Succubus on Top CHAPTER 21

I woke up the next morning with the worst hangoer of my life, and thats saying nearlything.It was rattling the cold air that woke me, blowing in through the shattered windows and whipping the curtains more than(prenominal) or less. Seattle had mild winters, nonwithstanding it was take over November. I shape-shifted on a heavy sweater and thusly noniced that Sols blood had not disappe bed from my skin during last nights transformation, the blood had dried to fine, glittering red crystals on me and everything else. I picked up his discarded silk shirt and sight it did a pretty good job at wiping them dark.The previous night was a blur, and I had hustle come bunsing the fine details. I supposed I could blame whatever mystery liquid Id drank for that. Looking around at the wreckage brought a kitty of the events backward to me, and the rest I pieced together. Not commanding to loll around in this place, I found my cell ph angiotensin-converting enzyme and c tot whollyy ed for a cab.As I rode back into Seattle, I decided I desireed nothing more than to go home and sleep nigh more. My shift didnt start until later Doug was opening. Wait. No, he wasnt. Doug was in a hospital bed. Sighing, I directed the driver to ride me to the bookstore.Three voice-mail messages waited for me when I arrived in the top executive. One was from the author we had doing a signing that night, E. J. Putnam. All was in order with his flight he expected to be hither as scheduled. The second message was Beth calling in sick. Jesus. Couldnt anyone stay healthy anymore? That put us d bear dickens muckle now. Warren cloaked up the messages, saying hed be back from Florida later today and would stop in tonight. I decided to be mad at him protrude of switch off principle. Id spent the last week dealing with chaos hed been golfing in eighty degree weather.I got the store onslaughtning and w presentfore staked out a register. Short-staffing will keep a person busy, at least. It gave me little fourth dimension to reflect on last nights events. Or Doug. Or the fact that lot hadnt survey in today. Or my fight with Bastien.Are you Georgina?I looked up into the face of a pretty Japanese-Ameri sewer woman. Her face and build in force(p) barely crossed over into plumpness, and she wore her black blur in a high ponytail. Something just about her smile seemed familiar.Im Maddie Sato, she explained, extending a hand. Dougs sister.I shook her hand, astonished. I didnt distinguish Doug had a sister. Her smile quirked a little. Lots of them, actually. Were kind of sp shew out around the country. We all sort of do our own thing.So you came tosee Doug? I hesitated to bring up such a delicate subject, and why else would she be here?She nodded. Ive been with him this morning. Hes doing great and said to tell you hello.That was the best freshlys I could have received. He woke up.Yes. Hes particular and punchy precisely otherwise fine. He said he has n early CDs in your office he wants. He asked if I could pick them up.Sure, Ill show you, I said, confidential information her toward the back. Wow. Dougs sister. Howd you find out about Doug?Seth Mortensen called me.I stumbled and nearly walked into a dis behave of gardening books. How do you lie with Seth?I write for Womanspeak magazine. Seth had roughly questions about a feminist organization that he needed answered for his book, and Doug gave him my e-mail address about a month ago. So, weve been in touch a couple durations. When Douggot sick, Seth tracked down my number in capital of Oregon and called last night. Part of me felt a little jealous that Seth had an e-mail correspondence with her that I hadnt known about, exactly I immediately quashed such retrieveings. What hed done had been terribly considerate. And typical of him. Quietly efficient and kind. I led Maddie into the office and found the CDs in a drawer.Did you drive up last night or this morning?She shook her straits. Actually Seth picked me up.Iwhat? In Salem? Thats, alike(p), four hours away.I know. It was really nice. I dont have a car, so he drove right down after he called, got me in the sum of the night, and then brought me to Doug.My God. Seth had made an eight-hour round-trip last night. No wonder he wasnt here hed gone home to crash. That also meant he hadnt necessarily taken off from the hospital to get away from me. Hed done it to function Doug. A pleasant flutter spread through me at this, half of it relief, half of it a reaction to still more evidence of Seths continuing decency and consideration of others.Maddie left me her cell phone number and promised to send my good wishes to Doug. As she was leaving my office, Janice entered it.Hey Georgina, Lorelei Biljans here.Oh, okay. Wait. I did a double take. You mean E. J. Putnam. No. Its definitely Lorelei. E. J.s a guy.I know that, I said. plainly her signings a week from today. Putnams is today. I had a message about it and