Page 29 of The Elementalist (Four Elements #1)

Worth It. Definitely Worth It.

I felt like a juice box that had been sucked on until it imploded.

My body had gone numb from the waist down except for the important parts, which admittedly, kind of ached.

It wasn’t the ‘kicked in the balls an hour ago’ sort of ache that I loathed, though it came close.

However, if she wanted to do that again, I wouldn’t hesitate at all.

We’d just shared the most amazing almost-hour of my life…

even if I did feel as though I’d been run over by a bus.

She’d certainly drained quite a bit of energy out of me—through a rather specific part of my anatomy.

Crystal lay on her side nearby, gently stroking her fingers around my chest. I appreciated not being alone.

If a vampire kicked in the door right now, I’d probably be dead.

Ever have an alarm clock go off after three hours of sleep and have one of those mornings where you’d rather find a new job than get out of bed?

Yeah, that times ten is where I found myself.

If the Farringtons sent some thugs after us here, I could see myself just lying still and not caring what they did to us.

For her part, she seemed energized and put on this contagiously happy grin.

I would’ve been grinning too if I had the strength left to move my lips.

Somewhere between fatigue and that ‘holy shit that was awesome’ feeling like it had been my very first time with a girl, I couldn’t be bothered to do anything but stare at the ceiling.

In fact, I’m not sure my body would move if I tried.

“Are you sure you want to be involved with me?” asked Crystal in a partial whisper.

Was she seriously questioning if I’d never want to experience that again? “Absolutely. You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met… in every conceivable way.”

She smiled, and cuddled closer, resting her cheek on my chest. “You aren’t worried it might not work out between us long term? Whoever heard of an elementalist and a succubus together?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Whoever heard of an elementalist at all?”

Crystal giggled. “True. Well, we could see where this goes. Are you all right? I didn’t take too much, did I?”

“I wasn’t expecting that… but I’m fine. More than fine. Amazing even.”

“Your energy felt so different from the others. I’ve never had anyone seriously in love with me before.”

Of course, she referred to it as ‘feeding,’ which meant sex.

I hated thinking about how many men she’d probably been with, but resisted the notion of her being a ‘loose woman.’ Nature compelled her to engage in sex for nutritional sake.

If she didn’t do it, she’d starve to death.

Human morals probably shouldn’t apply to non-humans.

Or even half humans. And really, who decided that men can bed dozens of women and that’s something to brag about, but it works the opposite way for women? That is kinda messed up.

“So, umm… how long before I can move?” I asked.

She laughed again, perhaps thinking I joked about not being able to move. “You should be all right by morning.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Most succubi don’t do long-term relationships well. One guy is sometimes not enough to feed me. For a full succubus? It wouldn’t even approach possible. The poor guy would wither away if she tried to sustain herself exclusively from one person.”

“Ouch. So what you’re saying is, you’re going to need other men?”

She stroked her hand over my chest in front of her face.

“It depends on how rough things get. The more often I use supernatural abilities, the faster I get hungry in that way. If the poo really hits the fan, I’d need to consume more than you could safely give.

I still need to eat real food, too. True succubi don’t.

And, they also leave a guy out of sorts for a few days afterward. ”

“How do you know so much about them?”

“My real father visited me a few times after the family exiled me to Ironside. He filled in all the missing pieces that explained so much about my crazy life. I’m not sure what surprises me more, that I actually told you the truth about me, or that I feel drawn to you as well.

Maybe we could make it work… if you can handle that I might sometimes need to sustain myself by feeding from someone else. ”

“Would it bother you if I tolerated it but didn’t like it?”

“It wouldn’t have any deeper meaning to me than eating dinner.”

I wanted to curl my arm around her, but couldn’t move it. “That’s why I’d tolerate it. It’s just something you have to do, like food, water, air…”

“If you’re the jealous type, I could try to feed on women instead.”

I coughed.

“Yes, that’s possible, but it’s more difficult. I can’t charm a woman unless she’s gay, and that kinda reduces the size of the buffet. I can feed from guys and have them not even remember anything that happened if I want to… well, unless they’re into men.”

“I guess making them forget is best. Won’t break anyone’s heart that way.” I sighed mentally. Except possibly mine. Just gotta keep thinking about it being food to her. Wow, my life has gone way off the rails.

“Is there any truth to the stories of succubi killing men?”

“Maybe full-blooded succubi. We feed on sexual energy and life essence, and they consume a lot more than I do. If they take too much from one person, their energy won’t regenerate…

and it could either kill them or leave them a hollow, lifeless shell incapable of embracing life or feeling the slightest bit of joy or enthusiasm. ”

“You might have just described Cleveland Browns fans everywhere.”

“A sports team?”

“Yes, although their luck might have changed recently.”

“It always does, don’t you know?”

“I’m beginning to believe it. So, um, how often do you need to... feed?”

“If I behave myself and don’t use any of my powers, then about once a week. A human physically recovers from my feeding in about six hours, but it takes them about seven-to-ten days to spiritually recover.”

“So, once a week is pushing it.”

“It is… and I’m kinda bad at behaving myself. I like my powers and use them often.” She leaned up and kissed me. “But, I’m not used to a man who is willing to feed me and has fallen in love with me. The energy is stronger, so maybe I won’t actually have to feed as often.”

“Guess I’m high calorie.”

