Page 27 of Incubus (The Incubus Saga #1)

The air rushed out of Nathan’s lungs on impact, his head striking the far wall as a transformed Sasha rammed into him. His arms were pinned to his sides from the sheer force of Sasha’s larger body against his, and one of Sasha's taloned hands had hold of his throat tight enough to choke.

“Sa…Sasha…” Nathan tried, staring back into the snarling face of someone he had started to consider a friend, regardless of the fangs, horns, and blazing red eyes on occasion. “St…stop…you don’t…want to do this. It’s me .”

Nathan tried to raise one of his hands, and was surprised to discover he could, meaning Sasha was giving him a little more breathing room. The sound of Nathan’s voice seemed to make the beast pause.

“Yeah,” Nathan said, forcing a smile and taking short gasps of air when the hand on his throat loosened. “It’s me. Nathan ,” he emphasized. “See? You don’t…want to do this. Right?”

Sasha’s fangs were bared, his eyes wide and vibrant. In the next moment, Nathan found himself flat on his back on the floor with incubus Sasha planting a knee on either side of his hips.

“Okay, maybe you do want to do this…”

Nathan was not oblivious to the perils of his situation.

Half of his mind was still on Jim and whatever the Muses were doing to him on the other side of the door.

His own situation was just as dire and would require some very quick thinking if he wanted to do anything to help his brother.

And if he wanted to avoid full on molestation and possible death by a frenzied incubus.

Sasha already had Nathan's wrists pinned above his head with one hand while the other began to paw at his clothes. The quick thinking part could begin any time now, Nathan thought. Any time . But all Nathan could think to do was struggle with all his strength to get away.

Since Sasha’s attention was focused on removing Nathan of his clothing, Nathan managed to free one of his arms and start twisting away before unavoidably being caught again and pinned more firmly. That at least did the job of prolonging the inevitable.

“Sasha, stop!” Nathan tried. His stomach gave a nasty flip at the feeling of Sasha’s hips pressing down into his.

As before, Nathan’s voice made the incubus pause, but Nathan no longer assumed he could reason with Sasha just because there was some recognition.

“Look,” Nathan said, staring up into crimson unflinchingly.

“Just look, okay? I know I’m damn sexy, and I can appreciate that you’re really crazed for a fix right now, but my brother is outside that door with some very powerful sidhe ready to do God knows what to him.

Maybe we can help each other out. You want me?

You can have me. But first you have to help me get my brother away from the Muses. How’s that?”

The look on Sasha’s face made Nathan quake. The incubus was not in his right mind, not any more than Nathan had been when he was touched by Violence. This Sasha did not care about deals. He already had what he wanted, pinned and prone beneath him.

Sasha returned his attention to Nathan’s clothing, effectively slicing a claw down the front of Nathan’s button-down shirt and popping the buttons off in a single swipe.

“Get off me!” Nathan cried, struggling as much as he could to make things more difficult for his captor. “God damn it, Sasha, we have to help Jim! Snap out of it!”

A snarl answered, menacing with warning.

Suddenly, Nathan’s wrists were released, only he didn’t have time to celebrate before he felt the effects of why.

Using both clawed hands, Sasha tore into Nathan’s T-shirt beneath the button-down, ripping it apart like a rag and taking half of Nathan’s skin with the pieces of fabric.

Nathan cried out at the sharp sting of pain. “Get off!” he said again, responding with a swinging fist that connected squarely with Sasha’s jaw. He missed grazing Sasha's curling ram-like horns, but punching the incubus felt like hitting a brick wall.

Sasha rebounded quickly, his growl no longer warning but filled with promise. He lunged for Nathan’s neck, digging fangs into the flesh beneath Nathan’s ear and biting hard.

Nathan felt a small trickle of blood seep from the wound as his vision blurred. His head felt heavy, clouded, as if the sting of fangs had been more like a pleasurable nibble at his neck.

Maybe this isn’t so bad , he thought.

Nathan shook his head as that foreign idea washed over him, trying to shake Sasha off with it.

His whole body felt heavier now. He was still feeling a little fuzzy and disoriented when Sasha pulled away from him, bending down to lick at the wounds he had created on Nathan’s chest. Nathan’s stomach lurched at the feeling.

Sasha’s hips were still pressing down on him, pinning Nathan’s legs. Nathan remembered that, normally, Sasha had that convenient covering below the waist when he was in his incubus form. That wasn't the case right now.

Nathan hissed as Sasha’s tongue swiped languidly at one of his deeper cuts. The sensation was right on that borderline between pain and nauseating pleasure. It felt…kind of good.