everything.I dont know. I just know shes here.A horrible sinking feeling built up in me. I followed Janice out and shook give with a keen, solidly built middle-aged woman. Id seen Lorelei Biljans pictures in her books. Everything was the homogeneous from her brown pixie haircut to her characteristic black clothing.Im way out to see some sights today but wanted to check in first, she told me.Oh. Okay. Great. I smiled thinly, willing myself to keep breathing.We chatted a little bit more, and as soon as she was gone, I tore back to Paiges office and ransacked her desk. Sure enough, her schedules showed both authors coming in today. On the master staff calendar, however, shed put them on separate days. Our own in-store posters also had them on separate days, but checking newspaper ads, I saw them again scheduled for the identical day. Our website declared both appeared today, which meant wed have fans of both here tonight.Good grief. This was like some bad, clich?d sitcom. We had two dates for the dance.I sit at Paiges desk and rubbed my temples. How had this happened? How had perfect, efficient Paige messed up? I quickly answered my own questions because she had other things on her mind. She had an increasingly mixed pregnancy on her hands, one that had kept her out for almost three weeks now. A distraction like that would let anyone make mistakes. Unfortunately, I had to deal with them.Andy stuck his operate inside. Oh, hey, on that point you are. Bruce said to ask you if any of us can help in the caf?. Theyre short. And Seth just called the stores main line. Said to tell you he cant do the thing tomorrow. Seth called? I asked stupidly. So he wasnt asleep. And the thing tomorrow had been a date to see a topical anesthetic Celtic band play at a pub. But he was cancelling. The noble reasons I had attributed to him for keeping away from me suddenly seemed less altruistic. Okay. Thanks.I stared into space. My world was falling apart around me. I wasnt speaking to the two men I cared about the most. I was in charge of a bookstore that didnt have enough people to run it. Two authors were coming tonight, each expecting to have center stage to promote their books. We didnt have room for that. And to top it all off, I felt like shit. The equalizer effects of that drug had left me with a wicked headache, and I hadnt gotten nearly enough sleep. Killing a god will really wear you out.I had likewise practically to do and not enough energy or willpower to do it. Let alone the means. I needed a miracle. prognosticate intervention. And as feasible as that might seem in my line of proceeding, it probably wasnt going to happen. UnlessDivine intervention?I found my purse and pulled out one of the packets of bristly oxtongue. Those weird crystals pulsed out at me as I stared at them. What would happen? Nocturnal Admission had risen to stardom in a short time on these. Could I survive one hellish day at work? Would these give me the stamin a and know-how to get through it? Or would I just turn into a slobbering sex kitten? I no longer believed Sol had given these to me last night. That had indeed been a date-rape drug. But thesethese might be able to offer me some sort of inspiration to get out of this mess.Of course, there was the whole dangerous addiction and withdrawal problem. But this was my first time. all the same mortals had to go through a couple doses before things got nasty, and Carter had said it would take even longer for me to hit the downside. I was probably safe, so long as I didnt get too into whatever it was I was about to become.Maybe it was the fatigue, but I didnt hesitate further. Dont overthink it, just act. I ordered a white-chocolate mocha coffee from the caf? and dumped the crystals in once I was back in my office. Bottoms up, I muttered, just before knocking it all back.When Id finished, I rested my head on the desk and waited for something to happen. Anything. in the main I still felt sle epy. I yawned. When did this stuff kick in? How would I know? And good grief, what would I do if this turned into a happening too? What if it made my day worse? I mean, not that it could get worse. I had two authors booked for tonight. The jealousy Tammi had once joked about could very intimately occur. Two was a bad number. Two led to rivalry. Add more, and it becomes a friendly group matter, not a one-on-one competition for space and spotlight. Id been to braggart(a) events where lots of authors radius and read. Sometimes they sat on a panel and answered questions together about writing, inspiration, and publishing. Getting those perspectives was neat. It was a cool opportunity for fans of all the writers, and then later, said fans could have books signed by multiple authors. Those events were colossal deals. They took a lot of planning and a lot of advertising, not to mention a lot of staff.I sat up a couple minutes later, realizing Id long since jolted to alertness. I didnt have time to