Succubs on Top

humiliation for the other side. It'll put me on top again. They won't be able to punish me, not if I've got a takedown like that on my record.'

I started to understand his obsession with the radio host. 'But the takedown isn't exactly taking.'

'I don't know what else to do. I've tried all the old tricks, all the textbook moves plus a few exclusive Bastien moves. None of it's working.'

I reached out to him. 'You might have to accept that she's got a strong will,Bas.It happens.'

'I know.' He sounded so miserable, it broke my heart.

'Hey, come on. Don't give up the fight yet. I taught you everything you know, remember? We'll find a way out of this. We'll get that wench wet yet.'

He laughed and brushed a finger against my cheek. 'You always make me feel better when I'm around you, you know that? It's one of the wonderful things about you. That and— if the rumors are true—your mouth. '

'The rumors are true, and I'm going to help you with this, you'll see. Besides, nothing else works on her, there's always hard liquor, right?'

'Ah yes, the old standby.' He hugged me tightly and kissed each cheek. 'Good night, my sweet. Thanks for a lovely evening.'

I kissed him back. 'Anytime.'

I had my hand on the door handle when I thought of something.

'Hey, Bastien?'

He turned from where he'd been walking away down the sidewalk. 'Yes?'

'Why'd you do it?'

'Do what?'

'Alessandra. You must have known how Barton felt about her, right?'

'I did.'

'So why risk it?'

He looked at me like he could scarcely believe I had to ask. 'Because I could. Because she was beautiful and wonderful and I wanted her.'

I knew better than to argue with that. It was textbook incubus logic. Smiling, I went inside.

CHAPTER 13

 Min, Doug's saxophonist, rummaged through the array of liquor bottles on Wyatt's counter. 'I don't think he has any,' he finally said. 'Can you make a gimlet without lime juice?'

'Um, no,' I replied. 'That kind of defeats the whole purpose. '

'Oh. Okay. Well, then, you just want a shot or something?' He held up a bottle of—God help me—Skyy vodka.

'I think I'll pass.' I surveyed the humming, thumping party around me. Tons of people had showed up as usual; I doubted the band even knew half of them. The wages of fame, I guessed. Also as usual, there were drugs and drinks aplenty for those who wanted such things—as long as one's vices didn't stray to lime juice, apparently. I turned back to Min. 'You seen Alec tonight?'

'Nope. Said he'd be here. I hope he shows soon.'

Min shifted restlessly, and I wondered just how many people Alec was stringing along. The whole band, after all, had displayed that crazy, uncaring behavior.

I'd spent most of the day planning for tonight, trying to figure out what it would take to get information and possibly the drug itself from Alec. Finally, as the party drew nearer, I accepted that I was overthinking the matter. Alec was hardly a criminal mastermind. If I wanted something from him, it was a safe bet that the removal of clothing and an orifice would suffice.

With that in mind, I'd dressed for the part in another little dress. Like the one I'd worn to the last concert, this too had a V-neck, straps, and short skirt. Unlike that one—which had been cotton and more like a sundress— this one was silk and looked kind of like a nightgown. Its rich, emerald green mirrored the green flecks in my eyes. I'd made sure of that, enhancing the color in both.

'Finally,' I muttered to myself, catching sight of Alec's blue-streaked hair across the crowd. He saw me, and I waved, making him grin smugly at my acknowledgment.

'Hey,' he said, looking me over. 'Wow.'

'About time you showed,' berated Min, handing over a beer. They greeted each other with some kind of weird, shoulder-punching guy thing. Then Min held up a bottle of Tropical Soiree Key Lime Schnapps. 'Hey, look what I found. Will this work?'

'Sure. Whatever,' I said. I wanted to start working Alec, putting him at ease. If it involved some unholy drink concoction, then I'd have to take that risk.

Min handed me a plastic cup filled with bright green liquid, and Alec and I wandered off to mingle.

'You're letting Min experiment on you?' he asked, pointing at the cup.

Inspiration hit. 'He's been experimenting on me all night.' I laughed, a bit too loudly and held on to his arm. Alec didn't need to know this was my first drink. 'But none of the other stuff he made looked this bad.'

He smiled and casually placed his arm around my waist. 'Have I told you how great you look?'

'Yeah, I kind of got the message,' I told him. Sniffing the cup, I detected nothing but sugar. Tentatively, I brought the cup to my lips and tasted. Bleh. It was like Kool-Aid and mouthwash. Fortunately, I don't have much of a gag reflex, so I managed to swallow without choking.

Alec flattered me a little more, and then I steered him toward the one topic guaranteed to captivate him: himself. It worked. Within a few minutes, I discovered that subject area was even more limited than I'd suspected. He only wanted to talk about the band.

'So yeah, we figure we should start expanding out of Seattle and hit some of the other big cities in the area. You know, like Portland and Vancouver. If we can start getting a following in the Northwest, we can hit the rest of the west coast, you know? And Corey's dad knows this guy who knows someone at a record company, and he's going to send him the review that was in the SeattleTimes… '

I let him go on, nodding my head and saying 'uh-huh' a lot. I should point out that I really was interested in Nocturnal Admission's success. I believed in them and their talent. Just not tonight. Other things demanded my attention.

'You know,' he suddenly said out of nowhere, 'I didn't think you really liked me.'

Yeah. Good observation.

I smiled. 'Sorry about that. There are so many jerks out there that I come off a little bitchy at first, until I know a guy. But the rest of the band swears by you, and I trust them. Besides'—I leaned closer, lowering my voice to a sultry purr— 'I know you now, and I definitely like you now.'

To my astonishment, Alec broke away from me. How unexpected was that? Weirder still was that I saw interest in his eyes but only his eyes. The rest of him was plainly distressed about something. My surprise must have been reflected in my expression, because a moment later, he laughed like nothing had happened and returned the hand to my waist.

'I wouldn't really trust the guys on much, but hey, if they've convinced you, whatever.'

I turned the smile back on, pretending I hadn't noticed the weird reaction. We started talking again, and I continued to let him dictate the parameters of our conversation. When he brought up skateboarding and the benefits of one board brand over another, I decided Doug didn't appreciate the extent of my love for him.

Slightly bored, I leaned into Alec and drank from the cup without thinking about it. 'Son of a bitch!' I swore, tasting that mess again.

'What?'

'This.' I set the cup down on a rickety coffee table, sloshing the green liquid. 'It's terrible.' I realized this was my opening. 'God, I've had such a fucked-up week.' I turned so that I stood even closer, resting a hand on his back, sliding it down to his waist. 'I'm glad you had this party. You guys must need to get a little crazy too to handle all the stuff you've been doing.'

He seemed happy about my proximity but didn't move his hand from my waist. 'We know when to work, and