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SUCCUBUS DREAMS: ESCAPE
SUCCUBUS HAREM PART 24

Copyright © 2019 by L.L. Frost

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or


transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or
other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and
certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and


incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious
manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is
purely coincidental.

Cover design by L.L. Frost


Book design by L.L. Frost

Printed in the United States of America.


First Printing, 2019
C ON T E N T S

1. Luscious Globes
2. Puddle of Goo
3. Catalyst Woo-Woo
4. (un)Melted
5. Bridges

From the Author


Also by L L Frost
About the Author
“T ac, get your furry ass back here!” I shout as I
scramble up onto the windowsill.
Of course, the beast ignores me as he makes a
large loop of the backyard, hunting for the mist monster.
Unsure if I can wrangle the cat monster alone, I drop down onto
the peaked roof and scurry across toward Kellen’s room. My bare
feet slip and slide on the tiles, and my back itches with the need to
let my wings out for added balance, but I stifle the urge. If the
neighbors missed the giant winged cat, I’m not going to give them a
second chance at discovering our house’s inhabitants are less than
human.
All we need right now is an investigation team arriving on our
doorstep ready to banish us back to the demon plane for being
indiscreet.
I reach Kellen’s window and peer inside.
The storm demon lies sprawled in his king-sized bed, face down
and glorious, golden ass on full display. My mouth waters, and for a
moment, my brain short circuits with images of digging my nails into
those luscious globes. That ass really should be illegal.
Luckily, or unluckily, a crash from the below knocks me back to
my senses, and I check Tac’s progress.
Heavy fog covers the backyard, making it difficult to see. Finally,
I spot his back end as he shoves through the low brush and
manicured trees that line the stone wall separating us from the
neighbor on the left. In his excitement, he forgot to fold his wings
back and seems to be tangled, but that won’t last long.
With both hands on the windowsill, I hop up to perch on the
ledge. Electricity prickles at my skin, an invisible wall that sparks and
spits at my presence. While I’ve been to Kellen’s room a few times,
his wards reset daily. Whatever Tobias may have hinted at about
Kellen’s feelings toward me, he obviously doesn’t trust me enough to
give me a free pass while he’s sleeping.
“Kellen!” I bang a fist on the open shutter for good measure.
“Kellen, wake up! I need you!”
In answer, he snorts and burrows farther into his pillows, the
fluffy rectangles almost hiding his entire head.
With a huff, I yell, “Kellen, sex!”
He perks up instantly, pushing up to kneel in the center of the
bed and peer around the room with charming, confused interest.
When he spies me at the window, he gives me a sleepy grin and
waggles his fingers in invitation. “Hey, babe, what are you doing out
there when you could be in here?”
The stinging ward flows away to be replaced by the
mouthwatering scent of ozone, spring rain, and the first curls of
desire. I mentally slap myself to stop from diving from his windowsill
straight into his bed.
I hook a thumb over my shoulder. “I need you out here.”
“On the roof?” His brows arch. “I’m game, but we might fall off.”
He crawls off the side of the bed and stretches, the long, hard
lines of his golden body on full display, including the semi-hard cock
that sways between his legs.
I drag my eyes from all that temptation. “Put on some pants.”
His arms drop back to his sides. “That’s not the direction this is
supposed to go.”
Another crash sounds from the backyard, and I twist to see
what’s happening. One of the trees now lists to the side, and Tac’s
tail takes out a shrub.
“What’s going on out there?” Kellen joins me at the window, his
body a warm, crackling presence against my bare arms.
I point downward. “Tac escaped.”
“Shit, why didn’t you say so?” He turns, grabs a pair of sweats
off the corner of his dresser, and tugs them on. “What’s he doing out
there? He knows better than to leave the house.”
“There’s something in the backyard.” Not wanting to get into
whether what I saw exists right now, I keep it simple. “He went after
it.”
Kellen nudges me back onto the roof and climbs out. “Why didn’t
you get Emil?”
“He asked for alone time.” Another thing I don’t want to get into.
“And you’re more direct.”
“Tac only listens to Emil, but if he asked for alone time, there’s no
budging him. He probably warded his room.” Crouching, Kellen
places one hand on the roof tiles and slides gracefully toward the lip
of the roof, out of sight of our neighbors.
I follow with far less grace and a lot more speed. I reach the end
of the roof ahead of Kellen, my wings slipping from my back as my
feet find air, and I half tumble, half glide to the fog covered grass
below. The gray tendrils reach up to curl around my legs, sinking
through the thin material of my yoga pants to stick against my skin.
Cold and wet, it chills me to the bone in an instant.
The fog crawls up my legs and over my hips, growing heavier as
more and more sticks to me until my body feels like it’s made of
lead, dragging me toward the soft ground.
My wings flap, dispelling some of the invasive fog, but it slinks
back in, adding more layers until it becomes impossible to take a
step forward. I don’t remember it being like this in Dreamland when
the nightmare monsters worked to block my path and cut me off.
