The Incubus's Secretary (Dark Council Series Book 2)

Chapter 29

Lancelin’s P.O.V

It was around eleven at night when I finally got off the phone with NYPD. Sighing, I rubbed my temples and stood up from my chair. A nice hot bath sounded divine at the moment.

A group of wannabe thugs had made the mistake of trying to sell drugs at the alleyway behind my bar in Queens. They had even managed to tempt a human staff in that bar to join in with their little g**g and lure customers to the alleyway. The incident had led to a college student overdosing and being rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, the situation was now under control and the thugs have been arrested. The server had immediately started talking as soon as he had seen the men in uniforms and the rest of the proceedings had been fine thereafter.

I stepped into the hot shower as soon as I got to my room. Although I would prefer a bath, I also needed to check if Sanaya had reached home from the club outing.

I was relieved to find how easily everyone was accepting Sanaya. Both the Incubi and the mages were warming up to her and accepting her into their circles. Sanaya may not know that both Zach and Sophia were high ranking Incubi and Tanya was the granddaughter of the Chrone. They didn’t just approve of anyone and they had wholeheartedly accepted Sanaya.

Rubbing a towel through my wet hair after a nice shower, I came out of the bathroom in my bathrobe and walked into the living area to grab some dinner. One of the waiters from La Donna’s restaurant nearby was appointed to deliver me dinner every night and Sanaya usually took care of my breakfast, coffee and lunch. In fact, we’d been eating lunch together these past couple weeks, although divided by a glass wall. It was high time to rectify that too. Maybe she could move in with me? Or was that moving too fast?

“Hello, Lance…”

I was startled momentarily before my mood darkened considerably. “How the hell did you get in?” I snapped. It was getting increasingly difficult to stand still and not crush the woman’s skull with my bare hands.

Asmara gave a seductive smile and pushed her dark hair off her bare shoulders. If she thought she could seduce me ever again, then she was losing her manipulative little mind. She was wearing a sheer gown in a moss green, which threw her green eyes into stark relief. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“It was very easy, actually,” she stood up from the couch walked towards me slowly. Everything about her screamed seduction. Too bad I wasn’t the child she had caught in her trap over four hundred years ago. “All I had to do was tell that little delivery boy I was your girlfriend. He didn’t have any objections sharing your code after that.”

“How nice of you.” I raised an eyebrow. “Now, if you’re done delivering my food, you’re welcome to get lost. I don’t like throwing women out but I will if I have to.”

Her laugh was like the tinkling of bells. “Oh, deliciae.” She placed a frail looking hand on my shoulder. “We used to be perfect together. We made so many memories together. We can still make many more…if you like.”

“The only memory I have is of you, n***d, writhing and beneath my father.” I told her bitterly. “And the only memory I would want to make in the future is of your dead body beneath my feet. But then again, I don’t want your filthy blood to stain my carpets.”

“Ah, you still have that sense of humor, I see.” She put another arm around my shoulder as if I hadn’t just insulted or threatened her. I tried shrugging her off but her grip was steady. “A little birdy told me you might get crowned soon.”

The smile I gave her was feral and Asmara looked a little shocked herself. “So you want to be Queen? Are you really that desperate or just that dumb? You think after everything you did by almost destroying my family, I would just walk into your arms like an idiot.”

Asmara sighed almost dramatically. “And here I thought you were an intelligent man.” She moved closer to me, until she was almost plastered to my form. “I have other ways of getting you to do my bidding, Lancelin. And you have a weakness now…a human weakness. We wouldn’t want anything happening to her, now, do we?”

I gave her a polite smile, hiding my inner turmoil from her the best I could. “I don’t have weaknesses, Asmara. I have strengths. And if you think threatening me will get you a throne, you have no idea what you’re playing with.”

“Oh, I know exactly what I’m playing with,” Asmara smiled in a way that made me narrow my eyes at her. “You know what else I know? That you haven’t been able to break my hold for a while now. Getting weak, are we, Lance?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, Asmara. Don’t test my patience.”

“But for how long can you stay patient, Lance?” She asked. “From what I can tell, it’s been a month…maybe two.”

My expression changed ever so slightly. It wasn’t intentional but Asmara was an intelligent woman and even though the lights in my room were dim, she was standing only a few inches away from my face. She caught on almost instantly and she threw back her head laughing.

“Oh, Lance!” She shook her head at me, like a mother chiding her misbehaving child. “So it is close to the two month mark. I’m surprised a mere human is able to drive you to celibacy. You are an Incubus! A demon that feeds off of human life energy. How long do you think you can last without that energy that gives you your strength?”

“That is none of your concer-“

“No, it isn’t.” She agreed instantly, much to my surprise. “But it should be yours, Lance.” Asmara came even closer, entwining her fingers at my nape. “How long can you keep up this forced celibacy before your patience snaps? Before you break and submit to your inner demon and end up harming your human pet?’

I didn’t want to fall for Asmara’s manipulations but maybe it was because of my weakened mind, she was getting under my skin. Asmara had a point, one that I’d been avoiding for a while now until she brought it up. Her words although manipulative, were a hundred percent true. What if my choice to not feed ended up making me do something I’d regret? What if I ended up hurting Sanaya?

NO! My mind instantly rejected the idea. Even if I could hear the demon whispering for sustenance at the back of my mind, I would rather die than hurt Sanaya.

“Enough!” I told Asmara sternly. “I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. Get out now, before you force me into violence.”

“Oh, I-“

The door to my apartment opened that instant, revealing Sanaya. I felt a cold hand gripping my heart. s**t! She wasn’t supposed to be here today. Did Asmara know that Sanaya might show up?

But when I looked down at Asmara’s face, her eyes were wide with surprise before she composed herself. I shrugged her off of me, this time successfully, but she didn’t move away from me.

“I’d suggest you move away from Lance immediately,” Sanaya’s voice rang loud and clear through the hallway. “My boyfriend doesn’t like being coddled.”

“Boyfriend? Such a human term.” Asmara laughed humorlessly, seeming a bit flabbergasted at Sanaya’s arrival. “I can see why you’re fascinated by her; your human has a voice.”

“This human also has a lot of things,” Sanaya tilted her head to the side, a smirk curving her lips. “Like these awesome pair of Jimmy Choo’s with really pointy heels. Very sharp, I might add.”

I don’t think Sanaya noticed but her pendant glowed with a dim light, indicating that although Asmara was a threat, she wasn’t a danger to Sanaya yet. The pendant was working properly. Good. It made me worry a little less.

“Some nerve.” Asmara finally moved away from me and dusted off her dress like she was dusting off my germs. Then she looked back at me with a smirk and winked.

“Interruptions are such a cockblock, aren’t they Lance? Let’s continue our ‘chat’ later shall we? Somewhere more private.”

With that Asmara walked out of my apartment, hips swaying to provocate and infuriate as she brushed past Sanaya on her way out.

Fuck!