“Maybe. I never really thought about that. I’ve mostly been feeding as discreetly as possible ever since I became old enough to have that need.”

“Are you like 300 years old or something?”

“No. I’m twenty-six. My actual father did say we live longer than normal people, but he didn’t really offer much detail. Full-blooded succubi and incubi are immortal. Do I look younger than twenty-six to you?”

“A little. Not much. I’d have guessed maybe twenty-two.”

“Thank you.” She kissed me again. “Well, we still do have the problem of Nigel Farrington wanting to abduct me… and possibly wanting you out of the way.”

I said, “Yeah, yeah,” in my best ‘it can wait for effing tomorrow’ tone.

“The severity of the problem would depend on if those vampires belonged to Farrington’s circle or if it had been a momentary arrangement to deal with me.”

I processed this. At least my brain still worked, foggy as it was. “Somehow, your sister Dana discovered that he intended to attack you, but the vampires killed her before she could warn you. Something bothers me about that.”

“Only ‘bothers’ you?”

“I don’t mean her death. Forgive me for not sitting up. I still can’t really move.”

“It’s all right. I prefer using you as a pillow.”

I chuckled. “What bothers me is if Dana found out this information, why did she go to a party out in the forest? Why not call you right away with a warning and give you all the details? Unless she went to that party specifically to find out more information. You did tell me it had weird occult overtones.”

“Hmm. That’s true. What do you think happened?”

“I’m guessing here, but try this idea on for size.

The Farringtons somehow find out that you’re a succubus.

Or maybe it’s Nigel working independently.

He can’t get to you in Ironside, so he needs to do something that will bring you within reach.

You’re at odds with your family, so he doesn’t think they’ll get in his way. ”

“More than ‘at odds.’ My pretend father disowned me. Only my mother and Dana cared to have anything to do with me. Mother, at least, put me back into the will after his passing. And no, I had nothing to do with his death.”

It happened two years ago. I’d heard about it... the whole town had. “Did a bear really swim all the way out to his fishing boat?”

“No one really believes a bear did it.”

“Well, I used to... up to a few days ago. I figured if a cub wound up on that boat, a mama bear would have gone after it… but, knowing what I know now…”

“Right.”

“Any idea who killed him or why?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“Care to share them?”

“I figure vampires allied with the Anworth family killed him. It’ll never be proven though. No one’s looking for the truth. Few people would believe the truth if it came out, and there isn’t a single person involved who’d want it out in the open.”

“What makes you think the Anworths did it?”

She lay there in silence for a while.

“That bad, huh? Okay. I won’t push.”

Crystal sighed. “It’s a bit sensitive, but I’ve already told you about me, so I’ll trust you with one more secret. But, you must give me your word you won’t speak of it to anyone.”

I stared down the length of her perfect body, pressed to my side like one of those artsy nude photos that didn’t show any naughty bits. Not that I could’ve moved if I wanted to, but of anywhere on Earth I could’ve been, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. “Keeping secrets is what I do for a living.”

“Isn’t it your job to expose secrets?”

“True, but secrets I’ve been asked to keep are another thing.”

“All right.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “My pseudo-father was having an affair with Brittany Anworth.”

“And her husband wanted revenge?”

“No. She’s not married. The woman’s only a year older than me.”

I winced. “So he was seeing a girl young enough to be his daughter?”

“Yes, but that isn’t what caused the problem.

The Bradburys and Anworths have been at each other’s throats for 200 years.

We’ve hated each other for so long I don’t think anyone remembers what started it.

Before this part of the country had a well-developed police force, random murders and even small armed skirmishes between groups of twenty or so men per side happened all the time.

It’s the only time I can ever say anything good about chauvinism. ”

“No killing women or children?”

“Basically.”

“Sounds like your old man got over the feud… as did that girl... Brittany.”

“He’s not really my father. But, I suspect they fell in love. Somehow, the rest of her family found out and wanted to put a stop to it.”

My arm finally decided to listen to me again, so I reached up and rested it on her back. “So you don’t think the attack on Dana had anything to do with the Anworth situation?”

“No. The Farringtons wouldn’t have cared at all who Sterling Bradbury slept with. I’m sure Nigel had his vampires target Dana in hopes I’d return to Shadow Pines for the funeral… which I did.”

“Wait. You live here in Ironside.”

“I do.”

“Then why are we in a hotel?”

She laughed. “Well, you were driving and you got the wild idea. My place is tiny, and a mess, and at the time I hadn’t planned on us winding up in bed together. We can relocate in the morning if you like.”

“Hmm. I’d prefer getting Nigel off your back first. How do you feel about returning to Shadow Pines once the sun’s up?

Maybe you can go invisible and snoop around Justine’s office.

She might have information she hasn’t shared.

While you’re doing that, I’ll rattle a few other trees and see what I can find. ”

“All right. Sounds like a reasonable plan. Oh darn. I left my car by the quarry. Think it will still be there in the morning?”

“Probably. Something tells me Nigel isn’t going to want to draw attention to why he was out there. And it’ll take a couple days before anyone notices a truck went off the side. Maybe even long enough for them to sweep the mess under the proverbial rug.”

Crystal pulled the sheets and blanket up to cover us, and closed her eyes. “Good night, Max.”

The past few days had seen quite a few moments where I expected to wake up from a dream beyond belief.

Falling asleep next to a woman as perfect as Crystal Bradbury was one of them.