Page 5 of Oh No! There’s an Incubus in my Hot Spring (Getting Cozy with Demons #1)

five

Learning Curve

M y phone dings beside me and I blink my eyes open separately. Pain throbs through my skull and my ass, a tether of agony connecting the two. I groan as I roll to the side and realize I’m not where I should be. I fell down the stairs, so why am I back in the owner’s room? On a pile of blankets and pillows?

“That was quite an accident.” The deep voice of the incubus makes me scream.

He materializes beside me, the fire in the hearth silhouetting his dark frame. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Then stop doing that,” I grouse, pressing a hand to my head as if it’ll stop the ache.

“Doing what?” he asks, no hint of a smile in his voice.

“Speaking without being in my line of sight,” I say.

“As you command.”

He holds out his hand and a crystal cup full of water materializes in his palm. “I have limited magic left, but enough to heal you, if you’d like.”

“How did you do that?” I ask, reaching for the water.

“Do what?”

“Manifest this,” I say, taking the cup. It’s smooth, heavy, and ice cold.

“The water is snowmelt, not from the sulfuric aquifer, and the vessel is crystals from the mountain I’ve summoned to take the shape I wish.”

I take a tentative sip and then devolve into a guzzling monster. It’s crisp and clean, soothing the heat in my throat.

“Would you like me to mend your wounds?” he asks.

If he can heal me with magic better than what a doctor can manage, why shouldn’t I take him up on it?

“Is it going to hurt?” I ask.

“Some. I’ll need to push my magic into your body.”

I glare at him. “Are you trying to trick me into bonding again?”

He smiles. “No. It will hurt because we’re not bonded. Your body’s natural defenses may try to stop me.”

I come up to my knees, and pain flares through my tailbone up my spine. “Fucking ass!” I suck a sharp breath through my teeth and fall back to the bedding.

“Let me heal you,” the incubus says, coming closer to kneel beside me.

I wince my eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. It doesn’t.

“Ah, hell,” I mumble. “Yes, please. Heal me.”

His hands are on me instantly and I jump.

“I have you,” he says and my eyes snap open, locking on his. He’s too beautiful to be real. And he’s also still very naked.

“Don’t you have clothes?” I ask.

His hands slide over my shoulders down to my hips. “I could manifest some if my naked form is displeasing.”

“It’s not displeasing. It’s distracting,” I say.

He makes a pleasurable sound as he reaches my thighs. “I’ll need to apply pressure to the affected area.”

“You mean my ass,” I say, rolling onto my stomach.

“If that’s what you want to call it.” His hands press against my cheeks and pain spears into my spine.

I groan. “Are you healing or talking?”

He titters, his hands massaging in comforting circles. “I can do both. However, I’m nearly out of magic, so neither will be possible soon.”

I realize he means that if I don’t let him pleasure me, I won’t be healed fully. I suppose I could still go to a doctor, but it does seem as if his magic is working. My tailbone feels better already.

“What do I need to give you?” I ask.

He massages deeper and his magic makes my muscles spasm. “Tell me of a happy moment.”

“That’s it?” I ask.

“In as much detail as possible.”

I huff. A happy memory. Okay…

“When I was twelve my mom and dad took me to the Grand Canyon. On the trip there, we sang songs off the radio, even though my dad sounded like a stuffed-up bassoon,” I say with a laugh, remembering the sound so clearly. “He had allergies. My mom always had a beautiful voice.”

“And you?” he asks.

“I mean, I guess. I was just a kid. I only sing by myself now,” I say, realizing just how sad that is.

“The Grand Canyon?” he prods, moving his hands up my spine to the base of my neck.

“It’s enormous, the biggest thing I’ve ever seen. A huge valley of colorful rocks that were carved away over centuries by the Colorado River. Reds, oranges, yellows, and, down at the very bottom, blues and greens. We set out a picnic blanket and watched the sunset.”

His fingers slide through my hair and massage my skull. I sigh heavily and relax into the blankets.

“The clouds were cast in pink and gold, little slips of navy and purple in the sky beyond. We had beef jerky and powdered donuts because our sandwich bag leaked and they got all soggy.” I laugh again, remembering how my mom nearly cried at the loss of the sandwiches. But Dad came in and saved it, running to a nearby vendor to get the jerky.

That was the last time I saw him happy. It was all downhill from there. I wonder if they both knew he was sick, and they took me on that trip as a final hurrah.

“What’s wrong, lovely?” the incubus asks.

“Nothing,” I say.

“You can’t lie to me; I can feel it.”

I roll away and sit up. There’s not even a remnant of pain in my butt, and my headache is abating quickly. “They were wrong to call you Asmodeus. You’re more like Apollo.”

He cocks his head, a strand of silky silver hair falling over his face. “Who is that?”

“One of the old Greek gods. He heals people,” I say. “Among other things.”

He smiles demurely. “I see. Do you like that name?”

“It’s a little archaic,” I say. “Do you like it?”

His icy eyes glow as he looks at me. “I would like you calling me a god.”

I can’t hold back my surprised laugh. Bastard is trying to flirt with me.

“All right, Apollo,” I say, emphasizing his name.

The swirling tattoos light up along his arms and shimmer down his body. He groans and closes his eyes. “Yes, I like that very much.”

My phone dings and my eyes dart to the lit-up screen. Four calls, ten messages. Shit, I forgot to text my mom.

