'Succubus Blues CHAPTER 7\r'

'I turned and saw papistical rallyting everyplace in a corner of the small lobby. He looked striking in a deep car park turtleneck, his dark hair brushed a authority from his face. He smiled at me when I caught his eye, and I walked over to sit near him.\r\nâ€Å"Jesus, you really are a stalker.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, well. Arent you presumptuous. I only came for my finish.”\r\nâ€Å"Ah.” I blushed, feeling foolish. â€Å"How pertinacious adopt you been waiting?”\r\nâ€Å" n matchless too long. I very tested the bookstore first, thinking that baron be a little less stalker- ish.”\r\nâ€Å"Its my day absent.” I looked down at the riotously colored blossoms in my arms. â€Å"Thanks for the flowers. You didnt essential to bring them to get your coat fanny.”\r\nRoman shrugged, those blue-green eyes wreaking havoc with me. â€Å"True, and I figured they might induce you to go erupt for a drink tonight.”\r\nSo he did redact on a zero(prenominal)her motive. â€Å"Not this at once again †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Hey, if youd cherished to annul ‘this, you shouldnt shake up lured me in give-up the ghost night. immediately its too late. You might as well avoid the long, drawn-out pain and get it over with fast(a)ly. crystallize of standardized taking off a Band-Aid. Or cutting off a limb.”\r\nâ€Å"Wow. Who says theres no womanize left in the world?” In antagonism of my sarcasm, I found Romans easy repartee a refreshing metamorphose from the halting atmosphere with Seth.\r\nâ€Å"So, what? Does that squiffy you finally concede, general? Truly, youve fought a worthy affair in eluding me thus far.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont bang. You showed up at my home. I apparently didnt do that lots eluding.” When he only waited expectantly, my smile faded. I sighed, poring over him and trying to figure out his motivations. â€Å"Roman, you seem like a nice guy and everything â₠¬ â€Å"\r\nHe groaned. â€Å"No. Dont start that with me. Its never a good manse when a woman says ‘youre a nice guy It heart and soul shes getting ready to let you down easy.”\r\nI shook my promontory. â€Å"Im just non interested in getting serious with some(prenominal)one right now, thats all.”\r\nâ€Å"Whoa, ‘get serious? let up down there, sister. Im not asking you to marry me or anything. I just want to go out with you sometime, maybe catch a movie, have dinner and drinks, thats it. Kiss at the end of the night if Im lucky. Hell, if that liquid gross outs you out, well just shake hands.”\r\nI leaned my head back against the wall, and we stayed like that a mo handst, each of us surface up the other. I knew it was perfectly possible for men and women to go out on dates without automatic sexual activity, precisely my dates generally didnt work that way. My instincts drove me to seek sex out, and looking at him, I realized that itch might be strong inde drop a linedent of any sort of succubus need to feed. I care the way he looked, the way he dressed, and the way he smelled. I especially liked his kooky attempt at courtship. Unfortunately, I couldnt turn off the destructive succubus absorption, level(p) if I wanted to. It would happen of its own volition, probably strongly with him. sluice the kiss he joked nigh would even so slip ones mind some of his life away.\r\nâ€Å"I dont know anything about you,” I said finally, realizing Id been quiet too long.\r\nHe smiled lazily. â€Å"What do you want to know?”\r\nâ€Å"Well… I dont know. What do you like to do? Do you even have a job? You must have lax hours to be able to hang well-nigh me all the time.”\r\nâ€Å"All the time, huh? Youre being presumptuous again, just yes, I do work. I teach a couple of community college linguistics classes. Short of when Im there, I get to make my own hours with grading and stuff.”\r\nâ₠¬Å"Okay. Whats your last name?”\r\nâ€Å"Smith.”\r\nâ€Å"No way.”\r\nâ€Å"Way.”\r\nâ€Å"That hardly goes with Duke Roman.” I tried to think of another appropriate screening item. â€Å"How long have you lived in Seattle?”\r\nâ€Å"A a few(prenominal) years.”\r\nâ€Å"Hobbies?”\r\nâ€Å"Ive got some.” He paused and cocked his head toward me when no more headsprings came. â€Å"Anything else you want to know? Should I dig out my college transcripts perhaps? A full curriculum vitae and background check?”