Chapter 1
Incubi were all the rage these days.
I couldn't afford one, so I picked one up off the street instead.
Unfortunately, mine seemed to be defective.
He had a terrible attitude, showed absolutely no interest in me, and would rather starve than feed on magical energy the way a proper incubus was supposed to.
Eventually, I gave up trying to figure him out myself.
I took a picture of the glowing sigil on his lower abdomen and sent it to an online seller who specialized in magical familiars.
The seller nearly lost her mind.
[MA'AM, PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING! THAT IS NOT AN INCUBUS!]
[THAT'S A DEMON. AND NOT JUST ANY DEMON. THAT'S ONE OF THE WORST KINDS!]
After work, I cornered my coworker Paige by the coffee machine.
"Hey, what do you do if your incubus refuses to feed?"
She stared at me.
"How is that even possible? Incubi get weak without feeding. Mine needs a feeding session three times a week, minimum. My best friend's familiar practically demands it four or five times!"
"Seriously? They're that needy?"
I pictured Zarek's cold, unimpressed face.
The man looked perfectly healthy. If anything, he looked like he could throw a truck across a parking lot.
"Well, there are a couple of exceptions," Paige continued. "Maybe he's already bonded to someone else. Or maybe there's something wrong with his magic. I'd contact the seller and ask."
I nodded, conveniently leaving out the part where I hadn't actually bought Zarek.
I'd found him beside a dumpster a month ago.
Still, Paige had given me an idea.
Incubi might have all kinds of personalities, but they couldn't completely ignore their own nature. Maybe Zarek needed the right kind of encouragement.
"Try dressing up a little," Paige suggested. "Make yourself irresistible. See if that gets his attention."
I wasn't entirely convinced, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try.
That evening, I got home and found Zarek lounging on the couch.
His dark skin contrasted beautifully with his black hair. Broad shoulders, defined muscles, a sharp jawline—his face was practically unfair.
Honestly, I wouldn't have noticed him beside that dumpster if he hadn't been ridiculously handsome.
"What are you staring at?" he asked.
"Do you feel sick?"
"No. I'm fine."
He said it like I'd personally offended him by asking.
Most registered incubi were charming, obedient, and eager to please their owners. Zarek, on the other hand, acted like every conversation with me was a personal insult.
I decided to check whether anything was physically wrong with him.
Before I could reconsider, I reached out and pressed a hand against his abdomen.
His muscles tensed beneath my palm.
Then he caught my wrist.
"What the hell are you doing?"
He stood abruptly, his fingers still wrapped around my wrist.
"Who said you could touch me? Keep your hands to yourself!"
I blinked.
He seemed perfectly healthy from head to toe.
Unless the problem was somewhere else.
My gaze dropped for half a second.
Zarek noticed immediately.
"Where are you looking, Tessa? I asked you a question. What exactly do you think you're entitled to look at?"
Okay. Definitely temperamental.
But Paige had mentioned that an incubus with a problem might not respond normally to magical stimuli. I wanted to know if that was what was happening with Zarek.
I'd already changed into a sheer, spell-infused top beneath my jacket. It was supposed to encourage an incubus to draw magical energy from someone nearby.
The moment I took off my jacket, the room grew noticeably warmer.
That happened whenever Zarek got worked up. His body temperature rose, and the air around him grew hot enough to fog the windows.
I'd asked a few people about their familiars, but apparently, that wasn't a standard incubus trait.
Maybe magical creatures came with their own peculiarities.
I sat down beside him on the couch.
Zarek immediately shifted away.
I moved closer.
He gave me a warning look. "What are you doing now?"
"Checking something."
"Check it from over there."
I ignored him and leaned closer, close enough to catch the faint scent of smoke and something warm and unfamiliar on his skin.
His gaze flicked to my mouth before snapping back to my eyes.
It happened so quickly that I almost thought I'd imagined it.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
His expression darkened. "Get off me."
"If you're hungry, you don't have to pretend otherwise."
"I said, get off."
He wasn't moving away anymore. He was sitting perfectly still, his jaw tight and his eyes fixed on mine.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
I could feel the heat coming off him. It was almost distracting.
I should have listened to him.
Instead, I made the spectacularly stupid decision to test a little incubus-feeding enchantment I'd bought online.
I pulled a small glowing charm from my pocket and pressed it against his wrist.
Zarek's eyes dropped to it.
"What is that?"
"Just a little feeding spell."
"Take it off."
"Relax. It's supposed to help you draw in magical energy."
"I said, take it off."
His voice had gone low and rough. The warning in it should have been enough to make me stop.
Instead, I leaned toward him.
For one brief moment, we were so close that I could feel his breath against my face. His eyes locked on mine, and the usual contempt in them gave way to something harder to read.
Then I kissed him.
His lips were burning hot.
The charm flared between us, sending a pulse of magic through the air.
Zarek went rigid. His hand closed around my wrist, and for a split second, I couldn't tell whether he was going to pull me closer or shove me away.
Then he pushed me back.
"What did you just do to me?"
His voice had dropped to a dangerous growl.
"Just a little incubus stimulant."
"You drugged me?" His eyes widened with fury. "Tessa, I'm going to kill you!"
"Well, technically, you're supposed to call me your master."
His face twisted with disgust.
"I'm not some weak little creature that needs a human master. I'm a pureblood de—"
He stopped.
For one strange moment, he looked as though he'd nearly revealed something he desperately wanted to keep hidden.
I watched him carefully.
Despite his anger, he didn't look weak. He didn't look sick, either. If anything, the magic around him was growing stronger.
So his body worked perfectly well.
Which left one obvious explanation.
He already belonged to someone else.
Before I could ask, Zarek twisted free and shoved me away. The enchantment shattered against the floor in a shower of blue sparks.
"You really think a cheap spell can control me?" he snapped. "Humans are unbelievably stupid."
Then he stormed out of the room.
I watched him disappear down the hall, my lips still tingling from the kiss.
Mystery solved.
My handsome, foul-tempered incubus wasn't broken.
Maybe he was already bound to someone else.
And apparently, I was the idiot who'd gotten in the way.
