“You want us to understand what it’s like to be pressured into doing something we don’t want to do,” she said, surprising and disappointing me with the correct answer.
“And how does it feel, Adira?”
Her hard gaze locked with mine.
“Continue to press this, and you will not enjoy the consequences.”
I tilted my head back and laughed as the dark thing inside of me stretched, luxuriating in its freedom. It was far from ready to lay dormant again.
My fingers tightened in Caldre’s hair as I stood. He whimpered, but not in pain. He leaned into me, clasping his arms around my legs.
“I haven’t even begun to press and am very much enjoying the consequences of your meddling. Remember, you brought this on yourself, Adira.”
The thing inside of me undulated, a provocative call for those around me to release their inhibitions and embrace their secret desires. The scents of everyone at the table spiked, and I could tell the moment Aurvandil won in his under-table struggle with Adira because she disappeared. The lust left in her wake was a heady mix of frustration and desire.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. The sweet, tangy taste of blueberries coated my tongue along with the savory notes of oregano and sage. It shouldn’t have been a good flavor combination, but it was. It slid down my throat and settled into my stomach, not nearly enough to satisfy that thing inside of me.
Caldre groaned beside me.
“I need more, Eliana. Do what she said, and finish what you started.”
His words rang like an alarm in my head, waking me to the reality of what I was doing. I didn’t know how to turn it off, though. Not when I was this hungry. So, just like when I fed from Mrs. Quill, I allowed myself three pulls. It was just barely enough for me to stop.
When I opened my eyes, Mr. Quill had Mrs. Quill in his arms as he kissed her passionately. Caldre was rubbing himself against my leg, and I didn’t even need to glance at Aurvandil to know what his hand was doing under the table.
Untangling myself from Caldre, I left the room and cut through the kitchen to the garage. Before I started my car, I switched from the killer heels to the comfortable fur-lined boots I had waiting in the passenger seat.
Tears ran down my face as I backed out of the driveway and started for the cabin.
My phone remained quiet the whole way, which I took as a good sign. Adira hadn’t gone running to my mom. I hadn’t imagined she would. I’d done everything she and Mrs. Quill wanted me to do. Well, everything they’d wanted me to do to some unsuspecting person, not to them.
I sniffled and wiped at my nose with the back of my hand. It felt like I’d just said goodbye to a piece of myself that I’d actually liked. While feeding from them hadn’t been hard to do, it hadn’t felt right, either. Probably because I hadn’t done it to feed but to punish.
The worst part was that I doubted my effort to prove my point would do any good. Adira would continue pushing. But at least she’d have a harder time finding me now, thanks to the druids.
Without intending to, I stopped at the turn for Blueleaf, dried my tears, and reached for my phone.
Me: I can’t remember…did I pay up on my hugs for today?
Fenris: One in the pool, but the one at the car was on the house. You still owe me one, why?
Me: I’m guessing you probably need a hug right now, and I’m on a roll with causing trouble tonight, so I’m thinking of crashing your mating party. Say the word.
Fenris: WORD! WORD!!
Laughing, I tossed my phone into my bag and turned onto the road. It didn’t take me long to realize I’d be walking a long distance when I saw a line of cars parked along the shoulder. It didn’t worry me, though. While I was still wearing the dress, I’d anticipated the long walk to the cabin and had packed a bag to make the trip more tolerable.
After wiping away the makeup smears from crying, I shimmied into leggings. The length of my shining red skirt mostly hid them, but I knew that by the time I layered one of Oanen’s flannels and jackets over the top, it wouldn’t much matter. I wasn’t trying to look pretty; I only wanted to be warm.
Locking the car and pocketing the keys with my phone, I started down the road. The wind caught my hair and played with the strands that had escaped the French twist I’d pinned to the back of my head.
I shivered lightly, but thanks to the group feeding, I wasn’t exactly cold. Unwilling to dwell on the less than pleasant aspects of my day, I focused on what had been good. Or I tried to. Between Piepen’s early morning visit, the pain of the spell removal, the slip at the springs, kicking Fenris out of his cabin, and then the wreck of a dinner, I wasn’t sure what exactly I had to be thankful for, other than surviving it all.
Yet, I still managed to tip my head to the stars and soak up the peace I found in that moment. I’d survived. I’d done the succubus thing and lived. And best of all, no one was trailing after me, begging for more affection.
Maybe today wasn’t a complete failure.
My phone buzzed, and I smiled at Fenris’s impatience.
That smile fled when I read the message, though.
Adira: Removing the spell was unwise as was tonight’s dinner. I expect you to comport yourself appropriately at tomorrow’s dinner.
I created a group message.
Me: Mom, Adira is requiring my presence tomorrow at dinner. Would you mind if I repaid tonight’s raincheck by asking you to join us at the Quills’? With all the demands Adira is putting on my time in an effort to force-feed me, I’m not sure how else I’ll be able to reschedule. Oh, and you might want to leave Dad at home. Dinner might end in an orgy, again, with both of us there.
Adira: Since you already have plans with your mother, I can arrange for another night.
Mom: Nonsense, Adira. Eliana and I will be delighted to dine with you. I look forward to tomorrow night.
Mom immediately sent me a separate message.
Mom: Call me.
Since I hadn’t yet reached the parking lot, I did as she asked and grinned when she answered with a joy-filled laugh.
“Baby, you are as intelligent as you are beautiful.” Her words cut out twice with silence. “She’s already trying to call me.”
“Don’t answer. Let her sweat.”
She chuckled.
“Oh, I plan to. Now tell me, how did dinner go? Did you create the trouble you’d hoped?”
“She brought two frost giants to dinner again. Brothers, but not twins. The younger one started touching himself when he saw me. The older one was more composed until I ordered him to kneel. He was rubbing himself against me just before Mr. and Mrs. Quill started making out and Adira disappeared.”
Mom was quiet for a long moment.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I know that wasn’t what you wanted.”
“But it’s what I needed to do to prove my point. No one likes to be made to do things they don’t want to do.” I sighed. “Since Adira’s already asking for another dinner, everything I did was for nothing.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away as I reached the parking lot. A sniffle echoed over the phone.
“I know you don’t want me to kill her, but if she keeps hurting you, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
I smiled slightly.
“Thank you for understanding, Mom. Knowing that you support me makes it easier to deal with her. I better go. Give Dad a hug for me.”