Chapter 4

Gene purred in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. "Anytime. Just let us know when you're ready, and that's one wish we can make come true."

Disturbed on so many levels, most of them erotic ones that screamed at me to get naked for some sweaty fun, I moved out from between them. The space separating us didn't help. Looking upon them standing side by side, I had to fight the urge to throw myself back on them and take them up on the offer.

So different looking, yet each tempting in his own way... I needed to leave before I got in too deep - or, should I say, they got into me deliciously deep. But I still had so many questions.

I'd opened my mouth to voice them when music started playing. Given it was an old eighties song titled "Push It," it kind of went with the moment.

"I approve of your choice in songs. But I'll be more intrigued by the act." And there was that heat in my cheeks again as Gene arched a brow and grinned at me devilishly.

Talk about them keeping me off balance. Perhaps I was still fighting off the effects of the drug. For distraction, I followed the singing to my purse, which Simon had apparently rescued along with me. Any moment, I expected them to forbid me from answering, but they allowed me to dig out my pink smartphone from my purse. They didn't do or say a thing when I answered. "Hello."

Claire's voice squealed in my ear. "Where the hell are you? Lana said she went to your room to see if you wanted coffee and your bed hadn't been slept in. Are you okay? Do you need us to rescue you?" How I loved my friends, the first people in what seemed like forever to give a damn about me.

I waited for Claire to take a breath and then hurried to reassure her. "I'm fine. I was waylaid after work, but a Good Samaritan came to my rescue."

"Oh my God. He must have been hot for you to spend the night. You've never done that before." Claire couldn't hide the awe in her tone. She knew me so well, but, in this instance, was wrong.

"It's not like that," I stammered. "Listen, I'll be home in a bit and explain everything."

"Lana says you had better bring some donuts and coffee for giving her a heart attack."

"I will." I hung up on Claire, my overprotective roommate who turned furry and floppy-eared every full moon. Think that was strange? Then you needed to meet my other roommate and BFF, Lana, the siren who was scared of the sea.

"Everything okay?" Simon asked.

"My roommates got freaked when they saw I didn't make it home last night."

"No boyfriend's place to sleep over?" Gene queried.

"Is this you way of asking if I'm single?"

"I'm sorry, was that subtle? Let me correct that. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not for long she isn't," Simon muttered from where he leaned against the counter.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Look at me, sounding so prim. But I couldn't deny a flare of excitement at their inquiry into my nonexistent dating life. Keeping a boyfriend was hard. Humans couldn't handle my hungers on a regular basis, which made monogamy impossible. Guys couldn't handle that.

"Oh, it is our business. You're our business."

Simon's words held a stark promise that I didn't understand. Peeking at him, I caught him staring at me intently. He might not be an incubus or a vampire, yet that was definitely hunger in his gaze. A hunger for me.

"Now, now, my big friend. No scaring off the sexy cutie." Gene turned to me with a wide smile. "Ignore him. Simon, for all his age, doesn't date much and has little experience wooing a woman."

"In my day, we didn't woo, we took." The big man crossed his arms over his chest.

"Welcome to the modern age where women get to choose," was my tart reply. It hid the warmth that his direct words ignited. "Now, while this has been most interesting, I do have to leave. However, I'd like to meet with you guys again." At their matching sensual smiles, my tummy did a flip. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I want to meet for information."

"But the gutter is so much more fun."

"I prefer a bed," Simon interjected.

"If you'd rather not answer my questions..." I replied.

Gene's grin widened. "Anything you want to know, feel free to ask - or, even better, touch."

As come-on lines went, his was laughably crude, but it worked, dammit. My hand almost reached for him. Bad hand.

Simon shook his head at his friend. "And you say I'm too direct. But in answer to your request, Beth, yes, you may contact us. You're not the only one who is curious. I'll program my number in your phone while you dress."

"Or she could just make a wish," Gene said with a short bow in my direction.

Did that actually work? I might just have to give it a try.

"Speaking of clothes, can I borrow this T-shirt?" I asked, mentally wincing as I imagined the state of my outfit from the previous night - ripped and bloody, and while the wounds on my flesh had healed during my forced nap, I doubted I could say the same for my clothes. Or so I assumed. After all, I hadn't undressed myself.

I wonder if Simon liked what he saw.

"I can do better than that old T-shirt," Simon replied with a grin. "In the bathroom, you'll find everything you need. And if I haven't lost my touch, the right size. Just go back to the bedroom and you'll find the ensuite bathroom."

I left the guys and went back to the bedroom, easily finding the clothes on the bathroom vanity. The leggings were a perfect fit, as were the bra, clean panties, and top. He'd even provided a pair of slip-on shoes. All of it was brand spanking new - and white, surprise! - which raised some interesting questions. Had he gone shopping while I was passed out, or had he borrowed them from a female friend? Maybe they're his girlfriend's.