Kellen lands beside me, his rain-cloud wings drifting over me to
melt away the entrapping fog. He stares down at the shrouded
ground, then lifts a foot, studying how the unnatural mist clings to
his leg. “What is this?”
“It comes from whatever Tac is chasing.” I huddle closer to his
side. “Keep your wings out. It doesn’t seem to like them.”
“Put yours away.” His hand slides over my wings, stroking the
small feathers close to my spine. “I don’t want whatever this is to
hide in your feathers and find a way inside you when you pull them
into hiding.”
A shudder rolls through me at the idea, and I snap them back
into their place along my spine.
Kellen’s palm covers the bare skin of my back as if to make sure
they fully vanished without leaving an opening for the fog to creep
in. “Did you get a look at whatever this thing is?”
“Kind of.” I shiver at the memory of the large, red eye blinking at
me from right outside my window.
He strides toward the break in foliage, his hand on my back
keeping me close. By now, Tac has disappeared from view, but a
path of destruction shows the way. “Is it a demon? Or did it feel like
human magic?”
I hug my elbows to become smaller, careful to stay within the
protection of Kellen’s wings, if they can really be called that
anymore. They’re more like a cloud encircling us now. “It was from
Dreamland.”
He frowns. “Another baku like Tally?”
Twigs crunch under my bare feet. I wince, wishing I had the
forethought to put on shoes, but that would have taken too much
time. “No, not a baku.”
Kellen grabs an uprooted bush and tosses it to the side. “A
succubus, then?”
I shake my head, my braid whipping against my back. “No, not a
succubus.”
“Only two demons live in Dreamland.” Without any effort, he
shifts the knocked over tree upright once more. “You sure it wasn’t a
baku? They take on some weird appearance.”
I scowl at him. “I know what baku look like. And feel like. This
wasn’t a baku.”
“Had to be one of the two.” We stop our forward movement at
the tall brick wall, and Kellen cups his hands over his mouth. “Tac,
buddy, where you hiding?”
A long, tufted tail swings into view, tick-tocking in front of us. I
follow it up to find Tac perched on top of the wall in front of us. His
wings flare wide, blocking out the moon, and he lets out a loud
snuffle.
I point a finger at him. “You get down here right now, mister!
You are in so much trouble!”
“Yes, threaten the cat monster,” Kellen whispers. “That always
works.”
Tac’s feathers flare, making him look even bigger, and he stays
rooted in place.
“You don’t scare me!” I rise onto my tiptoes, chest puffed out. “I
can get big, too!”
Kellen’s soft chuckle earns him an elbow in the side, and
lightning sparks in the cloud that surrounds us.
Brushing away the little bolts of electricity, I jump and catch Tac’s
tail, the tufted tip tickling under my chin. “Get down, before Emil
finds out you’ve been naughty. He’s not going to buy you any more
prime rib!”
“Careful, Adie, his tail is really”—Tac’s tail curls up, lifting me with
it—“strong. Here, I got you.”
Kellen’s large, warm hands curl around my calves just as Tac
leaps over the wall and into the neighbor’s backyard.
With a yelp, I kick my feet against the rough brick wall, nailing
Kellen in the process. Clutching Tac’s tail tighter, my bare arm
scrapes against the wall, peeling away skin, before my shoulder
slams into the lip at the top.
My arm goes numb, and I lose my hold on Tac’s tail, the puff of
fur at the tip slapping me in the face as he escapes once more.
I scramble to catch the top of the wall, my nails breaking against
the rough bricks. With a roll a power, my talons burst free, and I dig
my toes into the side of the wall, finding purchase in the mortar as I
climb.
“You okay?” Kellen calls up.
My fingers curl around the spiked wrought iron cemented into the
top of the wall, supposedly meant to discourage people from
climbing over the top. So much failure in this design.
I wave down at Kellen as I peer into the neighbor’s yard.
More fog here. It completely covers the ground and rises high
enough to brush at the windows on the first floor of the house. The
very bright, someone-is-home-and-awake windows.
I scan the fog. “Tac!”
His tufted tail lifts from the fog and waves in the air.
I carefully climb over the pointy wrought iron, hissing, “Tac, get
back here!”
His tail curls into a question mark. For a moment, I think he’s
actually going to listen, but then he vanishes again.
“Adie, you really shouldn’t go over there,” Kellen calls. “The
neighbor doesn’t like to be disturbed.”
“Shh,” I lift a finger to my lips. “They’re awake. We don’t want to
draw attention to the backyard.”
“That’s really not—”
“There he is!” The tips of Tac’s wings poke out of the fog. “I’m
going in.”
“Adie, wait—”
Kellen’s voice cuts off as I dive over the wall. My skin buzzes with
energy, the hunt to bring Tac back home humming through me.
Demon cats aren’t born in the demon plane. They don’t gain
corporeal forms and venture over to the human side. They’re
created through strife, war, and a powerful need for vengeance.
If Tac reveals himself to a human, he’ll be put down without
question.
No coming back.
I can’t let that happen. He’s one of mine, the same as Kellen,
Tobias, and Emil. The same as the imps, Torch, and Vova. I won’t fail
to keep him safe.
