Page 21 of Oh No! There’s an Incubus in my Hot Spring (Getting Cozy with Demons #1)

twenty-one

A Simple Gift

T he crystal thrums between my fingers. I wind the leather cord around and around my hand, my leg bouncing on the brake pedal. I look up at the apartment door.

I have to give it to him.

We have to at least try, because I have no idea how long it’ll take me to be strong enough to free him. I don’t even know what the process is yet, that’s how woefully out of my league I know I am. So, this will have to do for now because I really want to go to sushi, and I want to go with him.

I leave the car, necklace clutched in my hand. The magic hums, tingling my fingers, and I hope that’s a good sign. If I understood the charging incantation I got off ViewTube correctly, the crystal should be full to the brim with my own magic. “SwiftyWitchy” could be absolutely full of shit, but I’ll have to subscribe to her channel if this works.

I unlock the door to the apartment and my breath catches when I see him asleep on the couch, a book open on his chest. One arm is propped behind his head, bicep bulging. He’s shirtless, of course, and his tattoos glimmer brightly. He’s so beautiful it makes my heart ache to think of losing him one day.

I shake my head, closing the door and locking it behind me.

He rouses, a sleepy smile on his face. “Welcome home, lovely.” But then his smile falls, and he jerks upright, fully alert. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong ,” I say, clutching the necklace in my closed fist.

“But you’re nervous.” He crosses the room to me, hands coming to my arms. “Do you want to tell me?”

I nod, holding my hand out in front of me. He looks down at the necklace in my hand.

“I don’t know if it’ll work, but Charlie and I made this for you, so you can leave.”

His finger drags along the purple crystal pulsing with my heartbeat. He taps the glass bottle containing spring water, then the other with a bit of rock, all bound by copper wire to the leather cord. Finally, he reaches the lock of my hair. He caresses the curly black strands with a smile.

“You want me to leave?” he asks, looking up at me.

“I want to take you to sushi. It’s no good when you bring it home,” I say by way of excuse.

He lowers his head and I realize he wants me to put it on him. I make the cord as long as it’ll go and fit it over his horns. I pull up his hair and tighten the cord so the crystal sits over his heart. It’s thrumming faster than before, and brilliantly bright. Electricity zings up my arms as I smooth the bit of my hair across his pec.

Apollo closes his eyes and inhales deeply through his nose. “I can feel your magic.”

“I think I can feel it too,” I say, breathless as my body is gently shocked again and again from the contact with him.

His eyes are a vibrant teal when he opens them, sparkling with mischief. “It’s going to work.”

“How do you know?” I ask, apprehension tightening my gut.

“I’m encased in a bubble of your magic. Such a clever witch,” he murmurs, rubbing his thumb across my cheek as he grabs the back of my neck.

My breath hitches as I look up at him. Adoration pours off him in waves and rocks me to the core. I feel myself leaning forward into his air, until our lips are just inches apart. The crystal is flashing a rapid beat on his chest, matching the pace of my pulse.

He leans in and turns my chin, planting his lips on my cheek. My heart does a backflip, simultaneously soaring and aching. His lips linger at the corner of mine when his lasting kiss ends. I turn my chin and his talons drag along my jaw. Goosebumps skitter across my neck as our mouths hover just an inch apart. I’m breathing him in with heavy pants that don’t abate my racing pulse.

Tight need coils in my gut and I curl my fingers into his chest, willing him to cross the distance and break my rule.

Please, please. Just love me.

But he can’t love me.

The sharp truth slices through my haze and I lean back, sliding my hands away from him.

His molten eyes soften, looking mournful. “Thank you for this gift of freedom.”

“You’re welcome,” I say, trying to come back to myself from whatever fantasyland I’d gone to.

He transforms himself with a flourish of his water magic, donning the appearance of “Paul.” The necklace remains the same, the soft glow of the crystal brilliant against his dark shirt.

“What’s sushi?” he asks.

I grin. “It’s raw fish and rice. It’s really good.”

“Raw fish…”

“And then cucumber and avocado. You dip it in this salty liquid called soy sauce, and you can put spicy paste on top called wasabi. I love to add extra wasabi and burn my nostrils,” I say, heading toward my bedroom. I’m not sure if this is a nice place, but I’d like to look nice for him, and my errands outfit is pretty low-key lazy.

I pull my sweater off over my head and unbutton my jeans when I get in the room. Apollo lingers behind me. Usually, he’d be touching me by now, but he must not be too hungry with my necklace sustaining him.

My closet light flicks on and I peruse my colder-weather dresses. My short black with long sleeves and a low back would be nice, but I decide on a burgundy knee-length knit dress that’s form fitting, with little peekaboo holes on the shoulders and chest. I hike up my boobs so a bit of cleavage is just barely visible in the center hole.