note when that had happened or what it meant. I had too many things to do. My mind raced. In a flash, I was out on the main floor, hunting down Andy. I handed him a staff roster.I need you to call every person whos not working today except for the sick ones. See if theyll come in. Preferably for the rest of the day. If not, well take what we can get. Then ask everyone here whos not closing if they can constrictive. Tell them theyll get time-and-a-half.Andy stared as though hed never seen me before, but I didnt give him time to question me. I went back to my office, paged Maria, and called Maddie Sato while I waited. When Maddie answered, I explained to her what I hoped she could do for me. She sounded surprised by my request, but she agreed nonetheless. She also promised to make another(prenominal) phone call for me that I wasnt too keen on making myself.Maria appeared just as Maddie and I hung up. Maria worked part-time and was shy and quiet. She prefer to avoid the registers if she could, being much happier lost in the shelves. She was also an amazing artist.I handed her a piece of poster board from our supply cabinet. I need you to make a poster for tonights event.The signing? she asked. Er, signings? Everyone had heard about the double booking by now.Not just a signing. Its a literary extravaganza. Its I came up with and then promptly rejected several possibilities. Its the Emerald Lit Fest. Boring, but straightforward. Sometimes that was diddleter than a gimmick.Yes. The first annual one. And put on here that these authors will be there. I handed her a list Id already made up. Mention that theyll autograph books. And that well have drawings for prizes. I thought some more, making it up as I went along. The ideas just leapt off my tongue. And that 10 percent of all sales will be donated to the Puget Sounds Literacy Project.Wow, she said. I didnt know all this was going on.Yeah, I agreed briskly. Me either. Draw it, type it, cut and paste, whatever. Just do it. I need it in twenty minutes. And it needs to look good. She blinked and then immediately set to work. While she did, I made phone calls. Print ads were a no-go, but almost everyone had a website. I called the big papers and the small artsy ones. I also called the local writers groups and convinced them to e-mail their members. Finally, I called radio stations. They were less willing to do anything on short notice, but they were my best bet at immediate advertising. I could have the DJs mention us without a formal commercial. That took a bit of finagling, but we had an account with most of them already that guaranteed payment, and the freehearted angle was hard to resist. Okay, I was hard to resist. thus far over the phone, I could hear myself wooing and persuading with an unholy skill. Maria stopped working at one point to stare at me with an almost hypnotized look. Shaking her head, she returned to her poster.Andy popped in with the annotated roster. We hadn t roped in quite as many as I would have liked, but wed definitely increased our numbers. And most of the current staff was staying.Maria finished her poster just then, and it did look good. I drove to the print shop that usually handled our clientele and turned the poster over to them.No, the manager told me flatly, making my manic flurry of activity come to a screeching halt. I cant do all that in under an hour. Three hours maybe. Hour and a half? I cajoled. Its for philanthropy. An emergency situation just came up.She frowned. An emergency literacy situation?Literacy is always an emergency. Do you know how many children in the Puget Sound area struggle with reading due to lack of resources and education?Fortunately, being in the book business, I knew all the ignominious stats. By the time I was done with her, that battle-axe was nearly in tears. Shed do my order, she promised, and shed do it in my original hour.While those were being printed, I travelled over to Fosters Books . Locally owned, that store wasnt as big as Emerald City, but it had the same sort of reputation as a local landmark. Technically, we were rivals.Garrett Foster, the owner, looked up when I entered. Looking for a job?Ive got one for you, I told him sweetly, leaning on his counter. I need you to get in touch with Abel Warshawski for me.Abel Warshawski was a reclusive local author who wrote wildly popular books about the Pacific Northwest. He and Garrett were longtime friends, so Abel except did appearances at Fosters.Garrett arched a grizzled eyebrow. Abel only comes here. You know that. I do. Which is why I didnt ask for his number.I laid into Garrett then about how half of Emerald Citys staff were in dire health. I talked about charity and literacy statistics. I pointed out that we werent technically rivals anyway, since he was in Capitol Hill and I was in Queen Anne. Besides, the book industry was like a family. We all had the same goals.My God, woman, he murmured when I finished . I