I pick it up and open the messaging app. Not all the texts are from her. Five of them are from a new number, and they have an attachment. I scowl, opening the new messages.

Syl, please. I miss you so much.

The attachment is, of course, a picture of his hard cock, as if I ever wanted to see it again after watching it plunge into Alexis.

“How do you do that?” Apollo asks over my shoulder and I jump.

“Damn it, what did I say?” I demand, swiping away the message.

“No speaking if I’m not in your line of sight,” he says, putting his hand on my thigh near my phone. “What is that?”

“It’s a cellphone, like a pocket-sized computer. I can get messages and calls on it, and there are apps for all kinds of things,” I say.

“Apps…” he murmurs.

I open the text from my mom.

Mom: Are you there yet? It’s late.

Sweetheart, I really want to go to bed. Did you fall asleep and forget?

Are you okay???

I’m going to call the police if you don’t answer me in 20 minutes.

The police said there were no accidents in the area, so obviously you’re ignoring me.

Fine. I’m going to sleep.

Call me when you get these.

I’ll keep my phone on.

I hope it’s wonderful.

Why did you have to do this? I don’t understand you sometimes. I wish you would—

I groan and stop reading the last tirade, tapping out a quick response instead: I made it. Everything’s fine. Sorry I didn’t text sooner.

I close the messages and sigh. It’s four in the morning and there’s absolutely no way I’m going back to sleep, especially with how much I need to clean and prep before the moving truck arrives tomorrow.

The fireplace illuminates the dust-coated floors and grimy, spray-painted walls. One of the windows is boarded up with fresh plywood, applied just before my purchase, I’m sure. The sink, toilet, and shower standing in the corner near the kitchenette loom, and their shadows on the walls cast doubt on my ability.

I’ve bitten off more than I can swallow, and I’m going to choke.

“Slyvia, this is not insurmountable, even more so with magic on your side,” Apollo says, his hand still resting on my thigh.

Charlie sits on the counter next to the half-consumed bottle of wine. “What do you think, bud?”

Better change into your hobo clothes and tie up your hair. It’s time to get to work.

“You’re right.” I nod. “I’m not going to let a rough start throw this whole thing in the dumps. I’m not going to give up before I’ve even tried. And I’m most definitely not going to be using magic to do this. This is my project. My baby to foster and grow. I won’t cheat.”

“Magic isn’t cheating,” Apollo says.

“No one else has magic, so if I use it, that’s cheating,” I retort, dusting off my pants as I gain my feet.

He stands, crossing his arms. “How do you know that no one else has magic?”

I blink. “I…don’t. I’m just assuming that the vast majority of people don’t have an incubus trapped in their business so willing to lend a hand for their freedom.”

He smiles. “You’re very uninformed about this world.”

I cross my arms, too. “You don’t even know what an app is.”

“This is true. Years of solitude have left me behind the curve of human innovation. You are all so talented and bright with what little time you’re given.”

I feel a twinge of guilt. Even if his life is eons long, years of being left completely alone, starved, incorporeal…that sounds terrible. I can’t just pretend he doesn’t exist and wave him away, especially since I’ve named him.

I pull in a deep breath as I take in the little apartment. “All right, if you want to help me, you can do it the hard way—with kneepads and rubber gloves.”

He quirks a silver eyebrow at me. “I’m not opposed to exploring new kinks.”

Flirting again, that little bugger. I try not to acknowledge the heat in my cheeks, or the memory of his hands on my ass.

I roll my eyes with a snort. “Come on. And manifest some pants, please.”

“As my witch commands.” He smiles playfully and fashions himself a pair of dark shorts not unlike swimming trunks.

The tub with all my cleaning supplies is next to the toilet—which is very thankfully clean and operational. The owner’s apartment was connected to the town’s water system, but the rest of the building runs on its own well, and that will likely need substantial work. Can’t have a hot spring resort without operational showers that don’t reek of sulfur.

But a problem for another time.

I tug my hair up into a high bun on my head and strap on my gloves. There’s a variety of cleaners for different kinds of surfaces, and I walk Apollo through them so he knows what to use. Once he’s steered off to cleaning the natural wood cabinets inside and out, I dig into the tub for the Goober-Be-Gone, my favorite cleaner of all.

The spray paint doesn’t require too much scrubbing to get clean, and much of the other gunk on the walls was just from stupid kids throwing mud—hopefully—and beer. I rip the old curtains down and stuff them in a trash bag, then I take out the cling film from storage. With the sun coming up soon, I want to get that board off the window so we can at least get some natural light.

A strange grunt sounds in the corner of the room and I whirl to face it. There doesn’t appear to be anything there, but then again, the light from the fireplace isn’t the best without my lantern, which I left on the third floor.

“Apollo, was that you?” I ask.

He glances over his shoulder. “No, that was a dust bunny.”

I snort. “A what?”

“Dust bunny,” he repeats slower.

I mean, I know I talk to an inanimate duck, but this poor guy has been alone so long he’s actually personified dust.

“Right, okay. Well, maybe you can introduce me to them,” I say, trying to appease him and not make him feel crazy.

“They’ll be here soon enough,” he says, and it feels ominous.

“What do you mean?”

He points to the particles glistening in the firelight from where I pulled down the curtains. “You’re summoning them.”

Another grunt sounds in the opposite corner from the first, and I whip toward the sound. My eyes must be playing tricks on me because I swear there’s something there.

Apollo sucks in a breath. “Here they come.”