As I'd noted earlier, eye contact was a powerful thing. It took you away from the realm of superficial study and moved you into something deeper and more intimate. I favored the guys watching me with a heavy, sultry look - the look of a woman being f**ked within an inch of her life and who wanted nothing more than to do it with them next. It thrilled me to think of all the men I was arousing, of all of them aching for sex - of all of them aching for me.
In meeting the gazes of my admirers, I almost forgot that it was Jude who was behind me. It could be any of these men, and their expressions clearly showed that they'd be happy to trade places with him. I looked from face to face, imagining what each man would feel like, how each one would f**k differently. The thrill of it was so arousing that my wandering mind soon fantasized about having more than one at the same time. One in back, one in front...
One of Jude's hands gripped my hair and jerked my head back while the other hand still steadied itself on my hip. The rough maneuver pulled me out of my daydreams, but I was so turned on now that I welcomed his aggression. He thrust harder, driving me painfully into the chair, and I hoped it wouldn't fall over. The sweetness of his life energy coming into me continued building, and I felt his thoughts stream into me as well. So good, so good, so good.
And it was good. The voyeurs around us and him f**king me on my knees had aroused me to dizzying heights. The whole act was dirty and exciting and thrilling.
"So good, so good," I cried, echoing his thoughts. "Don't stop, don't stop, don't - oh."
Talk about irony.
The trick I'd used on Bryce or Bruce or whatever his name was had worked here too. Only, I hadn't actually wanted it to end this time. Maybe this was Jude's normal style - short and sweet - and not actually my doing. Regardless, it was done, and I hadn't even come. Damn it.
But I'd gotten my energy fix, a burst of life and wonder that had exploded into me with his orgasm. Ecstasy or no, he'd felt a pang of guilt at the last minute, regret over this continued desire to cheat on his wife. That guilt had been a bonus for me. Sin was subjective, and often, the magnitude of a sin was in the eye of the beholder. I'd gotten him to sin - which Hell always liked and gave me bonus points for - and I'd cracked his morals, giving me more energy than I would have stolen if he were completely corrupt. I felt that life reinvigorate my essence, fueling my immortality and ability to shape-shift.
He pulled out. I stood up from the chair, catching his hand as he started to stagger. A few people whistled and clapped.
Jude wore a look of wonder - and exhaustion. I handed him his pants.
"Wow," he gasped. "That was...wow."
"Yeah," I said with a grin. "I know."
CHAPTER 6
I hadn't realized how late it was until I showed up at Seth's around two. He actually wasn't writing for a change, and I found him sprawled on the couch, flipping through late night television programming.
"Hey," I said, dropping my coat and purse near the door. He glanced up from the TV. Its light cast ghostly shadows on his face in the darkness. "Sorry it's so late. Something came up."
"Yeah," he said, voice still flat. "I can tell."
Immediately, I caught his meaning. It was a sign of how well he'd come to know me and recognize subtle succubus signals. I was wreathed in Jude's life energy. Immortals would actually perceive it as a literal glow. Mortals couldn't see it, but they could sense something insanely alluring and attractive about me. Usually, they just wrote it off as a sign of my beauty. Seth knew better. When he sensed it around me, he knew what I'd been doing.
I hated for him to see me like this, but it was inevitable. "Sorry. It's what I do. You know that."
"Yeah," he agreed, sounding tired - mentally tired, not physically tired. He straightened up. "But did you have to do it tonight? You trying to punish me for standing you up?"
I sat down in the armchair across from him. The energy from Jude burned through me and made me feel alive. I didn't want a fight with Seth to ruin my good mood, particularly after I'd been so annoyed for most of the evening.
"I did it to survive. I wasn't trying to get back at you."
He sighed and stared off into a dark corner. "It's so hard sometimes."
I moved over to the couch, scooting up beside him. "I know."
He slid his arm around my shoulders and regarded me with a look both tender and exasperated. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against my neck. The small touch made my blood burn.
"God, you're beautiful. I just wish it wasn't the result of some other guy."
"Yeah," I said. "Me too."
"Sorry I blew up."
"You call that blowing up?" I asked. "That was nothing."
"And I'm sorry I stood you up. That wasn't right."
Seth had moved up my neck and now nibbled my ear. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back.
"It's okay," I assured him. "Really."
"You're awfully forgiving."
"Hey, what can I say? Christmas love and kindness, right?"
He laughed and ran his fingers through my hair. "For someone allegedly so evil, you sure are good."
"Well," I said, pressing into him. "I'm not that good. I'm thinking some very bad thoughts right now."
"Yeah. Me too. If our thoughts condemn us, I think I'm headed straight for Hell."
"No, you aren't. Hugh says your soul's like a supernova. You're going straight to the pearly gates."
Warm love and desire enfolded us, supplanting the cold tension. Yet as we curled up and chatted about light topics, I couldn't help but morosely think this was a common scene between us. Fight. Brood. Apologize. Snuggle. In all the fantasies of a stable relationship that I'd harbored over the last millennium, this pattern had never been a part of them.
After a while, we sort of surpassed snuggling and moved onto something of a more adult nature. At least I did. Sometimes Seth could be coaxed into sating his lust, though it always made him incredibly self-conscious. Me, I loved watching him come. He was always so damnably blasé that seeing him lose control in an orgasm almost did more for me than my own climax.
He apparently had the same feelings toward me and was content to simply watch me touch myself tonight. After not getting off with Jude, I was more than happy to take things into my own hands. When I finished, languid and content afterward, he lay down on the couch beside me, lacing his fingers with mine.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that," he sighed.
"You should finish yourself off."
"I'm okay."
"You sure?"
He smiled. "Self-control, Thetis. Self-control. Besides, I have a good imagination. Sometimes it's enough to pretend I'm the one doing that to you."
I shivered as an image of Seth played in my mind, his body inside of me while I came, muscles clenching around him as I cried out his name and dug my nails into his back.
"Jesus," I said softly, closing my eyes.
"Yeah."
We realized then that it was really late and started getting ready for bed. When I emerged from the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I found him waiting for me in the bedroom with a small box. He handed it over.
"I told you I had an early present."
I turned the package over in my hands, running my fingertips over the edges. It had been wrapped in gold paper and had a red bow. Judging from the sloppy wrapping and misaligned ribbon, I was willing to bet he'd wrapped it himself. I offered up a small grin.
"It's way too early. Presents before Christmas? That's not right. I mean, I'm not that evil."
He sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard, looking supremely pleased with himself. "Well, I am. I guess my soul just dimmed a little. Open it."
Sitting down as well, I hesitantly tore the paper. There was no question in my mind that this was a jewelry box. The question was: What kind? Seth occasionally showed a romantic spirit, but he wasn't the type to do anything crazy like propose. At least I didn't think so.
Hoping for a tennis bracelet, I instead found a ring. But it wasn't an engagement ring, not in the current way of thinking. It was one of the modern recreations of the Byzantine rings. Only this wasn't one of the ones we'd seen at Erik's, not exactly. It was platinum for one thing, glowing soft and silvery in the dim lighting. The smooth disc on top had a dolphin engraved in it, decorated with a few tiny, embedded sapphires.