I rolled my eyes because I was an adult and Declan had to know I could still hear everything.
“Fuck you, Declan,” a tall brunette growled. She had full-sleeve tattoos and piercings on her lip and nose. “Go ride on Jasper’s rusty cock. We didn’t come out here not to get off.”
“I wore my favorite human, and now the night is wasted.” The curvy blonde said with an exaggerated pout. Her favorite human brought Playboy Bunnies to mind with big lips, wide eyes, and a turned-up nose. Her clothes were pink and fuzzy. Everything about her outfit and expression screamed soft and sexy whereas her tatted companion had a fuck-you smile on her lips.
“I know you.” A third woman said, grabbing my attention to her. She was in a black cat-suit with a dark pixie cut, and for some reason, I got the distinct feeling that she was the one to be reckoned with. Her orange, tiger-striped eyes were fixed on mine. “Teagan Shipman. You probably don’t recognize me. Last time you saw me, I was wearing your body.”
“The succubus,” I whispered as her words registered.
My eyes shuttered, and the world swept away as memories flowed in. I could smell the chemicals in the carpet as I laid under the bed. The bedsprings screeched above me as Kane fucked the succubus. When she pulled my essence, she’d looked like me in every freckle. The scent of my own arousal filled the bedroom.
Without my essence, I was as immobile as a corpse. Lying stuffed under my bed, panic thrummed through my heart and screamed in my head. Any minute now the succubus would strike, and the pack would kill her.
This trick had worked for one reason and one only, I had never, not once, in my ten years of being married to Kane, given in to his desire for me. There were moments where I’d been tempted. It had been so long since someone touched me, and each time Kane dominated me, I felt his passion for me through our connection. But I’d never consented to sex, and that was the one way he didn’t violate me.
Kane Shipman had imprisoned me. He made it so no one but himself could touch me. I lived in terror of his mind-fucks where he’d tear down my defenses and terrorize me. He’d forced me to do monstrous things. But Kane had never raped me. And, when the succubus shape-shifted into my body and face and gave in to Kane’s attempts at seduction, my captor had wanted to believe it so much, he fucked her.
Kane growled long and low in pleasure. “You are mine, Teagan.”
There was a cry and then a loud wet sound. Blood splattered across the floor. A roar erupted from the bed and the bed shook so forcefully, the mattress banged into my back, pressing the air from my lungs. The motion continued as someone choked and gurgled. Then, silence.
My body ached and tingled like blood was returning to my limbs. A burning sensation filled my lungs, and I swallowed a gasp. I curled my fingers into a fist. The succubus had returned my essence, meaning Kane had killed her, and she’d been sent back to hell.
“Teagan?” Kane roared from directly above me. “Teagan! What have you done?”
Blood soaked through the mattress, dripping onto my face and mingling with the tears of terror clinging to my cheeks. A metallic tang clung to my tongue, but I hadn’t known if the blood was dripping into my mouth or if it was the taste of my fear. A howl of agony ripped through the air, and the mattress flew away. I screamed, looking up into the face of my husband.
Green eyes found mine. Kane dove down to the ground and gathered me against his naked body. “I thought I killed you,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m so sorry. The demon tricked me. I would have never touched her. Tell me you forgive me.”
The order pressed down on me, forcing me to say, “I forgive you, Kane.”
He squeezed me tighter to his chest, and the demon’s blood was slick between us. My stomach churned, and I was sure that I would be sick all over Kane.
“That fucking succubus stole your essence and stuffed you under my bed!” He raged.
It was a lie, and I was guessing that he already knew that. Kane knew I wanted him dead. I turned to look up into Kane’s green eyes and opened my mouth to tell him that I had planned the whole thing with the succubus. I’d given her my essence so she could use it to kill him. And I would do it again, and again, until Kane killed me.
“Never mention what happened here again,” Kane snapped, and the order pressed down on me, making the confession stick in my throat. Kane’s green eyes blazed into mine. “We’re never going to talk about what happened here again, Teagan. That is an order. We will forget this ever happened.”
Kane could force me to stay silent, but no order he could give me could make me forget. I remembered everything.
“Wake up, Teagan.” Fingers touched the back of my hand, and a burst of static electricity zapped my skin, shocking me from the memory.
I pulled my hand away and looked into the orange eyes of the succubus who failed to slit my husband’s throat. “What did you just do?”
“She helped you,” the demon with tattoos said. “Your past has such a strong hold on you.” Her cat eyes came into focus as she leaned closer. “It clings to you like shadows.”
“You need permission to touch me,” I told the orange-eyed succubus.
“I’m guessing Jasper asked you to leave.” Declan pulled me further into his side. “And, now I’m telling you.”
All three of the women were