The fog cushions my landing, almost welcoming as it curls
around me, and the bone-numbing cold sets back in. It covers me
up to the hips, creating a tactile barrier almost like cotton. I push
through it toward the triangle tips of Tac’s wings. They zig-zag
across the yard, a pair of sharks on the hunt, and my stomach rolls
to imagine him actually chasing that floating eyeball.
Something brushes against my calves, and I jump in alarm, my
arms sweeping outward to push aside the fog. It rolls in on itself,
creating waves that curve upward, high as my shoulders. In the
momentary reprieve, I spot something thicker than the fog, a
tentacle that flits across my path. Then, the waves crash back down
to fill the opening.
Another brush against my calf, this one accompanied by a
stinging bite. I yelp and spin, waving my arms to create a small
circle of open space.
The flash of tentacles comes again, a stream of fresh mist trailing
in its wake.
My voice comes out muffled and high-pitched with fear. “Tac,
buddy, if you’re going to catch it, it’s over here.”
“Adie, get out of there!” Kellen whispers loudly, and I flinch
again, spinning until I spot him perched on top of the wall.
The moon turns his fiery hair into a beacon, gilding his golden
skin. Sparks of lightning dance along the arm he holds out to me,
too far away to reach.
I try anyway, my hand lifting, and a bulbous, red eye lifts from
the mist directly in front of my face, tentacles weaving a barrier to
block my escape.
S hrieking, I stumble away from the floating eyeball, and my
heel catches on something in the fog-shrouded yard. My arms
pinwheel for balance, but gravity already drags me down.
Gray mist curls around my arms, making them heavy as I fall. My
ass hits grass, and my momentum carries me backward.
I catch myself on my elbows, shaking the hair from my eyes.
Somewhere along the way, my braid came loose, and the white
stands, tipped in blue, pool around my shoulders and down over my
breasts.
The nightmare monster follows, spitting out fog to fill my small
oasis of cleared air. The glowing red light of its eye fills my vision as
a buzzing noise vibrates out from its center. Horrified, I stare at the
razor-sharp teeth that spin like a chainsaw at the center of its
tentacles.
Shrieking again, I kick out, its soft, gelatinous body giving like
slimy jello against my bare foot. It spikes up into the air, its maw
now fully visible and positioned to come down right on top of me.
Tac lunges out of hiding, his wings spread wide and flapping for
added height, his mouth open and dagger-long fangs silhouetted by
the moon.
Fog clings to his body in a shroud of gray, with tendrils that shoot
down, connecting it to the greater mass on the ground to pull him
back down.
But the demon cat’s wings flap again, the powerful blast
propelling him higher while at the same time pushing the fog
outward. The stuff peels away from my body like Velcro, taking
pieces of skin with it. I wince with pain as the smell of copper fills
the air, beads of blood rising to the surface in a gory simulation of
goose bumps.
The nightmare creature twists in midair, tentacles sweeping
toward Tac, but too late. His massive jaws close around it with a
decisive snap.
Immediately, the fog in the backyard lightens, the oppressive
weight dissipating to something more natural.
Skin on fire, I push to my feet as Tac thumps back to earth, a
gelatinous tentacle still sticking from one side of his mouth.
My stomach rolls, and I point at the ground. “Drop it.”
With a loud snort, his jaw drops to reveal the squished remains
of the monster before he snaps his mouth closed once more.
“Adie, get back here,” Kellen hisses, and I turn to see him still
perched on his side of the wall.
My hands move to my hips. “Why are you still up there? I could
have been killed just now! You’re completely useless!”
“I told you not to go over there.” He flaps his hands in a come
here motion. “Now, get your delicious ass back on our side of the
wall before you’re caught.”
“Far too late for that, Mr. Cassius,” a testy voice seethes from
behind me. “We have discussed your beast being in my yard. There
is a clearly marked perimeter he is not to cross.”
Mouth open in shock, I twist to face the back porch where a tall,
reed-thin woman stands.
Or, more precisely, an ice demon. She clutches a white bathrobe
at her neck, her frozen gaze jumping between me, Tac, and Kellen.
What skin is exposed glitters with fresh frost, accentuating the sharp
planes of her face. Her white hair, pulled into a tight bun on top of
her head, scrapes the top of the doorframe. In an ice cavern, she’d
blend in with the stalagmites, just another pillar or ice.
My focus shifts back to Kellen, voice accusing. “You could have
just said our neighbor is a demon!”
“Is this your newest plaything, Mr. Cassius?” Ridicule curls
through her voice. “You should teach her some manners.”
Oh, she did not just say that. I lift an arm, finger out. “I’ve dealt
with enough assholery from demons today. I don’t need your
attitude, too.”
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s rude to point?” Ice crystals form
along my finger, cold enough to burn.
I flick them away with a snap of my fingers. “Don’t try to tempt
me with your paltry show of power. I live with a god who breathes
ice ages. Your little snowflakes don’t bother me.”
The frost along her jaw grows until it forms a jagged beard of
icicles.
“Sorry about the late night visit, Fuyumi,” Kellen cuts in, his voice
filled with false cheer. “It seems we had an invader, and it escaped
into your yard.”