No , Nathan shook his head again. He didn’t understand what was wrong with him. Sasha was trying to mount him as he lay bleeding and pinned to the kitchen floor. There was no reason he should feel like he… desired …

Realization dawned on Nathan and his eyes sprang wide, and not only because Sasha’s tongue had started to travel below his navel.

Pheromones.

Carry-over from Desire’s touch couldn’t be helping much either.

Nathan flinched when Sasha started tugging at his jeans, but at least that left his upper body free. Even with his legs still mostly pinned, Nathan was able to slam his hips up into Sasha’s face and twist onto his stomach.

Sasha reared back, freeing Nathan as he started a desperate crawl.

Nathan’s bare, wounded chest rubbed painfully on the floor as he went.

Sasha’s shotgun was not far away, right where the incubus had dropped it.

If Nathan could just get to it, he would stand a chance.

He didn’t want to kill Sasha, but if he could wound him enough to buy a little time, it would be worth it.

Nathan lunged the last length forward to grab the gun and rolled onto his back. Sasha was standing, which left no more illusions as to whether or not that below the waist covering was gone. Without the covering there were only the tattoos, and the tattoos went everywhere .

The incubus’ large talon-like hands flexed into fists. His powerful gargoyle feet left cracks in the linoleum as he stalked forward. A great roar left him and his wings shot out behind him, extending to their full and glorious breadth.

Nathan couldn’t move. He didn’t know if it was some effect of the pheromones or if it was just that Sasha looked ready to storm over there and rip his head off. Neither would surprise him.

As Sasha stomped closer, Nathan willed himself to ready the gun. He had to fire. He had to. Sasha roared once more and Nathan pulled the trigger. At the same moment, Sasha’s arm shot out, grabbing the gun and causing the shot to blow a hole in the ceiling above them.

Sasha was on Nathan again in moments, ripping the gun from his hands and tossing it aside.

Just as Sasha’s claws had so easily turned Nathan’s T-shirt into shreds, now they tore at the clasp of his jeans.

With one more play to make Nathan submissive, Sasha straddled Nathan’s hips, pressing down firmly so that Nathan’s breath hitched in his throat.

A clawed hand grabbed painfully at Nathan’s hair and pulled him up into an angry, hungry kiss.

Nathan sputtered and twisted, fighting fiercely to get away.

This was not like their kiss in the alleyway.

Nathan had to stop this. Somehow he had to…

escape. He had to stop Sasha and…and…and what was he doing?

Jim? There was something about Jim, wasn’t there?

Nathan couldn’t remember. He was with Sasha.

Sasha was…kissing him. Slow. Deep . Nathan felt a sting in his chest but even that began to fade.

He liked kissing Sasha. He had known that from the first moment their lips touched back in Minnesota. So he started to kiss back, feeling the slight prick of fangs on his lips.

He liked that too.

Nathan’s hips bucked up into Sasha and he felt the assurance of just how much Sasha wanted him. He wanted it too. He wanted Sasha. He wanted—

“Nathan!”

He…wanted…

“Nathan, are you okay!?”

He…

“Nathan, answer me!”

…Jim?

“Nathan!”

Jim!

Nathan’s eyes sprang open as his senses returned. Jim was calling for him. And this was so not happening.

With every bit of strength left in him, Nathan pushed Sasha away, forcing a low grumble from the incubus at being denied yet again. “Jim!” Nathan called.

“Nathan! Thank God. What’s happening in there?”

Sasha was having none of this, that’s what. The incubus was tired of waiting for his prey to acquiesce. With a clawed hand gripping either side of Nathan’s jeans, he pulled them down in a frenzied tug to Nathan’s ankles, almost taking his shorts down with them.

“I’m going to be fucked and filleted is what, and probably not in that order!” Nathan yelled. “Get the hell in here!”

“I’m trying! The door’s stuck!”

Jesus , Nathan thought, as Sasha pulled his body in tight against him. If this actually happened while Jim was on the other side of only a couple inches of that damn kitchen door, Nathan would not be able to stand it.

“Jim!”

“Just…just stall him somehow!”

Sasha growled and reached between their bodies for Nathan’s shorts.

“We’re a little beyond that right now!” Nathan cried.

“I’m thinking!”

“Think faster!”

Walter appeared beside Nathan, whole, not even flickering, and tried to offer words of comfort that Jim would soon break through the door and save him, but the last thing Nathan wanted was to experience this with Walter watching .