“You’re inspiring,” Apollo says as he takes me, then adjusts his wardrobe. The black turtleneck changes colors to match my dress, and he rolls the neck down once to be a similar length as mine. He tucks in his shirt and summons a belt with a silver buckle from the shelf.

“You don’t have to dress up for me,” I say, grabbing a pair of silver half-moon earrings to match his belt.

“I can’t very well accompany you to sushi looking as if I don’t belong at your side,” he says as he follows me to the bathroom.

I twist my hair up off the high neckline and ram a thick alligator clip through it to keep it out of the way as I apply some quick makeup. He watches me from the door, arms crossed and eyes glued to my ass. This dress does do wonderful things to my butt.

The hair doesn’t look too bad in the loose configuration with wispy strands of curls framing my face, so I leave it.

I turn and offer Apollo my hand. “Ready to try this out?”

He takes it and pulls my knuckles to his lips. “It’s going to work.”

He holds my hand down the stairs like a gentleman, even though I’m in boots with very little heel, and I can’t help but feel special. He’s been watching and reading a lot of romance, and learning new things, obviously.

“Bye, Charlie,” I wave to him on the kitchen counter from the door. “Hold down the fort!”

“Roger, roger! Have fun, you love birds! And I expect to go on the next one.” He quacks indignantly.

I laugh. “Of course, buddy.”

I step over the threshold and look up at Apollo. He doesn’t even hesitate, following behind me with so much confidence it makes my eyes burn. He stands beside me, hand resting on my lower back as I lock up. He takes my arm as we walk to the car. It’s so freaking adorable. He even opens the driver side door for me, and I can’t help but blush. No man has ever opened a car door for me. I need to get him some more romance books to read.

He sits down next to me in the passenger seat and looks up at the mountain, his mouth slightly agape. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the outside.”

I grab his hand and move it onto my leg. “You’ll be seeing it a lot more.”

He grins at me and squeezes my fingers. “Thank you.”

We listen to my favorite songs on the way into town, and though I’m dying to sing along, I don’t ruin the experience for him. He holds my hand all the way to the restaurant and my heart just keeps swelling. That stupid thing doesn’t know when to quit.

We find a spot off the main road, and I touch the necklace under his shirt, sensing the energy levels in it. Still quite full. He should have hours left.

Apollo puts his hand over mine and smiles. “Even if I run out of time, I’ll just end up back home.”

We walk a block to the restaurant and he holds the door for me again. It jingles merrily, announcing our presence. The inside is quaint, cozy, and welcoming. Dark red wood paneling on the walls, black floors, and warm Japanese lantern lights hanging from the ceiling.

“ Irasshaimase ,” the older man behind the sushi counter calls at the same time as the young woman bustling from the back.

She approaches us with a smile. “Two for dinner?”

“Please,” I say with a smile.

“Sushi bar or a table?”

The tables are close together, and the little place is pretty packed for a Tuesday night, but the bar is empty. Plus, we’ll be able to watch the magic from there.

“Bar, please,” I say.

She brings us toward a secluded side around the corner of the bar where there’s only two seats by the entrance to the kitchen. Apollo goes to pull my stool out for me but quickly realizes it’s bolted to the floor. His cheeks flush pink and he stands aside for me to sit.

The hostess has a secret smile as she sets the paper menu down between us. I order us a house hot sake and then lean close to him as I tap the little pencil on the menu.

“Salmon is my favorite, so at least four of those. You have to try a shrimp tempura roll, of course. A veggie roll to keep things somewhat healthy. Aaaaand some unagi! Oh, and miso soup to prep our appetite. But a seaweed salad! I have to try it. I need to know if it’s good.” I check everything off, putting ones and twos everywhere.

When I look up at him, he’s watching me with a gentle expression.

“What?” I ask, trying to hide in my hair and failing because of the damn alligator clip.

He pushes my curls behind my ear. “You’re perfect.”

My face flares with heat and I haven’t even had any sake yet.

Our waitress drops off the drinks and some water, then takes our order. I pour the sake into the little cups and then hold mine out to him.

“ Kanpai !” I say, clinking his little white cup.

“Kanpai,” he repeats, watching me as I take a small sip. He follows my lead, and then cocks his head down at the cup. “It’s liquor.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“But it’s hot.”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “It is.”

“Interesting. I wasn’t very invested in consuming your foods, but you’ve shown me many things I didn’t think were possible. I’m awestruck.” He smiles up at me and the world stutters, chatter around us going quiet.

No.

No. No. No.

You are not allowed to fall in love with him.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’ll give you a tour of everything I can before our time is up.”