On cue, Tac’s mouth gapes open, and the remains of the
nightmare monster roll off his tongue to splat onto the ground. Long
lines of red-tinted drool follow.
Fuyumi’s lip curls in disgust. “So I see. Is this serious? Do I need
to take my babies to the mountains?”
“Not sure yet, but we’ll keep you informed.” Kellen dangles his
arms between the wrought iron spikes. “Is your number up to date
on the neighborhood watch list?”
Neighborhood watch list? I mouth the words as if that will help
my mind wrap around the idea that, not only is our neighbor a
demon, but that we have a committee.
“It is.” Movement behind Fuyumi draws her attention into her
house, and she murmurs, “No, precious, stay inside. It’s not safe.”
A high-pitched mew sounds, far too loud for a normal sized
house cat, and Tac perks up, tufted ears swiveling with interest.
Fuyumi turns back to us, her expression frigid. “Get off my lawn
before I file a complaint for trespassing.”
Without another word, she turns in a swirl of white robe and
marches back inside. The door snaps shut, the sounds of the lock
loud in the quiet night.
Not wanting to ruin whatever relationship she has with the guys,
I fight down the urge to stomp up there and give her a piece of my
mind. I’m exhausted from lack of sleep over the last week and tired
of ice demons shutting their doors in my face.
With a roll of my shoulders, I turn and walk over to Tac, giving
the glop on the ground a wide berth.
I pat his shoulder to gain his attention. “Come on, big guy, time
to go home.”
When his saucer-sized green eyes stay fixed on the house, I
glance back.
A large cat sprawls in the bay window to the right of the door.
While not on the same scale as Tac in terms of size, it puts large
dogs to shame. Cream and tan stripes form an uneven pattern in its
sleek fur, and its large, golden eyes fix on Tac. Two tails slowly waft
back and forth behind it in a lazy swirl of interest.
I turn back to Tac and grab his head to pull his attention away.
“You stay away from that nekomata. She’ll eat you.”
He chuffs into my face, moist air blowing back my hair.
I grab his nose. “I’m serious. Nekomata are bad news.”
Reluctant, he turns away, one wing smacking me in the back as
he passes.
When I make a move to follow, Kellen’s voice stops me. “Grab
that thing, too, so we can get a good look at it.”
“Thing?” I stare at him in confusion before my eyes drop to the
puddle of yuck. “No.”
“We can’t leave it in the yard. Fuyumi will bury us in fines at the
clerk’s office if we do.”
I back away from the puddle of goo, my bare toes curling in the
grass. “Then you come get it.”
His hands wrap around an iron spike, and he leans back into our
yard. “No way am I going through Fuyumi’s wards. Two invaders are
enough for one night.”
That explains the buzz against my skin when I hopped the wall. I
was too caught up in going after Tac to notice it at the time. Not
very strong wards if I could brush them off that easily.
I stare in disgust at the glob of nightmare. “Hey, Tac, come get
this.”
His tail flicks at me in answer before he crouches, then springs
into the air, clearing the wall easily.
“Just pick it up,” Kellen instructs.
My eyes search the yard for something to use. A shovel, a
garbage can, even a plastic bag, and come up empty. “With what?”
“You’ve got hands.” Kellen gestures to the thing. “Just grab one
of those tentacles.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Reluctant, I pick my way over to
the thing, the ground turning soft and sticky beneath my feet.
Closer, it smells like cat spit and rancid meat. I hold my breath as
I bend and grab the nearest appendage. It smooshes between my
fingers, and when I lift it, it detaches from the rest of the body with
a wet slurp.
My stomach heaves, and I bite down the urge to vomit as I walk
the tentacle to the wall and throw it at Kellen.
Laughing, he ducks out of sight, yelling back, “Make sure you get
all of it!”
Thirty minutes—and multiple trips to and from the wall—later, I
join him in the backyard where he stands over the collected remains
of the monster.
While I gathered pieces and tossed them over the wall, he
actually made himself useful and fetched a large, industrial black
trash bag to hold the bits. When I came back over the wall, slick
with things I don’t want to think about, he already had it mostly
reassembled. Or as reassembled as a half-masticated gelatinous
creature could be.
Lucky him, his rain-cloud wings kept the goo off of him, so I’m
the only one left covered in slime.
Laid out, the creature is much larger than I guessed while it
flitted around. It takes up the entire trash bag, with a few of the
tentacles hanging off the end. In death, the gelatinous body looks
almost translucent. Thick, black tubes run from the tip of its
appendages up into a gray mass in its bulbous head, centered
behind the basketball-sized eye. It oozes gray and red fluid, the light
snuffed out.
Did its core return to Dreamland to be reborn? Or did Tac
chomping on it end its existence? Will the creature with a hundred
eyes know of its death and send more? How did it even escape
Dreamland in the first place?
I shift and unglue my arms from my body, holding my hands out
from my sides. Drying fluids create strings of goo like iridescent
wings under my arms. “I feel so gross.”
“You stink, too,” Kellen murmurs, not really paying attention as
he stares down at the monster. “Do you think this is a witch thing?
