Drained: The Lucid (26 page)

Riley shook her head, still refusing to share.

A few moments later, Seven showed up tableside with a tray full of breakfast food.

“When did you start waitressing?” Heather joked when the incubus set a plate of eggs benedict in front of her.

“Oh, I have many hidden talents, love.” Seven rounded part of their table and winked. He slid a mountain of scrambled eggs and toast in front of Riley.

“What is all this?” James asked. The entirety of the circular table was covered in steaming plates of food that no one had ordered.

Seven emptied the tray and sat down in his usual seat. “A little birdy asked me to deliver this. It’s on the house,” he said, whitened teeth flashing proudly.

“Might that ‘birdy’ be named Amber?” James guessed.

Seven grabbed an English muffin and spooned a generous helping of strawberry jam onto its surface. “A gentleman never tells.”

“You know I love watching humans work hard for it. It’s the dom in me, I guess,” Heather started, “but when are you going to forgive that girl for whatever she did?”

“I told you it was a bad idea to start dating that waitress.” Seven picked at his food critically. “Although now that I think about it, she probably spit in our food. Or worse.”

“What did she do, Riley? Did she cheat on you?” Heather prodded.

“She’s sorry. That’s clear enough,” James agreed. He pointed to a stack of pancakes with a sad face drawn in chocolate syrup on the top layer.

“Leave it alone.” Riley pushed the food around on her plate. “I’m fine, she’s fine. Things didn’t work out. No one cheated on anyone.”

“That’s debatable in our line of work,” Seven muttered. The comment earned him a firm punch to the arm. “That bloody hurt. James, control her.”

“Well, I don’t control anything she does,” James commented before Heather could say a word. “And quite frankly, you deserved that. If you can’t be nice to your friends, why even be around?”

With his attention fixed on Riley, Seven frowned. His eyes were unreadable, but when he spoke, there was genuine remorse present. “I’m sorry. I talk before I think. I didn’t mean it like that, Riles.”

Riley nodded and smiled weakly before her attention went back down to her plate. She didn’t expect it, but Seven stood from his seat and wrapped her into a hug; albeit awkward, it was still comforting.

An embrace from Seven was a rare occurrence.

Heather’s stare shot between them. “So,” she voiced, “how about we make plans for one of Riley’s favorite holidays?” She looked around the table. “James and I are hosting at our place if everyone is fine with that.”

“I promise no flaming turkey this year.” James held his hand up in oath. “How does that sound, Riles?”

“Yeah, it all sounds good to me.” She shoved a bite of cooled scrambled eggs into her mouth and chewed the bland food.

“Hey, sweetie, mind if I pour syrup over your eggs?” Heather asked. “How does that sound?”

“Wonderful.”

“That’s it. Snap out of it.” Heather grunted in frustration. “You’re not sad, but you’re not you. You’re like this functional zombie.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just thinking.” It was the truth. She was lost in thought. Amber’s betrayal was at the least eye opening. It had hurt, but like a broken arm, Riley knew that in time and with care, it would heal. She didn’t doubt that Amber had true affection for her. That level of emotion was impossible to fake. What she didn’t know, however, is if she should give the woman another chance. It would have been easier if Amber had cheated on her.

“Well, stop thinking about girl issues and start thinking about the upcoming dinner.” Heather pulled out her phone and opened up a list of dishes she had in mind. “You don’t want a repeat of last year do you?”

• • •

The front door opened and Riley stepped inside. She ran her hand over her hair to smooth down any flyaways and straightened the hem of her short nightgown, although the motion was unnecessary. Her hair and clothing were always styled to perfection in the realm.

“I wondered if I was going to see you again.” Morgan sat alone on the couch in the living room. It was the same couch where they’d once shared a soft, fleeting kiss. A single sunbeam shone through the front window and illuminated the woman. Surrounded by the ethereal light, Riley thought she looked perfect.

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” Riley smiled and set her bag down on the floor by the entrance.

Morgan looked down at her hands, inspecting her cuticles. “I thought maybe I’d done something to keep you away.”

