Seducing the Succubus

Table of Contents

 

 

Praise for the novels of Cassie Ryan

“From the first erotic word to the last sensual line,
Ceremony of Seduction
weaves a spell around its reader and doesn’t let go.”

 

“An incredibly creative read. If you’re looking for a sexy escape, you’ll find it here.”
—Romantic Times

 

“Ms. Ryan creates a bold and beautiful world . . . I highly recommend it.”
—Night Owl Romance

 

“An amazing journey between two worlds. Definitely a book that, once opened, won’t be closed until the final page has been read.”

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2010 by Cassie Ryan.

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / October 2010

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Ryan, Cassie.

Seducing the Succubus / Cassie Ryan.—Berkley Sensation trade pbk. ed.

p. cm.

eISBN: 9781101453568

I. Title.

PS3618 Y33S43 2010

813’.6—dc22 2010027827

 

 

Thanks to my amazing agent, Paige Wheeler, and my wonderful editor, Kate Seaver, for seeing promise in my wacky story idea about four succubi in Hell’s version of the witness relocation program . . . and not laughing me out the door. You both rock!

Thanks to the entire crew of my local Starbucks. This entire book was written there in my favorite squishy chair. So for all your support, terrible jokes of the day, love, encouragement, laughter . . . and of course all the Chai . . . my undying thanks.

Last and most important, thanks to Jon and Darian for not only enduring living with a writer, but doing it with humor, understanding, and love. I couldn’t do this without you guys!

“Dinner time, gentlemen,”
Jezebeth said to herself as she raked her gaze over the many men crowding into the darkened club.

The heavy beat of hip-hop music thumped through the soles of her knee-high lace-up boots and made her heart beat faster as anticipation curled deep inside her belly.

A long mahogany bar ran the length of the back wall, and dozens of men crowded around jostling for their turn to order a drink. In the middle of the room scantily clad women gyrated on four raised platforms while colored laser lights panned over the audience in regular intervals, briefly illuminating the smoky atmosphere. Not that Jez needed the light. One of the perks of being a succubus was being able to see in the dark—not to mention sense and smell the sustenance-giving potential of those beings around her.

Her searching gaze fell on a large human male sitting at a back table with broad shoulders and just the right amount of muscle. A glowing aura of nearly white energy surrounded him like a pulsing mist, and Jez’s skin ached with longing—the succubus equivalent of a stomach growl. The size and general health of the man’s aura told her not only that he’d feed her well but that taking his energy and tempting him toward good or evil would also give her great brownie points with her boss, Lilith, the succubus queen. Especially since Jez was behind quota this month—again.

Jez concentrated on the man and a slow warm tingling flowed through her as her body shifted to become whatever form the man most desired.

She glanced down to see her now-overgenerous breasts nearly spilling out over a tight-laced bloodred corset, her skin milk-pale and her body fully curved. She wore a tight black miniskirt and short black ankle boots that displayed a winding rose tattoo snaking up her right leg to disappear under her skirt.

This body was shorter than she was used to, and she had to crane her neck and stand on her tiptoes to keep the man in her line of sight over the tightly packed crowd.

Jez reached up and tried to fluff out her hair, surprised to find it short and spiky instead of long and flowing. She shrugged as amusement spilled through her. The preferences of men were wide and varied, and as long as they provided her with what she needed, she didn’t care what form she had to take to get it.

Well—that was almost true.

There
had
been forms she’d outright refused to remain in.

She shuddered in memory of some of the more bizarre bodies men had desired her to take and wrangled her thoughts back to the situation at hand—dinner.

Jez started forward, weaving her way through the crowd, her gaze fixed on her target where he sipped his drink and watched the dancer on the nearest platform as she spun expertly around the golden pole using only her muscular thighs.

As Jez neared, the man turned his head, and she could tell the exact moment he became aware of her. His movements stilled and his gaze did a slow and very thorough exploration of her from head to toe and then back again. When he was finished, his lips parted in surprise and the bulge just behind the fly of his jeans grew larger in response.

Jez smiled at him from under her lashes and wet her bottom lip with her tongue, suppressing a small giggle as she tasted strawberry-flavored lip gloss.