Maybe I should call up my people to come take a look.”
As I shake my head, my loose hair sticks to my shoulders and
arms. “I already told you, it came from Dreamland. This is what I
was talking about running into on the outskirts the last time I went
there on my own.”
“Dreamland doesn’t have an outskirt,” he protests, but it comes
out like something he heard and now repeats without any real
knowledge of his own.
“You’ve never been to Dreamland, so how would you know?”
Annoyed to have this conversation again, I pat my pocket, then head
toward the path that leads to the front of the house. “I’m going to
rinse off, then call Julian. He can come over and try to tell me I’m
imagining things again.”
“He’ll ignore your call.” Kellen paces around the garbage bag.
“Take a shower, I’ll get his ass here.”
Annoyed he’s right, I lift a hand in acknowledgment. While my
cousin may ignore me to his heart’s content, he won’t dare ignore
Kellen, not when the storm demon can jack up his rental fees and
fire the dancers that work in his club.
Glee shoots through me, and I wish I could be there when Julian
takes that call. Seeing my cousin jump would go a long way toward
improving my night.
I open the front door to find Tobias in the entryway, one foot up
on the bench as he laces up his tennis shoe.
We freeze, eyeing each other warily.
Since our last encounter earlier in the evening, he switched out
his suit for soft flannel pants and a black t-shirt that clings to his
muscular chest. His chestnut-brown hair lays soft across his
forehead, giving him a deceptively youthful appearance as it softens
the hard planes of his face. The vibrations of anger have calmed,
too, leaving him almost relaxed.
That changes, though, as his nostrils flare, and he straightens,
his foot dropping to the floor. “Why do I smell blood? And what is
that disgusting stench?”
I keep my arms held out from my sides. “That’s me. I need to go
scrub this stuff off. What are you doing awake?”
“I got a call from the neighborhood watch.” His narrowed eyes
sweep over me. “Something about people walking on our roof. When
I checked Kellen’s room, he was gone. I thought a storm might have
lured him away, but I suppose it was you?”
“Tac escaped.” I try to edge past him, but his large body blocks
the way. My head tips back, and I glare up at him. “Don’t worry, we
got him back.”
“Yes, I saw him slinking up the stairs as I came down.” His gaze
fixes on my chest with interest.
I peer down at myself, horrified when I discover the slime from
the monster turned my tank top transparent. My nipples pebble
against the thin fabric, the pink areola clearly visible.
Swearing, I hook a finger in the neck of the shirt and pull it out.
It leaves my skin with a wet, suction-cupped slurp, and cold air
rushes in to raise goose bumps on my exposed body. “Ugh, I
seriously need to get in the shower. Kellen’s in the backyard. Julian’s
going to be here soon, too. Can you wake up Emil? Kellen said he’s
probably warded himself into his room, so you might need to
leverage some catalyst woo-woo against him.”
Tobias’s thick eyebrows shoot up. “Leverage some catalyst woo-
woo against him?”
“Yeah, you know.” I wiggle my fingers at him. “Find something in
his room ready to break and make it happen.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “That’s not how it works.”
An irritated huff escapes. As the slime starts to dry, it turns my
clothes into papier mâché. If I don’t get a move on, I’ll have to rip
them off. “You’re the tipping point, so tip something. Just get him
out of his cave.”
Tobias folds his arms, an unmovable barrier between me and hot
water. “Why’s Kellen in the backyard? And why is your cousin coming
over?”
“Just go out back and see for yourself.” I shove my sticky hands
into his face. “I need the shower. Now.”
Instead of moving, he grabs my wrist, pulls my arm straight,
then runs a blunt finger along my forearm, lifting away a glob of
red-tinted goo. “Is this your blood?” He wipes away more, revealing
bright-pink flesh beneath. “Why does your skin look like that?”
With the slime gone away, pain flares down my arm like a bad
sunburn, and my whole body begins to itch. Reaching up, I scratch
the exposed part of my arm, and my skin tears as if made of tissue
paper, streaks of blood rising to the surface.
Horror rushes through me. “Tobias, I really need to shower.”
In answer, he scoops me into his arms, heedless of the slime that
sticks to his shirt, and runs for the stairs. His voice thunders ahead
of us. “Emil, get out here!”
The house shudders in response, followed by the sound of things
breaking.
Emil’s door crashes open as we reach the second-floor landing,
his frozen voice filling the hall. “What’s wrong?”
“Call Landon. We may need him to come here.” Tobias shoulders
his way into the bathroom, the door knocking against the cast iron
tub.
The top hinge gives, the door listing to one side. As Tobias kicks
it out of the way, it falls sideways across the opening, the top corner
digging into the wall next to the pedestal sink.
Carefully, he sets me into the tub. “Lift your arms. I’m going to
take your top off slowly. Tell me if it hurts.”
Eyes wide, I obey the command. A fine tremor runs through my
body, the pain in my arm intensifying with every second that passes.
I don’t know what the slime did to me, but it’s starting to burn all
over my body, and a vision of my skin sloughing off rises to the
forefront of my imagination.
