8
999 Words
Ruby eyed the hourglass on the table where Portia sat before studying each couple intently. There was still a good twenty-seven minutes left, and she already wanted to run for the hills.
Not because Ethan was terrible.
On the contrary, he was quite easy on the eyes. Too easy.
He was tall. The kind of tall that would give her a neck cramp … somewhere between six-four and six-six. His shoulders were wide with rippling muscles that somehow made their presence known through his army-green tee. He had black hair so dark that it looked a little shiny. His eyes were an intense, dark blue, but the color wasn’t the only intense thing about the irises.
There was a whole lot of emotion there. They were swimming right under the surface of Ethan’s composure.
If she were another succubus, another woman, maybe even at a different point in her life, Ruby would have done her very best to seduce this fine piece of man. He had a nice pair of plump lips that could probably kiss better than most men. His hands were agile, and his entire demeanor and body screamed power.
But this was a holiday, and Ruby was having a bit of a day.
She wanted to run away from who … what … she was, but she couldn’t. Now here was this man, looking tasty as can be, and she didn’t want to f**k him on principle.
She was more than a succubus. She just had to be.
He had a good soul too. This Ethan was a decent person with a soul that would probably give her quite the haul in Hell, but Ruby didn’t want to collect it. She didn’t even want to feel compelled into doing it by her instincts.
Leave Hot Blue alone, she warned herself.
Portia watched them carefully, her head slightly turned toward them as if to listen in on their conversation. Ruby pitched her voice low, knowing her aunt would totally be spying on them. “If we pretend that we’re into each other and spend time together tonight and maybe even during the whole week, then she will leave us alone.”
“She?” Ethan frowned.
“Portia. The woman who organized this particularly terrible torture. If she thinks we’re vibing, she won’t bother us. It’s basically against her moral code to come between a couple and their feelings. She will leave us alone.”
Ethan’s frown deepened, and for one hot second, Ruby thought he would question a succubus’s moral code, but instead, he said, “It’s a resort. She should leave us alone.”
Ruby’s eyes rolled so fast that they nearly fell out of her head. “Right.” She snorted, not caring what this guy thought of her, no matter how delicious his forearms were. “Well, she is my aunt.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. My aunt, who just happens to be a succubus.”
“s**t,” Ethan hissed, looking back over his shoulder, no doubt meeting Portia’s keen eyes.
“Yeah. So. You see, my plan is genius.”
“Genius?” he shrugged. “It’s not dumb,” he amended.
Ruby pursed her lips at him. “Gee, thanks. You’re quite the charmer.”
“Not here to charm you or anyone else. I just want to make that clear.”
Ruby leaned toward him over the table and tapped his cheek. “Look, big guy, I get that you’re used to being king s**t or whatever.” She shrugged, rolling her eyes again. Seriously, if she did have to spend time with this guy, she would probably have some kind of eye-rolling injury.
Maybe it’s because you know looking at him for too long might cause permanent damage to your retinas. He is so hot.
“I am not impressed,” she told him in the same breath as she reminded herself. “I don’t wanna date you. I don’t wanna f**k you either.”
His frown, which had not yet left his face … a face she had to admit was the kind a woman could easily get obsessed with … overtook his features. “Well, gee, lady. Nice to meet you too.”
“I just mean that we can pretend to be into each other for the sake of simplicity.” She nudged her chin toward Portia, who was now zeroed on a witch and a demon a few tables down. “But I just want to make things clear. We can pretend to be into it, but it won’t actually happen.”
“It being …”
“Wild, sweaty, dirty, amazing s*x, yes. I mean, no. That won’t happen.”
“There had to be a simpler way to say that,” he pointed out. His entire body was tense now, and Ruby didn’t have to wonder why. She was a succubus, after all. She could nearly smell his arousal.
Gross.
But also hot.
“There might have been simpler ways to make my point, but you do remember I’m a succubus, right? I’m designed for sex.”
Oh, for the love of condoms and IUDs. She really needed to get her lust under control if she was going to keep Tall, Dark, and Blue out of her lady business.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Ethan said, pushing away from the table.
Before he could walk away, Portia appeared out of nowhere. “It hasn’t been thirty minutes yet. You must stay right where you are, sweetie.” She tapped his shoulder. “My, my. Aren’t you built well?” She giggled and shot her niece a meaningful look. “Sit down, Mr. Adair.”
“f*****g succubus,” Ruby muttered as Portia made her way to another couple.
“About that plan …” Ethan started. “Might be a good idea after all.”
Ruby wasn’t so sure anymore, but it beat the alternative.
- Writer