An unfamiliar feeling gripped me at the last thought, and I was shocked to realize it was jealousy. A strange reaction for what had been a really odd day, even for someone like me.

Exiting the bedroom, I found the two men facing off, but at my arrival, they turned with smiles that did nothing to hide the tension bristling between them.

"Well, thanks for helping me out." I gathered my purse from the side table and took my phone from Simon's extended hand.

"How are you getting home?" Simon asked.

"Oh, I'll just grab a cab."

"Nonsense," said Gene, stepping around Simon's restraining arm. "Just tell me where to take you."

"No need to go out of your way. Besides, I need to get donuts and coffee on the way, or my roommates will shoot me."

"Done." Gene snapped his fingers, and a moment later, he held a tray with three steaming Styrofoam cups and a box of donuts.

Cool. And now I was curious. "So, if I tell you I live at 555 Parkview Crescent, you going to snap your fingers and call up a flying rug?"

"Stand here next to me and you'll find out," Gene replied with a wide smile.

Simon snorted. "You are such a showoff."

"Not my fault I'm so awesomely talented."

My turn to make a noise as they bantered back and forth. "You can show me your super genie powers in a second." Because I had one more thing to do before I left. I walked over to Simon and grabbed his shirt to yank him down. He didn't resist, and the scent of him, fresh and brisk, surrounded me. I plastered a kiss on his mouth and whispered, "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Anytime," he rumbled.

What I intended as a small kiss turned into a panty wetter as his big hands swept around to cup my buttocks and lift me so he could thoroughly thank me with his tongue for thanking him.

Talk about electric.

When he set me down, I was a tad wobbly and so freaking horny I wanted to tear his clothes off and ride him until the cows came home. Which would be never because I'd shoot them first so it could last forever.

Yeah, I enjoyed the kiss that much.

But Gene, with a, "Hey, can I join in?" ruined the moment, and I stepped back, stunned at my reaction to a simple kiss.

I so needed to get out of there. Needed to regain some clarity and equilibrium.

"Ready, hot stuff?" At Gene's beckoning fingers, I moved over, casting a last glance at Simon, who steadily regarded me with those intense green eyes.

The genie spread his arms and beckoned for me to stand between them, his outstretched hands still holding the coffee house delights.

"Ala Samantha," he announced, and wiggling his nose, he took me home in the blink of an eye.

As transportation went, I liked it. Fast, free, and I would assume environmentally friendly. Even better, it didn't have same tummy-churning vertigo of the bottle visit.

"Thanks for the ride." I held out my hands for the breakfast treats, and with a resigned sigh, he handed them over.

"I guess this means you're not going to ask me up?" He waggled his brows at me hopefully.

His engaging grin almost did me in, but knowing the inquisition awaiting me upstairs, I resisted. "I doubt you'd enjoy the major girl gab fest. They're going to want all the details. Which reminds me," I said, my eyes widening as I chastised myself for my distraction. "What happened to the vamps that attacked me last night? Should I be looking for a new job?" Or looking to move to a new zip code?

"Vamps?" Gene scoffed. "I doubt you have anything to fear. Simon would have dispatched them before bringing you home. He can't stand the nasty creatures and takes great delight in sending them to the great beyond." Then, as if realizing what he'd said, he stammered. "Well, not that he'd hurt you, of course. You're not really a vamp, even if you - Ah, screw this." He stopped talking and, in a motion too fast for me to track, plastered a hot kiss on me that left my legs shaking and my pussy screaming, "Take me, now." Then, without even a goodbye, Gene, my genie out of his bottle - and I suspected partly out of his mind - left. And silly me, I was sorry to see him go.

I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, the elevator being on the fritz again. I consoled myself with the fact that the exercise meant I could eat more donuts. I'd just made it to the door when it was flung open, and Claire, hands on her hips, stood glaring at me.

"Just where have you been all night, young lady?" she asked sternly. Then she burst into giggles. "Get in here and tell us what happened. And where did you get those wholesome clothes? I've never seen you cover up so much of your body. Is this a new fad?"

I smiled at Claire's babble and walked into the home we'd built ourselves. A collection of mismatched furniture and knickknacks, there was no rhyme or reason to our decorating other than comfort. Lana waved at me from the couch, her feet dipping in a basin of water, probably liberally laced with salt. While tap water helped hydrate her, she needed briny water to truly make her siren side comfortable. Given her irrational fear of the ocean - which I swore I'd keep a secret - she made do with baths, both the full body and foot ones.

We'd learned the hard way that a PMS-ing siren who craved saltwater was nothing to joke about. Although the singing was quite pretty if you managed not to kill yourself while listening to it.