I whimper, tears welling in my eyes. “Hurry. I think it’s eating
through my skin.”
Tobias ignores my plea as he carefully lifts the hem of my tank
top. It sticks to my skin and burns like acid as he peels it away.
All emotion melts from his face to leave a blank mask in its place.
My fear heightens at his complete lack of reaction to what he
uncovers, and I close my eyes, unable to look, to know for sure that
my skin is coming off with my clothes.
Emil’s voice drifts through the broken door. “Landon’s not
answering.”
“He might already be on his way,” Tobias says, his tone flat. “He
seems to know when Adie’s in trouble.”
I whimper again at the confirmation. Tobias wouldn’t think I
needed Landon unless something was really, really wrong.
My eyes blink open, and I stare at the ceiling. “This should hurt
more, shouldn’t it?”
“Yes.” The single word holds a wealth of acknowledgment.
Air catches in my lungs, and I blink back the tears. “Why doesn’t
it hurt more? It stings, and where my skin broke burns, but...”
“I don’t know.” The fabric clears my breasts. “Close your eyes.”
My lashes flutter shut, and I hold my breath as he pulls the tank
top over my head. The thin straps give last with a slurping tug that
makes my stomach heave.
“You’re doing good,” Tobias murmurs. “I’m going to get your
pants off now, okay?”
Another whimper sticks in my throat, and I nod. “Emil?”
“Yes, Adie?” The sound of shrieking metal echoes around the
bathroom, followed by a thump from out in the hall. A moment later,
Emil’s voice comes from right next to the tub. “I’m here.”
“Check Tac.” A hard lump fills my throat. “He had this stuff in his
mouth.”
Cold fingers brush my cheek. “I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
Tobias tugs on the drawstrings around my waist. “There’s not as
much on your pants, but it’s dried some.” A hollow rap vibrates
through my thigh as he taps on one part with his nail. “I’ll try my
best to be gentle.”
A choked laugh fights its way out. “Just get it off. Please.”
He works in silence, the only sound in the bathroom the stomach
rolling slurp as he moves the pants down my legs. When he reaches
my thigh, the dried section comes off with the pop of a suction-cup
and the tug of more skin peeling away.
I clench my teeth, fighting down the urge to vomit.
At last, Tobias lifts my right foot, then my left, and the sound of
something wet hitting the floor makes me sigh with relief.
The shower curtain rustles, and Tobias’s quiet voice breaks the
silence. “We need to get the rest of the slime off. But I don’t know
how your skin is going to react to the water.”
I grit my teeth. “Just do it.”
The showerhead clanks as Tobias lifts it from the holder, followed
by the squeak of the faucet. “Ready?”
Nodding again, I brace myself.
“Stop!” Landon’s voice floods the bathroom, and a moment later,
my ears pop with the suction of displaced air.
My eyes snap open, and I turn my head to see my mentor now
standing next to the bathtub. He wears his usual dirty sweats and t-
shirt, his flesh degenerated from loss of energy. His disheveled,
white curls stick up haphazardly around his head as if he arrived
through a wind tunnel.
Monarch yellow eyes fix on Tobias, wide with panic. “Turn off the
water. You’ll burn her alive.”
Tobias blanches and swiftly shuts the water off. “But we need to
wash off the slime. It’s eating her skin.”
“It’s acid. Don’t you know anything about science?” Landon
reaches into the tub to pull me farther back. “If you douse her with
water while all this slime is still on her, it will eat through her flesh
and destroy her corporeal form.”
Alarmed now, Tobias snatches a towel and throws it into the
bottom of the tub, soaking up the small amount of water that
escaped the faucet. “How do we get it off her, then?”
“Ethanol would be best.” At Tobias’s blank stare, Landon says,
“Alcohol-based hand sanitizer? Sixty percent or higher?”
Tobias slowly shakes his head. “Why would we have that in the
house? We don’t get sick.”
Desperation fills Landon’s voice. “Vodka? Something really
expensive?”
“We have that,” Kellen says from the doorway. “Landon, when did
you get here?” His lightning kissed eyes sweep the bathroom. “And
what’s going on?” His attention lands on me, and his lips part. “Oh,
my god. What happened?”
“Bring the vodka,” Landon snaps. “As much as you have.”
Kellen’s reaction makes the terror rush back, and I jerk my eyes
away from the mirror over the sink before I see myself. I don’t want
whatever’s wrong burned into my memory.
Landon strokes my cheek. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay.”
“What did this?” Tobias demands on a growl.
“Something that shouldn’t have been able to leave Dreamland.”
Landon searches my face. “Where is it?”
“Tac killed it. It’s in the backyard.” I whimper as the panic builds,
and my eyes jump to Tobias. “Why hasn’t Emil come back? Is Tac
hurt?”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” he soothes. “He eats all sorts of things
without any harm coming to him.”
“But this is different.” My toes curl against the curved bottom of
the tub. “If he’s hurt, Emil will never forgive me.”
Kellen runs back into the bathroom, crowding into the space. He
holds a crate with large bottles of vodka poking from the top. “Is this
enough?”