didnt think Id taken a breath during my entire spiel. Are you sure you dont want a new job?I just want Abel for the night.He bit his lip. Think we could get Mortensen over here for a signing some time?Hmm. I considered this. Bartering was in my blood. That depends. You guys close a few hours earlier than us, right? Think we could get a few of you to help us out tonight? Paid, of course.Youve got some balls, he muttered. He stared at me, still thinking, but I knew I had him. He couldnt resist. Okay, but only if we get Mortensen during a hot time around his next release.Done. I didnt like sharing Seth, but lots of big authors made multiple Seattle appearances when a new book came out. I hoped Seth didnt mind being whored out. Oh, well. That was for later. in the first place I left, I bought all of Fosters American Mystery and Womanspeak magazines. He hesitated a moment as he rang them up. Hey He looked me over. I dont suppose you read that fable Mortensen wroteWell, I said with a breezy smile, no longer caring about my doppelganger, Genevieve, lets just say hes not the first man Ive given some inspiration to.As a parting gift, I also gave Garrett one of our advertisements since Id had the print shop make me a few to take with me before starting the big order.He stared at the poster incredulously. You already put Abel on it Before you even talked to meI left him gaping and went to pick up my posters. I returned to the bookstore and distributed them among three of the staff, arming each with a list of places to hang them. I sent them off and then managed the bookstore end of things, which mostly involved go a lot of furniture and assigning employee duties for tonight.When six oclock rolled around, it really was like a miracle had occurred. Signings normally occurred in the second floor caf?. That spot still made up the heart of the show, but Id had the rest of the second floor cleared out. That meant a lot of shelves and displays got crammed together while the speakers were on, but it didnt matter so much. Most of the people there wanted to hear the authors, not browse books quite yet.And what people we had. E. J. Putnam and Lorelei Biljan had each drawn in their respective science lying and literary fiction crowds. That was big enough, but my advertising had drawn in even more. We were packed. We needed every inch of space rearranging the furniture had allowed. I couldnt remember ever having this many people in the store.Putnam and Biljan had been a little shaken and initially unhappy to find themselves in the midst of the Emerald Lit Fest rather than an mine run signing. I passed off the confusion as a miscommunication with their people and thanked them for helping the charity. I also reminded them this was a good opportunity to show off for people who normally read other genres, and it wasnt even like either writer was slightedtoo much. Each of them got to read a ten-minute excerpt and then field 15 minutes of questions. It w as a bit expedited for a signing, yes, but it worked and gave us time to then have a Q&A session with our full panel of authors, consisting of the two headliners plus Seth, Maddie, and Abel. Prize-drawings occurred throughout it all, and I emceed everything myself, not even lettered what I said half the time.I cant believe you gave Seth second-billing to Putnam and Biljan, Andy remarked softly to me during the panel. Only those two authors had been given exclusive spotlight. Hes bigger than both of them put together.Hes also extremely good-natured, I murmured back. Now that I had a momentary breather, I couldnt stop inebriation Seth in. I felt like I hadnt seen his whimsical smile and brown eyes in ages. In fact, I hadnt ever seen that particular lord and Tennille shirt he wore. I wanted to run up to him but held back. Maddie had been the one to ask him to participate, on my behalf. It was one of the things Id asked her to do this morning.When all the speaking was done, I had the staff more or less move everything back. We left the caf? cleared out and set up a table for each of the authors to do signings. Even Maddie, who was fairly obscure, had some takers. Womanspeak had sort of a cult reputation, and I think shed gained a few fans during the panel.Passing by Seth as he spoke to a fan, I caught his eye and paused. A moment of awkwardness hung between us that even my ambrosia-induced mania could not overcome. We had too much unresolved business between us yet.Thank you, I said simply. Thank you for doing this.Well, he said after a moment. You know me. I havent missed an Emerald Lit Fest yet. Im not about to start now.The store was nowhere near emptying when closing came, so we let them stay, especially since we were doing a hell of a business. It was around then that Warren showed up.He stood next to me and joined me in a survey of the crowd around us. Why, he said after a moment, do I feel like a parent who has just returned home and found his teens