, a little part of Alexis’s mind told him that something was

missing, something that had been there in their first encounters and

vanished after his disfigurement. He pushed away the thought and

focused on the more urgent issue. Morgan’s parents. Right, he needed

to make a good impression on them.

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At last, Morgan started the car and drove off through the

university gates. For a little while, Alexis tried to distract himself by fiddling with the radio. After that got more annoying than helpful, he just stared outside, lost in thoughts.

“You okay?” Morgan asked at one point.

“Fine,” Alexis replied laconically.

He licked his lips in nervousness and wiped his sweaty hands

against the material of his elegant trousers. He studied the road ahead and wondered if he could get away by jumping out of the moving

vehicle. Probably not. He wouldn’t die, but Morgan would get pissed

with him, and that was one thing he couldn’t allow.

He stole another look outside the window, dread growing inside

him. What had possessed him to accept Morgan’s idea? He should

have known better than to go along with the stupid plan. But Morgan

had wanted to visit his family, and Alexis hadn’t been able to bear the thought of being separated from his lover.

Now, however, he was starting to regret it. He wasn’t sure

Morgan’s parents were over what had happened at the Academy.

Granted, it hadn’t been Alexis’s fault, but someone wearing his face

and body had been walking around fucking three quarters of the

school’s carnivores. Last time Alexis had seen Byron and Skylar

Cunningham, the shark-seahorse couple had essentially told him to

fuck off and leave their son alone. Of course, at the time, they’d been convinced Alexis was a killer and had cheated on their son with two

other shifters. Still, a first impression didn’t change so easily, and now, Alexis didn’t even have his beautiful face to compensate for the rest of his lacks.

As if guessing his thoughts, Morgan reached for his hand and

squeezed it. “Stop worrying, baby. My parents will love you. What

happened at the Academy was a mistake, and they both know it.

They’re going to welcome you with open arms, you’ll see.”

Somehow, Alexis didn’t imagine Morgan’s shark father

welcoming anyone with open arms. In fact, he was pretty sure both

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37

Byron and Skylar Cunningham would be very harsh on whoever their

two sons chose as mates, simply because of the obvious love they

showered Morgan and Layton with.

But of course, Alexis didn’t dare say that, either. Instead, he

swallowed around the knot in his throat and said, “I hope you’re

right.”

“Of course I’m right.” Morgan briefly turned toward Alexis. “And

I promise I won’t leave your side.”

Those words made Alexis feel a lot better. He trusted Morgan, and

he knew the shark would never lie to him. The tension inside Alexis

lessened a bit. “Thanks.”

The Cunningham mansion was located in LA, a good distance

from the university, but even so, all too soon, they reached their

destination. They drove through the huge, open gates of the mansion

grounds. Alexis wasn’t usually intimidated by wealth—he’d grown up

around it, after all—but now, it did make him feel a bit

uncomfortable. Somehow, it reminded Alexis of his parents and what

they’d told him. Would Morgan’s family think the same thing

Alexis’s did?

Morgan parked and removed the key out of the ignition. With the

corner of his eye, Alexis caught sight of Layton’s car stopping next to theirs. Before they left the vehicle, Morgan reached one more time for him. “Just remember. I’m right here. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Alexis struggled to offer his lover a smile. “Thanks. I’m not

scared, just a bit nervous.”

Morgan didn’t say anything else, although he seemed to be

questioning his decision of bringing Alexis here. Alexis didn’t want

that. He wanted Morgan to enjoy his holidays with the family he

loved so much. He would do anything to ingratiate himself to the

Cunninghams so that his man would be happy.

“Come on.” Alexis opened his side door, urging himself to stop

being foolish. “They must be waiting for us.”

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Indeed, as he stepped outside, his gaze fell on the waiting

Cunningham couple. Unavoidably, Alexis’s eyes went to Byron

Cunningham. Physically, Morgan was almost like a younger version

of the man, but Byron had something else, a darker edge Morgan

didn’t share and Layton seemed to have inherited instead. Morgan

was, in a way, a gentle giant. He could fuck like a demon, but his

heart, God, his heart held so much pure affection it awed Alexis.

Next to Byron, Skylar Cunningham waited. The seahorse was still

a very influential figure in shape-shifter political dynamics and one of the people who’d been behind the creation of the United Paranormal

Academy. In Skylar’s dark green eyes, Alexis saw Morgan.

There were also four other people, two women and two men

Alexis didn’t recognize. He suspected their identities, of course.

Morgan spoke a lot about his family, including his grandparents and

friends.

Morgan took his hand, and as Layton fell into step with them, they

headed to the waiting group. All too soon, they stopped in front of

Morgan’s parents. Predictably, Skylar Cunningham proceeded to hug

the daylights out of his two sons. “Thank God you’re finally here,” he said. “I was getting worried.”

Morgan managed to break out of the embrace and cleared his