My eyes swing to him. “Kellen, go check on Emil and Tac. He had
that thing in his mouth.”
“What thing?” Tobias demands, the scent of forest fires creeping
into the room. “Why isn’t Adie already healing?”
“She can’t until the slime is removed.” Landon takes the first
bottle from Kellen and rips off the top. He turns to Tobias. “Get your
shirt off.”
My horror-filled eyes drop to Tobias’s front, where slime slicks his
hands and arms, sticking his t-shirt to his body.
Tobias grabs the hem and yanks it over his head, and I sigh with
relief to see his skin stay in place. It glows red like he has a
sunburn, but otherwise, he seems fine.
As he holds his arms over the tub, Landon pours the open bottle
of vodka over him, using a hand towel to wipe away the slime. Once
Tobias’s arms are free of goo, he takes the towel and swipes at his
torso, then tosses it to the tiled floor where the rest of our
contaminated clothes lay.
Landon opens another bottle and thrusts it at Tobias. “Start at
her top. Use your hands. The towel will be too rough with how far
it’s progressed. She must have been in contact with the slime for a
lot longer than you. Once the slime is gone, you can safely wash her
off.” He then turns to Kellen. “Where is it?”
“In the backyard.” The muscles in Kellen’s jaw jumps. “Did that
thing do this? I made her bring it back over the wall. Is this my
fault?”
“You can blame yourself later.” Landon takes the crate from him
and sets it next to the tub. “Take me to it. I need to make sure it’s
dead.”
“Check on Tac!” I yell as the two men stride out of the bathroom,
then yelp as cold liquid splashes down my front, followed by the
sweep of Tobias’s hands.
Vodka fumes sting my nose, and it burns on my raw flesh, but
again, not as much as it should. That worries me more than if it had
set my body on fire. Does the slime have some kind of numbing
agent in it to make its victim unaware of the true danger as it slowly
eats through their skin? The implications make my gorge rise, and I
clench my teeth before I vomit all over Tobias.
He works quickly and smoothly, emptying the bottle in his hands,
then cracking open the next. My arms and hands take longer as he
focuses on rinsing away every trace of slime before he moves down
to my thighs.
When my front is clean, he has me turn around, and cold vodka
splashes over my back. His hands sweep over every plane of my
body, sweeping away every trace, and I bite my lip to stop myself
from crying.
I can’t feel the fire in his palms, the nip and burn of his power as
it tries to burrow inside. I choke back a sob. “Tobias, something’s
wrong with me.”
“We’ll make it right,” he whispers against my shoulder, and I
barely feel the warmth of his breath. “I think I got it all. I’m going to
turn the water back on, okay?”
With a jerky nod, I turn to face the shower head. He sets the
empty bottle of vodka on the floor before he reaches for the faucet,
turning the shower on once more. His hand, when he reaches for
the shower head, trembles slightly, and the show of nerves terrifies
me.
Tobias never shows fear.
The knowledge that he cares sinks with a heavy weight at the
back of my mind. He doesn’t want to be the one that destroys me if
the vodka didn’t do the trick.
When I touch his shoulder, my stomach rolling as I can no longer
avoid seeing the red, shiny meat that pokes through places where
the slime completely ate through my skin.
I swallow back thick bile and focus on the hard planes of his
profile. “I can do it. You don’t have to.”
His hand clenches around the shower head. “No, I’ll do it.”
He lifts it from the bracket and aims it at the drain before
switching the water over. It sputters and spits for a moment before it
steadies.
He turns to face me, his expression blank once more. “If this
doesn’t work, if the vodka didn’t neutralize whatever that slime is, I’ll
bring you back. You understand?”
“Yes, I trust you.” I hold my hands out from my sides. “Do it.”
T he lukewarm water works its way up my legs, flowing over
the least affected part of my body first. If my legs melt
away, will he stop and go back to the vodka? I don’t know
if I can handle that. I want this over with now.
His large hand cups over the raw spot on my thigh, blocking the
direct flow of water so it trickles through his fingers. The drops hit
my skin, more sensation than feeling at first, but as it continues, it
begins to burn, then blaze with pain.
With a screech, I shove his arms away.
Tobias freezes, the water splashing outside of the tub and onto
the tiled floor.
I cover the place on my thigh, trying to shove away the agony.
“Let me see.” Tobias grabs my wrist.
I struggle to resist, but his superior strength wins out. He pulls
my hands away and studies the wound.
After a moment, he releases a shaky sigh of relief. “It’s healing.”
“Damn fucking straight it’s healing!” I yell as my nerves come
back to life with a vengeance. Agony rolls through my body, and it’s
not even the worst of the wounds. Tobias lifts the shower head once
more, and I flinch back from the spray. “No, I changed my mind! I’d
rather melt!”
Expression determined, he catches me by the back of the neck,
shoves me down into the tub, and aims the water so it cascades
over me. I shriek and flail, one foot catching Tobias in the gut. With
a grunt, he catches my leg and tosses it to hook over the side of the
tub as he rinses down my thighs.
