But he’d done it again. He’d brought her to the peak and hadn’t let her climax.
She ground her teeth and clenched her fists tighter.
Bastard.
Would he come back tonight? If he did, she’d give him a piece of her mind. And she’d let him have it with her fists, this time. Or a well-placed knee to the balls.
Until last night she hadn’t thought he was real. Not truly. Well, maybe. He’d been a phantom, there but not there.
But he’s oh-so-real.
Ericka rubbed her temples with the heels of her palms. He was real. Real. But where did he come from? What about the disappearing act? Was she going crazy?
She pushed to her feet even though her legs trembled. She headed for the shower and wondered how the hell she was going to get any writing done today.
With a sigh, Ericka plopped on the bright patchwork couch in her living room, a heavy book in her lap. The book contained extensive accounts of people who believed they had been visited by Incubae or Succubae.
It was twilight, so she flicked on the antique lamp on the end table beside the couch. As the day had passed, Ericka felt like she was caught in a dream. Everything was so surreal, as if she was experiencing life outside her body. No matter what she tried, her mind wouldn’t stray from last night, and every other night Aedan had come to her.
She’d finally given up trying to write and put away her laptop and research books, with the exception of the book spread open in her lap now.
Ericka crossed her legs on the couch as she began to read. At first, her focus wasn’t so hot, but as she read, she fell deeper into the stories of countless people.
Some were nothing like what she’d experienced. But when she ran across one by a woman in Idaho, her heart started pounding against her breastbone. A man visited me, the woman had said. He had a perfect, muscular body, long dark hair…and gold eyes.
A wash of heat flowed over Ericka at the thought of another woman being with Aedan. The rush of jealousy surprised her and made her grind her teeth.
It had to be him.
The sex. Dear God. The woman, Betty something, claimed the man denied her an orgasm each night and would vanish before she climaxed.
Finally, when she made the promise he demanded, he brought her to completion.
He never returned.
What had Betty promised?
Ericka’s hands shook as she held the book, her gaze slowly moving down to the end of the woman’s story. Her heart lodged in her throat.
My soul, Betty said in the interview. I promised him my soul.
Ericka’s heart dropped from her throat to the pit of her stomach and she almost doubled over, feeling as if she might throw up. Sweat broke out on her skin and her body went from hot to cold, hot to cold.
It took long moments, but the sickness in her belly finally eased and her heartbeat slowed. When she collected herself, she took a deep breath and straightened, resting her back against the couch.
Aedan truly was a demon. An Incubus who had come to take her soul.
What he said last night suddenly made sense.
She’s not ready yet.
But she would have done it. That sick feeling weighted her belly again. All he’d had to do was ask, and she would have said yes without realizing what she was doing.
Ericka closed the book and set it aside on the couch as she stared at the window across the living room. The sheer curtains stirred. It was already dark and soon it would be time to go to bed.
Did she dare? Or should she pack her belongings into her SUV and drive through the night back to Seattle?
She rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts and swallowed hard. No, she wasn’t going to run. She was prepared, armed with the truth. She and Aedan had some unfinished business.
And no way in hell was he getting her soul.
Aedan stood at the veil between him and the Earth Otherworld. He watched Ericka pace as she glanced at her bed every now and then. Candlelight from the many candleholders around her room flickered and caused shadows to dance along the walls. A fat blue candle burned on her nightstand and he caught the scent of blueberries along with her vanilla scent.
She chewed on one of her nails while carrying a glass of red wine in her other. Every so often she would take a sip, before returning to pacing and chewing on her fingernail.
Instead of being naked, she wore a short, sheer gown. It didn’t hide a lot, but the meaning was clear. She was placing a barrier between them. No doubt because he had denied her again last night.
At the thought, his heart ached. He didn’t want anything between them.
It was well into the night when Ericka settled on her bed and put the now-empty wine glass on the nightstand. She remained sitting, her back propped against the pillows she’d stacked in front of the headboard. Her eyelids drooped despite her obvious efforts to keep her eyes wide open. She jerked awake a couple of times, then slid into an exhausted sleep.