“Like throw a backpack in my face?” Riley joked. She knew Morgan was referencing the kiss and the way Riley had rejected her, but she wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. “No. It’s just an existential crisis. Work has been weird and then there was the Amber thing.”

“Who’s Amber?” Morgan perked up.

Riley hadn’t meant to let the name slip. She hadn’t intended to tell Morgan anything about her life outside of the realm. She’d probably already said too much in discussing her birthday and her former humanity during their last visit.

“She, uh, well, she’s my girlfriend. Or my ex-girlfriend.” Riley shook her head. “I don’t exactly know what we are to each other anymore to be honest.”

“Girlfriend?” Morgan’s features clouded. “But you’re … you’re a succubus.”

“I know what I am. That doesn’t mean I can’t have a girlfriend.”

“But don’t you cheat on her every night?” Morgan protested. “Or, is she like you?”

Riley grimaced. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have. It was pointless to talk about Amber with someone who knew nothing about their relationship. “She’s human, like you.” But she continued anyway.

“That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard,” Morgan sputtered.

“What’s so
preposterous,
Professor?” Riley snapped, feeling her anger rise. She was so tired of everyone telling her that her relationship was doomed. This latest dig felt like a giant “I Told You So.”

“How can you expect to have a healthy relationship built on lies? Built on infidelity and subterfuge?” Morgan sounded offended on behalf of Riley’s ex-girlfriend.

The words stung. Morgan unknowingly had tapped into the very thing Riley herself couldn’t make peace with. Amber had been using her—selling information about Trusics to supplement her meager income. She felt violated, but could she truly justify her anger when she herself had hidden so much of her own life since the start of their relationship? Did she have any moral ground on which to stand when she’d kept her very identity a secret?

“Why are you getting so angry about this?” Riley was annoyed and flustered. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“I know it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean I can’t feel sorry for the way you’re playing this poor woman.”

The windowpanes rattled from a distant thunder. Lightning illuminated the clear blue sky. Riley noticed that as Morgan’s emotions became less stable, so too did the environment of the dream.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t assume you know anything about me or my life.” Riley self-consciously wiped at her eyes. She felt the beginnings of tears, but there was no way she was going to cry in front of this woman.

“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you.” Morgan folded her arms across her chest, shuttering her emotions. “All I see is some over-sexed demon, who likes to play dress up, that can’t take
never
for an answer. Your same requests play like a broken record.”

“And what’s that?”

“When am I going to have sex with you.” Morgan looked annoyed. “When are we going to hook up, go the whole nine yards, or whatever label you use in your line of work.”

“I’m out of here,” Riley snarled. She grabbed her things in a tornado of fury. She could hear one of Darren’s glass vials jangle inside her bag, and it made her even angrier. She’d been risking her entire existence to spend more time with Morgan, but none of her efforts were appreciated. “I don’t have to take this. I don’t know why I even bothered with you. You’ve been nothing but a literal headache since the beginning,” she continued to vent. “I’ve got a database full of marks who’d be happy to get their hands on me.”

“Database?” Morgan blinked.

Riley’s figure went rigid when she realized the slip. “Pretend you didn’t hear that,” she choked out.

“What is this database, Riley?” Morgan sat up straighter on the couch with renewed interest.

“I can’t.” Riley shook her head hard. The bag in her hand felt like it contained bricks. “I’ve already told you too much.”

Morgan slowly rose from the couch. “Then why not one more little thing?” she justified.

“Because it’s a big fucking thing,” Riley said with heat. “Don’t ask me to ruin everything. It’s all stuff that isn’t any of your concern.”

“When it directly involves my dreams, I want to know.” Morgan added to the distance between them. “God, you act like what you do doesn’t affect the lives of real people.” Her arms wrapped around her midsection. “That you can force yourself into their lives, and because you’re so wonderful and flawless, you become the highlight of every victim’s existence. You’re self-centered and undeserving of what others give to you.”

The words cut Riley like a serrated knife. She had nothing to rebuke anything Morgan had accused her of.

Morgan paced the floor; she no longer looked at Riley. “All of you think you’re these gods to be worshiped and that we measly humans should be thankful that we were chosen. That we should do what you say and be your sex slave because no harm, no foul, right? News-fucking-flash, you’re narcissistic, and there isn’t a bone in your body that is remotely humane.”