He dips his head and takes another drink.

We sit quietly for a few moments, and I wonder if I ruined everything. I know he can feel my mood. I know he can feel something shifted. The thought sends flesh-eating eels wriggling through my insides and I take another big drink of sake.

“Tell me more about New York City?” Apollo asks.

Ah, good, a safe topic.

“Well, for one, it was huge . Towering spires of metal and glass reaching up into the clouds, traffic you wouldn’t believe, and so many people everywhere. It was loud, and fast, and no one said ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ unless they were in polite company. The restaurants are fantastic, so much good food. There was this Thai restaurant that had the best noodles on planet Earth—”

Alexis’s moans and the slap of her hips against Jason’s crash into the front of my mind. I blink down at my napkin, then pour myself another drink.

Apollo places his hand on my back. “What about the tall spires?”

I nod, knocking back another searing drink with abandon. “Masterful expressions of human ingenuity and ambition. They’re made with steel, and flexible enough to move with strong winds without breaking. Most of them are for big businesses. Some of them I even coached in their early days.”

He smiles, staying quiet as he drinks, and so I keep going.

“I worked with so many great people. So many good mentors for different things. That time in my life was necessary,” I say, remembering how I’d asked him to erase the last five years.

The waitress drops off our soup and the seaweed salad, so I busy myself with breaking my chopsticks and getting a taste. Apollo tries to follow my motions, but his hands fumble the chopsticks. I chuckle and show him how to hold them, then help him practice picking up strings of salad.

After a few tries, he finally gets something workable and quickly tries to shove the bite in his mouth. In his haste, the chopsticks twist and deposit the seaweed onto his chin instead of into his waiting mouth. We both laugh and I help him clean off. The waitress returns with a fork.

“Will you tell me about your time in the…other place?” I ask, unsure how to ask him about where he comes from.

He leans into me on the bar, pushing the salad out of the way. “It was very different from here. My maker”—he clears his throat—“father gave us everything we needed.”

“But what was it like ?” I press.

He takes another drink of sake. “It was lonely. I had many siblings, but I always seemed to be on the outside. My needs were not aligned with theirs. I don’t know why he made me this way.”

I touch his hand, drawing his gaze to me. “You’re perfect.”

He smiles softly. “They would take trips to the Earth plane in twos and threes, coming back with information for Father. He used that information to teach us about the world. I think he knew that I suffered especially. He sent me out first, alone, with his teachings.”

“How long have you been here, on this plane?” I ask, squeezing his hand.

He shakes his head. “It’s difficult to say. Perhaps four hundred of your years. When I arrived on this continent, it was underdeveloped. There were roaming bands of humans, nomads, and I consorted with them regularly. I helped them make fire when their wood was too wet. I helped them find food when they were hungry. And in return they fed me.”

I try to imagine Apollo interacting with the indigenous people in his natural form. They must’ve thought he was some kind of god…or monster. But he helped them in exchange for their pleasure. For his sustenance.

“I wandered a bit, finding roving bands who knew me, asking for my favor understanding what I needed in return. Until another people came. I couldn’t walk among them as I was. I had to disguise myself. But they were much more amenable to feeding my needs in exchange for money, which was easy to conjure.

“I spent years living among the new people, moving between cities, seeking my mate in all of them.” He looks down at our joined hands. “But she was never there. She didn’t even exist yet.”

I open my mouth to ask what he means when the sushi chef sets our order on the glass counter in front of us.

“Please enjoy,” he says with a dip of his head.

I take a deep breath and remove myself from Apollo’s grasp to grab the plate. The sushi looks incredible, but my mind is whirring away at what he said. I want to ask him more, but I don’t want to push him.

Apollo grabs his chopsticks to try again, and I help him pick up his first roll to put on his plate.

“You want soy sauce though,” I say, grabbing the bottle and tipping some into his sauce dish. “And try a little bit of wasabi.” I dip my chopstick in the green paste and hold it up to him.

He smirks, opening his mouth for me and tasting the end of my chopstick. He closes his mouth and his brow furrows. Then his face scrunches together as he winces.

I can’t help but laugh. “Yep. That’s wasabi.”

He takes a drink of his water. “And you like that?”

“I love it,” I say, grabbing a big scoop of it and dropping it in my soy sauce.

I tell him more about sushi and help him with his chopstick skills as we eat. We laugh, and lean closer to one another with every secret joke. When the sake is empty and our bellies are full, I tilt on my stool and put my head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about what you’ve been through.”

He strokes his fingers down my back and grabs my hip. “The past can’t be changed. It made me who I am and brought me here.”

“And are you happy?”

I don’t know why the fuck I just asked that.

He turns his head and kisses my brow. “Immeasurably.”