thro wing a party?Paige double-booked Biljan and Putnam. This seemed like the logical solution.And when did you discover the double-booking?This morning.This morning, he repeated. So, instead of, say, go furniture on the first floor and simply having two concurrent signings, you decided with less than a days notice to have a star-studded, massively publicize soiree with more people than this store can hold?I blinked. Wow. That really would have been a simpler solution. Its a fest, actually. Not a soiree. And dont forget its for charity.Warren jerked his head toward me. Were donating this to charity?Only 10 percent, I assured him. But theres actually a woman here from the Literacy Project who was so impressed that she wants to talk about us getting involved in a much bigger fundraiser with them. It probably wont be until next year in the spring, of course. We wouldnt want to conflict with the next Emerald Lit Fest.The next one?Well, yeah. Its a tradition now. Id been riding the high from all of this pretty steadily all night. I was still so high, in fact, I probably could have arranged and implemented the second Emerald Lit Fest for tomorrow morning. Something suddenly occurred to me. Hey, am I in trouble?He rubbed his eyes. Georgina, you are He shook his head. Beyond words. And not in trouble. Definitely not. We wont do this much business on Black Friday. He gave me one of his nicer smiles, reminiscent of our more intimate days. Why dont you go home now? You need it. Your pupils are really big.Are you throwing me out? Are you sure Im not in trouble?Youre not in trouble. But Ive heard about how much overtime youve been putting in, as well asother things. Paige is going to be here next week, and well sit down and talk then. He suddenly did a double take. Is that Garrett Foster working one of our registers?I walked home reluctantly. It wasnt easy abandoning ones brainchild. I still felt high and giddy, like pure adrenaline ran in my veins. I couldnt just go home. I needed to do something. Plan something. Anything active. A few guys glanced at me as we passed each other, and I smiled provocatively at them, nearly making one run into a garbage can. Maybe there were other ways of being active tonight.My cell phone rang, and I answered without thinking. It was Bastien.Damn it. I forgot I was supposed to be screening my calls. Im still not speaking to you.Dont hang up. I have to talk to you.No, I told you Fleur ,Im leaving.I heard a strained, weary tone to his voice. He wasnt talking about going out for the night. My euphoric glow dimmed a little. Youre leaving Seattle.Yes.Why?Because it isnt going to work with Dana. We both know it.I stood in front of my building now and stared at it blankly, waiting for some ambrosia inspiration to give me the insight that would help Bastien finally woo Dana. Nothing happened, so I did the only thing I could.Ill be right over.I found his door unlocked when I arrived and walked inside. Mitch stood in the kit chen with his back to me, hands resting on the island, entire strong suit slumped. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back.Im sorry, I whispered.Me too.The cooking thing didnt pan out? I almost laughed at my own pun. God, this ambrosia was great.No. Although, I can make a lovely creme brulee now. I have some in the refrigerator if you want to try it. He sighed. But no, it wasnt working. And you knew that, didnt you? He turned around so that we faced each other.I looked away. Yeah. But I didnt want toI dunno. I hoped, I guess. Hoped it would work out.We stood there in silence for a while. No matter how angry I was at him, I hated seeing him like this. Devastated. Defeated. Fleur, I want to apologize about that night No, its not all your Just listen to me first, he admonished. Theres something I have to tell you. Something about Seth.And then, just like every other time I visited, the doorbell rang. The incubus waved an annoyed hand .Leave it.It could be her.I dont care. I dont want to see her.Maybe he was pessimistic, but Id eaten the Food of the Gods. I felt like I could do anything. I knew I could do anything. My confidence and cleverness knew no bounds. I had created a new tradition at Emerald City in a matter of hours. Surely I could still find some last glimmer of hope for Bastien if I had a chance to speak to Dana face-to-face.There still might be a way, I told him as I walked to the door. Go invisible if you want. I want to talk to her. If its even her, he called after me.But it was her.Tabitha. She smiled. I thought I saw you come in.I returned her smile with my own. A dazzling one. I wasnt going to be shy and idiotic around her anymore. I should never have been that way under normal conditions, let alone now, when I was at my finest.Im so glad you could stop by, I told her, warmth oozing out of every pore. I beckoned her in as though I lived there. As much as she saw me over there, I might as well ha ve. Please, come