The energy in my core, low as it is from lack of feeding this last
week, spindles out to heal my body as fast as possible, but it’s not
enough. My nerves grow back, then the first layers of skin, but I still
feel raw and exposed.
My core empties, and my body begins to eat itself, breaking
down cells even as it tries to repair itself.
As if he senses the change, Tobias fists my hair in the back,
lifting my face to his.
Angry that he’s the one hurting me, I snap my teeth at him. He
drops the shower head to grab my jaw, forcing my mouth open, and
his lips cover mine. I growl into his throat, but he ignores the
warning, his tongue pushing in to rub against mine. He tastes of fire,
landslides, and electricity, of death and destruction. The succubus
part of me takes control, latching onto the power he offers and
yanking it out.
The taste of pennies rolls down my throat along with a flood of
energy. It splashes into my empty core, weighing down my body
before it floods outward. My skin tingles in the places where the acid
slime ate away my flesh, and the pain vanishes. Sensation rushes
back, the water becoming warm, Tobias’s hands on me hot as lava.
The scent of delicious ozone fills my nose, and I stop struggling to
push Tobias away.
Instead, I dig talons into his shoulders to pull him in.
With a surprised grunt, his body slides over the edge of the tub
to settle over mine, his sweats rough against my naked thighs. The
forgotten shower head whips around, spraying water everywhere as
my talons sink into his shoulders, yanking his body flush to mine. I
need to feel the sparks of his power on my skin, to reassure myself
I’m whole again.
Hot, fiery hands leave my head, skimming over my body,
prodding and pressing to ensure I’m healed before they drop to grab
my knees and hoist them around his waist. His hard cock presses
against my center, the barrier of his flannel pants a cruel tease as he
nudges against my entrance.
My hands drop, shoving under his waistband to dig into his firm
ass, urging him on. His hips flex, nudging me again, and desire turns
my center to liquid heat.
One hand slips between our bodies, finding the hard nub at the
apex of my sex. His thick figures slip around it, rough and gentle at
the same time as he coaxes my need higher.
The front of his pants grows slick with my desire, slipping
shallowly in and out of my body.
The flow of power slows to a trickle, his lips softening into a real
kiss. His tongue urges mine to delve into his mouth, to find the
power at the back of his throat. It tastes of flash floods, cool and
refreshing as it slides down my throat.
Between us, his fingers dip lower, replacing the tease of his cock.
He rubs along my outer folds, separating them to trace his middle
finger across my center. I spread my legs as wide as the tub allows,
and my feet find purchase on his calves as I open myself to his
exploration.
He wastes no time as he drives three fingers into my body,
stretching my muscles. I gasp at the sudden invasion, my nails
digging into his ass as my hips lift into the thrust.
His fingers twist and scissor inside me, his thumb finding my clit
once more, pressing on it with firm, circular motions that make my
body hum with need. My inner muscles clench around his fingers,
desperate for something thicker, harder, to fill me.
Mouth leaving mine, his rough cheek scrapes along my jaw, his
voice the deep roll of an earthquake that sends my bones vibrating
with pleasure. “Are you going to cum from just my hand? Or do you
want more?”
“More,” I whimper, hips rocking on his fingers.
He licks a fiery path to my ear in reward, and my head falls to
one side. “Take out my cock.”
My hands tremble as I abandon my hold on his ass to find his
waistband in front, shoving his wet pajama pants down until his cock
springs free. Heavy and burning with an inner heat, it brushes
against my shaking thighs.
“Good,” he purrs, and my whole body shakes. “Now, line me up.
Show me how much you want me.”
My hand curls around his thick shaft, unable to fully connect, and
I whimper again. I forgot about the hard little nubs that pebble his
cock, forgot the length and breadth of his sex. Imagining it inside
me, my inner muscles clench around his fingers again.
I try to spread my legs wider, frustrated as my knees bump
against the edges of the restrictive tub, then moan in protest as his
fingers leave me aching and empty.
My hips lift as I shift him into position, skin against skin. Pre-cum
paints my entrance, hot and stinging with power. The blunt head of
his cock sinks into my heat, the beginnings of a stretch as he swivels
his hips, teasing my opening. My hands move back to his ass to pull
him forward.
His palms slide down my thighs, and he grips my hips, holding
me steady as he surges forward.
A shocked whimper escapes, and my heels dig into his calves as
he stretches me open, my body struggling to adjust to his size.
Somehow, I forgot how good the little ribs along his shaft felt as
they scrape along my inner walls, increasing my sensitivity. I feel
full, stretched to my limits, with still more to take.
His teeth catch my earlobe before he purrs, “That’s right, open
up more for me. I’ll give you so much energy. Fill you all up.”
Slowly, he pulls out, then drives forward once more, pushing
deeper with a growl of approval as my body shifts around him,
molding to his size, making room as he pushes in still farther.
One hand leaves my hip to close around my breast, and his head
drops, mouth closing over my nipple. Licks of fire lave my sensitive
peak, followed by the sharp nip of teeth. My back arches, begging
for more.
With a powerful surge, Tobias sheaths his cock fully inside me,
my channel stretched wide. I moan and clench around him, inner
muscles rippling around his hard length.
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