Claire, bouncy and energetic like her werebunny alter ego - and the Energizer one - perched on the couch arm, still babbling.

"So, what happened? Bruno said you left before doing your second set, and he was not happy, by the way. Especially since Bernie skipped off on the job."

Probably because Bernie was dead. But given they didn't mention his body, I had to wonder what had happened to his remains.

I handed out coffee while I debated what to tell them. While we knew each other's secrets, I tended to gloss over the more violent side of my existence. "I'll deal with Bruno when I go in tonight." A smile and stroke of his hand and he'd forgive me anything, a plus from my succubus side. "I had to leave. Some of the guys from the days I was locked up found me at the club." The girls knew all about my past. The only two people I'd ever trusted enough to tell. And I told them mostly so they knew what they were getting into when they hooked up with me.

I'd tried to resist them, tried to stay a loner, but Claire and Lana were determined to be my friends. And I loved them for it. I just hoped my friendship wouldn't kill them.

"Dey fund you?" Lana, mid-chew on a chocolate donut, choked and spat out a gooey mouthful. "That's not good."

Claire's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. "No shit that's not good." The foul word coming from her dainty mouth never failed to make me smile. "What happened?"

"I fought them with a little help." A giant who cleaned their clocks and then rescued me princess style without once taking advantage - the jerk. I omitted the bloody, killing part in my retelling.

"But they're vampires," Lana said, her eyes narrowing. "So who was nuts enough to jump in and help you? Or should I say what?"

"Well, I never did find out what Simon was, although I do guarantee he's not human." That got the girls bouncing in excitement.

"Is he hot?"

"Does he have a brother?"

I laughed at their reaction. "He is drop-dead gorgeous and built like an ox. And while I didn't find out if he had a brother, he does have a friend who's a genie."

Claire squealed, and Lana leaned forward eagerly. "This I need to hear about."

I told them about waking up at Simon's place and meeting Gene. They giggled when they learned about his actual bottle. They sighed over my description of both men and exclaimed when they heard how I'd gotten home with magically produced donuts.

Lana held her donut in front of her and eyed it suspiciously. Shrugging, she took a bite. "Damn, for a magic donut, it sure tastes good."

"So when are you seeing them again?" Claire asked.

Good question. "I don't know. Simon programmed his number in my phone, and Gene jokingly said he'd come if I wished for him. But I don't know. How do I know I can trust them?"

Lana fixed me with a piercing stare. "Oh please. They had ample opportunity to hurt or take advantage of you, and instead, you made it home, unmolested, bearing food and dressed like a nun."

True. Maybe I should have phrased it differently, like I don't know if I can trust myself around them because since the moment I met them all I want to do is touch them - and lick them, and ride them, and take them up on their offer of a sandwich. A first for me since I usually fed my succubus need for sexual energy with one partner at a time. I did, after all, still have some warped set of morals.

"I think you should call them and set up a dinner date. It's about time you had a man feed you," Claire said.

A snicker escaped me, given her statement could be taken a few ways.

Poor Claire, she stammered as she added, "I mean the kind of food you put in your mouth." Her voice trailed off as she spoke and I laughed harder. Her cheeks turned a tomato red.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Beth. And Claire, don't let her screw with you. I think we all understood you meant real food and not the other kind," Lana said dryly.

As my mirth died, I pondered her suggestion. "I will admit I'm curious. They knew what I was right away. And they implied they'd met others like me before, although, by the sounds of it, they were all killed."

"All the more reason to find out more," urged Lana, the usually levelheaded one. With her encouraging me, I felt more confident that my desire to call was reasonable and not just hormone driven.

"So when are you going to do it?" asked Claire, bouncing again in excitement.

"Don't you mean do them?" I laughed at Claire's red cheeks. For a waitress in a strip joint, she was fairly prudish when it came to sex. Actually, if I were to believe her - and I did - she'd only ever been with one guy, and a piss-poor one at that, judging by the way she shied from relationships. She avoided advances from men, and the times I'd questioned her about her reticence, she claimed she was waiting for the one. I thought it was cute, even though I didn't believe in love myself. Not that I didn't think I could fall in love. I was sure I could. But given my succubus side, any man who ever declared himself - and they were many - did so not because he knew and liked the real me, but because my pheromones made him.

And yet Simon had resisted me. Could it be that love still remained an option for me, albeit with guys who'd missed the boarding call for humanity's ship?

It was nice to have hope.

"I'll call them in a day or two." I didn't want to seem too eager to see them again, even if I missed the guys already. They'd certainly made an impression on me. And when I masturbated in the shower, I didn't imagine one or the other as I stroked my slick flesh. Screw that, I fantasized about them both together with me.