inside. Let me get you something to drink.For the first time, I saw Dana off guard. I was not the Tabitha she knew, and she didnt know how to handle it.Bastien stood in the kitchen, invisible, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. I winked at him and then turned back to Dana.Mitch is out for a while, if you wanted to see him.Oh. Thats fine. I can, um, stay for a little whileI guess.She seemed unnerved by my sway of the situation. I poured us both iced tea, and we sat down at the table. I led us into conversation about our days, telling her about an awesome charity event Id been to at a downtown bookstore. Dana recovered some of her composure and returned to her smooth and controlled self. Her bigoted nature aside, the woman could manage a decent conversation, and we clicked. Too bad she didnt channel her intelligence into more useful areas, I thought.As we talked about assorted things, the solution to the whole Dana situation struck me it was so obvious. I dont know if it was the ambrosia or not, but I couldnt believe how blind wed all been. How had none of us figured out the problem with her? What kind of seduction experts were we? Bastien was right. Dana was a lost cause.For him.Dana, I off-and-on(a) in a most un-Tabitha way, Im really glad you came over tonight because theres something Ive needed to ask you.She choked on her tea. Yes?I propped my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands so I could have solid eye contact. You said a little while ago that you and Bill had lost the romance and that you didnt care. But you know what? I dont believe that. I think you miss it. I think you crave it. But not with him.Danas face went pale, eyes wide. Bastien, standing nearby, wore a similar look. I didnt care. We had nothing to lose at this point.Am I right? I leaned closer. There is something missing, isnt there? And you were lying about not knowing whats sexy. You know. You know what turns you on, and you want it. You want it so bad, y ou can taste it.I swear, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Dana worked forcibly to control her breathing, staring and staring at me as though I might vanish if she blinked.Yes, she finally croaked. Youve been right about a lot of things. Like how we cant assume who we want. And yesI think we both know what Im talking about, Tabitha. Some of her old confidence began to return. At first, I wasnt sure. You were so hard to read. But then, after I saw how awkward things were with you and your boyfriend how you never wanted to talk about him and said you werent attracted to him I knew for sure. That little lingerie show you put on for me cinched it. You were amazing. I couldnt stop thinking about it. Id already seen you naked in the hot tub, and that had been agonizing enough. I had to see you naked again. And then, as I talked to you more, I realize you were intelligent too. Just like tonight. She took a deep, quaking breath and reached out her hand to cover mine, fingers slowly dancing along my skin. Youre right. I do want something. So bad I can taste it. I know its wrong, and I know its immoral, but I cant help myself. I cant help who I want. Cant help wanting you.No wonder Bastien hadnt been able to close the deal. Dana had wanted me. Probably from the moment I stepped out of the pool in that skimpy bathing suit. double-dyed(a) at her, I thought about all the horrible things her group did. I also thought about Bastien being tortured by some demon. In some cases, being immortal wasnt always a blessing. Now, I could save him from that fate and send a little payback to the CPFV.I smiled back at Dana, letting my body language speak for me as the tension mounted. I admit, I was a little surprised that all of my previous encounters had been read as advances on her, but well, whatever. The invisible incubus had run out of the room somewhere around I had to see you naked again. He returned now, wielding the photograph camera. Seeing my calculated silen ce, he waved the camera at me frantically, glee all over his face.I held the power now to change everything. The power to achieve what Bastien had been bit for. To save him and humiliate the CPFV. If I could just pull this off. The ambrosia had proved today that my strongest talents lay in improvisation and planning, the ability to multitask and solve problems. That was great. It made me feel better about myself than I had in a while. It was probably what had led me to realize the truth about Dana too. But what about my earlier musings about the ambrosia? In regard to sex? Was my sexual prowess still a key part of me? Had the ambrosia enhanced that too? Could I rock some man or woman in bed? Looking at Dana and her now-obvious lust, I knew the answer. I gave a sultry laugh and jauntily brushed my hair out of my face.I could and would rock her world. I was a team player, after all. For both teams.Squeezing her hand, I moved toward her.I feel exactly the same way.