His blue gaze burned into hers for a long moment before Jez stepped close and straddled him, making her already short skirt ride up high around her thighs. She sat on his lap and pressed close against his erection. The sensation of rough denim against the sensitive skin of her bare pussy was exquisite. She rubbed herself against him and laid her hand over his chest, noting how his heartbeat thumped a strong pulse under her palm and the energy surrounding him surged higher, tingling against her skin in tiny static electric shocks.

To her surprise, he didn’t push her away or show any signs of protest. For someone with such a clean aura, she’d expected a bit of a challenge, but she definitely wasn’t going to complain.

She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “Buy me a drink?”

His strong hand settled against her lower back, the heat from his skin burning through the corset and making her pussy throb in anticipation of what was to come. She pulled back slowly, allowing her breath to feather against the side of his neck until she could look into his eyes.

“Only a drink?” he asked with mischief and lust dancing in the blue depths of his eyes.

Jez smiled and leaned forward again so her breasts pressed against his chest as she brushed her lips over his.

His lips were warm, and he growled deep in his throat and then deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth long and slow.

The tangy taste of Jack Daniel’s made her smile. That explained his lack of restraint. A few more drinks would probably make her job all that much easier.

His kisses were a bit sloppy and clumsy, but he made up for that with enthusiasm and the promise of a great energy payoff in the end. With one large hand he cupped her breast roughly, the hot possession making her gasp against his mouth.

She kissed him again, hard, and the familiar tingling and liquid warmth sensation of his life-energy siphoning into her hummed through her veins, ripping a long moan from her throat. Jez sighed against his lips as her clit hardened and slick moisture formed between her labia.

This was only an appetizer, but already her gnawing hunger receded and her skin tingled with vigor. She threaded her fingers into the man’s soft hair, capturing him close as she continued to kiss him.

Two sharp taps on her shoulder surprised her and she turned, ready to deal with a bouncer or an angry girlfriend.

Instead, she found a four-foot imp.

It was shamrock green with two tiny yellow horns poking out the top of his knotty head. His glowing red eyes reminded her of twin laser pointers, and he smiled revealing jagged yellow teeth. “Mind if I cut in for official business, Jezebeth?”

“What the hell is that?” The man stood abruptly, dumping her off his lap so she landed hard on her bare ass against the cold concrete floor.

A high-pitched squeak escaped her just before sharp pain radiated up her back from the hard landing. She turned to glare at the imp, who only smirked and shrugged.

Jez pushed to her feet, pulling the short skirt down around the tops of her thighs as she straightened and smiled up at her now-spooked dinner. “It’s okay.” She gestured toward the imp. “It’s leaving.” She took a step toward the man, but he held up a hand stop-sign fashion between them.

He shook his head and backed away from her, rubbing his eyes as if he thought he might be hallucinating. “I think I’ve had a little too much to drink if I’m seeing things already.” He took one last longing look at Jez before turning and melting into the crowd.

Jez sighed as the hip-hop song ended and a slow bluesy number started up in its place.

Since no one else in the bar was running away in horror, the imp was probably shielding his true form from all the human eyes—except the man she’d targeted. “Couldn’t this have waited another hour or so?” she said loud enough to be heard over the music.

“Lilith sent me to tell you Semiazas has escaped his prison and seeks revenge on you and your sisters.”

An icy chill of fear danced down Jez’s spine and bile threatened to inch its way up the back of her throat. She swallowed hard before she risked speaking. “How long do I have?”

The imp cocked its head to one side as if considering. “It took me several days to find you. Unknown.”

She swallowed back the fear that tried to smother her. “And my sisters?”

“Other messengers have been sent to warn each of them in turn.”

The sound of wrenching metal accompanied by an animalistic growl that prickled every hair on Jezebeth’s body grated through the air, sending patrons screaming and running in all directions. Sharp, hot anger churned inside her stomach, and she trained her narrowed gaze on the imp.

“You bastard, you led him right to me!” She reached out and grabbed the imp around the neck with both hands, lifting him off his stubby feet.