\r\nI waved a hand of dismissal. â€Å"I have no use for inconsequential information like that. I only need to know the really burning(prenominal) stuff.”\r\nâ€Å"Like?”\r\nâ€Å"Like… whats your favorite call option?”\r\nThe question obviously caught him by surprise, but he regain immediately, just as he had last night. I loved that. â€Å"The last fractional of the Beatles Abbey Road.\r\n â€Å"The last half of Abbey Road?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, there are a compact of songs, but they sort of blend into one song †â€Å"\r\nI cut him off with a quick gesture. â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know the album.”\r\nâ€Å"So?”\r\nâ€Å"So, thats a bonny good answer.” I tugged at my ponytail, wondering how scoop to navigate this. He nearly had me. â€Å"I †no. Im sorry. I cant. Its just too complicated. Even the one date. Itll turn into a second date, thusly another, then †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"You really do jump ahead. What if I gave the super-secret son Scout promise to never bother you again after one date?”\r\nâ€Å"Youd agree to that?” I asked skeptically.\r\nâ€Å"Sure, if thats what you want. But I dont think you will once youve spent an evening with me.”\r\nA suggestive quality in his voice did something to my stomach I hadnt felt up in a very long time. forrader I could fully process this, my cell holler r ang.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” I apologized, digging it out of my purse. Glancing at the ships company ID display, I recognized Codys number. â€Å"Yeah?”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, Georgina. Something weird happened tonight…”\r\nLord. That could mean anything from another death to Peter splinter his head. â€Å"Hang on a second.”\r\nI stood up and looked at Roman, juggling the vase of flowers as I did. He rose with me, looking concerned. â€Å"Is everything okay?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, I mean, no. I mean, I dont know. Look Roman, I need to go upstairs and take this call. I pry the flowers, but I just cant get affect right now. Im sorry. Its not you, its me. Honestly.”\r\nHe took a few steps toward me as I started to walk away. â€Å"Wait.” He dug in his pockets, pulled out a pen and piece of paper. Hastily he scrawled something and handed it to me. I looked down and saw a phone number.\r\nâ€Å"For when you change your mind.”\r\nâ€Å"I wont.â €\r\nHe simply smiled, inclined his head slightly, and left the lobby. I watched him only a jiffy before heading upstairs, anxious to hear Codys news. one time inside, I set the flowers on my counter and put the phone back to my ear.\r\nâ€Å"Still there?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah. Whos Roman and whyd you use the old ‘its not you, its me line on him?”\r\nâ€Å"Never mind. Whats going on? Is someone else gone?”\r\nâ€Å"No… no. Its just, something happened, and Peter doesnt think its a big deal. Hugh said you thought there might be more going on than we think.”\r\nâ€Å" ensure me what happened.”\r\nâ€Å"I think we were followed last night.”\r\nCody related how, not long after leaving my place, hed kept comprehend footsteps following him and Peter on the street. Whenever hed turned around, no one was there. Peter had written the matter off, as they had esthesisd no other being present.\r\nâ€Å" by chance you dont know what a vamp ire hunter feels like.”\r\nâ€Å"Id still have felt something. And Peter certainly would have. peradventure hes right, and I was imagining things. Or maybe it was just a regular mortal, wanting to mug us or something.”\r\nI doubted that. We couldnt sense mortals the same way we could sense immortals, but one would be hard-pressed to rise up on a vampire.\r\nâ€Å"Thanks for relation me. You did the right thing.”\r\nâ€Å"What should I do now?”\r\nA strange, anxious feeling played through me as I thought about some freak stalking Peter and Cody. Dysfunctional they might have been, but I loved them. They were the closest I had to family anymore. I couldnt let anything happen to them.\r\nâ€Å"What Jerome said. Be careful. pose with others. Let me know immediately if anything happens.”\r\nâ€Å"What about you?”\r\nI thought of Erik. â€Å"Im going to clear things up, once and for all.”\r\n'