The house itself seemed to shudder with the force of Morgan’s rant. Riley remained speechless; she wasn’t convinced Morgan was speaking in regards to only her anymore.

Morgan fell silent and her eyes welled. She let out a shaky breath before finding her tongue again. “He was … gorgeous.” Her voice was quiet, hesitant.

“Who?” Riley asked carefully.

“The incubus.”

Riley’s eyes widened when she realized what Morgan was trying to tell her.
Sean.

“So when he tried to … it wasn’t a big deal. And at first, all it was were amazing sex dreams.” Morgan sighed with the burden of the memories. “But then it was every night. I would wake up more exhausted than when I’d gone to bed.”

“He was draining you,” Riley whispered as a frown settled on her features. “We don’t do that; it’s why we have multiple partners, so we can take a little and no one gets hurt.”

“He took. And he kept taking. I eventually made the connection between the dreams and my fatigue.” Morgan’s body visibly shook. “I didn’t know how to control my dreams back then. That came years too late.” She wiped at her eyes. “You don’t know how it felt, Riley. I could see, feel, and think, but I was trapped. My body became my prison, and he …”

Riley’s closed the distance between them. Her arms slipped around Morgan’s midsection, pulling her in for a tight embrace. She made a hushing noise into Morgan’s hair, and the story fell away. “That’s enough.” The words got caught in her throat. She pressed a light kiss into Morgan’s hair and held her until the shaking stopped.

After a heavy, tense moment, Morgan pulled away. “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she croaked. “I know you’re not him.” She wiped at her face with the back of her hands. “Are you still leaving?”

The tearstains down Morgan’s cheeks should have been enough to keep her there. But it was also the exact reason she needed to go.

“I … yes.”

“I call Riley for our team,” Seven shouted from the backyard.

Heather slid the glass door back and joined the group. She had been preparing for their dinner for weeks and according to James, she had been up since dawn to prep.

“You do know this is American football we’re playing,” James clarified. “Not soccer.”

“Well, hell. Every year, I think it’ll be different.” Seven’s face fell at the news. “I still call Riley.”

“How is that even fair?” Heather narrowed her eyes. “You called dibs on both James and Riles?”

“Well, I’m not chopped liver,” Wyatt mumbled.

“This game isn’t about being fair, it’s about winning.” Seven gave a quick pat on both of his teammates’ shoulders.

Madison was the last to step into the yard. She had been on her phone since her arrival. Never once did she end the conversation, not when she had hugged all of her friends in greeting or even when she started talking to one of the group members. A newly packaged football was tucked under her arm. She tossed the box at Seven’s waiting hands.

“Okay, I have one person who is glued to her phone.” Heather observed Madison’s lively conversation; there was no indication of it coming to an end. “And then I have Wyatt and his insistent need to be nice.”

“Maybe I should switch with Madison?” James suggested.

“That’s not fair.” Seven frowned, and his hands came to rest on his hips. “We have the perfect team.”

“Or, how about we skip this train wreck of a tradition and go inside?” Riley voiced. The game would have ended with someone’s life being threatened, and she didn’t want to deal with another fight. “If y’all want to continue playing, have fun. I’ll be inside cooking or something.”

Riley entered the quiet home and headed for the kitchen. She didn’t know if there was anything left to do, but her hands felt fidgety, and she needed to occupy herself. She looked through the cupboards and made note of what she could make. Riley wasn’t a natural-born cook, but she wasn’t helpless when it came to the kitchen. Having her life frozen for decades at her physical prime had its perks. Being able to improve skills like cooking was one of them.

Riley moved through the kitchen like it was her own home. She pulled drawers and cabinet doors open to retrieve the ingredients needed to make a cranberry cobbler. As she busied herself with whisking the flour and other dry goods, a pair of tanned arms wrapped around her waist. Heather had come inside and she hadn’t noticed.

“Talk to me, Riles.” Heather rested her head against Riley’s shoulder. “What’s going on in your head? You haven’t said anything since the break up, and that’s not like you.”