The next day, Dante was off to work, and I called Cody right after breakfast. "Hey," I said. "Are you guys still being beach bunnies?"

"You bet," he said brightly. "One of our neighbors has a sailboat and offered to let us go with him and-"

"That's not quite what I had in mind," I interrupted.

An hour and a half later, Peter echoed my thoughts. "This wasn't what I had in mind."

I'd convinced them to come out with me on my beach hunt. Unfortunately, the day was cold and threatened rain. As we walked along the water at Dash Point, icy wind ripped off the waves and cut across our faces. I snuggled into my jacket, thinking of how many times I'd taken the ability to shape-shift warmer coats for granted.

"Look, I know you guys think you're on spring break, but eventually, we will get another archdemon, and I'd rather it be Jerome."

"Yes, but it's not like this is exactly an airtight plan," Peter argued. "We're pretty much going to beaches at random, in the hopes of finding white sand. Look at this stuff. It's beige...is that close enough to white?"

I cut him a sidelong glance. "You once got in an argument with Carter about the difference between 'Denim Days Blue' and 'Summer Cobalt.' You tell me. Is there a difference between white and beige?"

Peter kicked sand up with the toe of his boot. "It was ' Winter Cobalt,' and Carter was wrong. There's a huge difference between those two."

Cody and I hid our grins as we continued our trek. Dash Point State Park was near Federal Way, down on the south side of Puget Sound. It had seemed reasonable to start there and work our way around the coast, back up toward Seattle. This was our second park of the day, and so far, we'd seen nothing to match the seal's cryptic clues.

On our drive to the third place, Peter was still pessimistic. "You know, this would be a lot easier if we had your dead-beat boyfriend along. We can only go off visual clues at this point. We need someone who can actually sense the power around the vessel."

"Dante's busy at work," I explained.

"Huh," Cody mused. "I never expected to hear 'busy' and 'at work' used together when it came to Dante."

"Be quiet," I said. "Leave the snark to Hugh and Peter."

"What about Erik?" asked Peter. "He's psychic."

"Yeah, I considered that, but he's getting old and his back's been bothering him. I hate to ask him to walk around and around with me...but well, I haven't ruled it out."

"And you don't know any more psychics?"

"Nope. Not that I trust, at least."

"Me either," admitted Peter. "But I bet Hugh does."

"Yeah, you're probably-" I stopped mid-sentence. "I might know one more..." It was crazy idea, one I wasn't sure I should put any real effort toward.

"Who?" asked Cody.

I shook my head and drove through the entrance of our next state park. "It's a long story, one I'm going to have to work on."

Our third stop yielded nothing either, save an inability for Peter to get sand out of his boots. It had started raining by that point, and even my mood was down by then. Sunset was still a couple of hours away, but the overcast sky was effectively killing our light. Glancing at my watch, I saw that the dance lesson was looming, so we turned north and headed back to Seattle. I dropped the vampires off at their apartment and then drove home to get ready.

My closet's dress selection seemed old and tired, but I had no new fashions to magically summon. So, I opted for a sleeveless minidress with a bright pattern of orange, green, and black flowers that had been blurred together like a water-color painting. It was a bit shorter than it should have been for a dance with this much movement, but the colors seemed suitable and cheerful on a day like this.

It also seemed cold, though, and on impulse, I added black thigh-high stockings to keep my legs warm. Between that, black heels, and dark lipstick, I seemed to be channeling my succubus self more than my mild-mannered bookstore manager self. Of course, considering the whore wear I'd shown up in a week or so ago, this was kind of tame.

Doug naturally still teased me about it, though deep down inside, I knew he thought I looked hot. I took a smug satisfaction in knowing I'd done it without any shape-shifting. Plus, I'd practically burned my hair off trying to flat iron it tonight. I dared anyone to accuse me of frizziness.

Maddie was ecstatic, and her enthusiasm spread to those among the staff who'd decided to stay after closing for the lesson. A few of their friends had shown up as well, giving us around a dozen. It was a good, manageable size. We cleared space upstairs, and I set up my portable CD player. Cody had helped me teach swing before, but I hadn't thought to enlist his assistance this time. Instead, I used Doug as my demo. Maybe it was part of being a musician, but he had a solid sense of rhythm and could pick up moves really quickly.

A half-hour in, I trusted him enough to start assisting others, and we split up to work with some of our students. Despite my hesitation in agreeing to the lesson, I had fun, and most people were so nervous about touching their manager that I didn't have to worry about anyone hurting my back. Maddie, enthusiastic or not, was having a bit of trouble and complained loudly when her brother came in to help her. He swept her away, leaving me with her former dance partner: Seth.

I'd known he was here, of course, but I'd been trying to avoid eye contact. There was no good way around it now, and we stood there awkwardly, eyeing each other, neither of us certain what to do. Autopilot kicked in, and I held my hands out to him. I was the teacher here, and since he was one of the worst dancers on the floor, it was only natural that he'd need my help more than others.

Seth held up his hands in return, and as I took a step forward, my heel snagged on the carpet. I knelt down to check, thinking it would be pretty embarrassing to trip and fall when I was the alleged model of grace and balance here. Glancing up, I met Seth's eyes. He was looking down at me, and his face was no longer shy or confused. His expression was considering and...well, hungry. Looking down, I suddenly realized the view I was offering up. He was able to see right into the heart of my cleavage, which was already considerably exposed by the dress's low neckline. From kneeling, my skirt had ridden up, showing off the black lace top of one of my thigh-highs.

I don't know what in particular he found the most alluring, but his gaze raked across my body, and everywhere it touched, heat swept me. I rose, suddenly feeling like the shy and awkward one. Desire was written all over him, and it was a wonder the entire room didn't notice. He extended his hands again, and when we touched, electricity shot through my body.

Finding the beat, I led him into the steps. He was every bit as bad as I remembered, yet as I worked to guide him in the right moves, our bodies brushing together out of necessity, I couldn't help but think that while his dance rhythm might be lacking, there'd been nothing uncoordinated about the way he made love.

Neither of us spoke for a minute or so, and I was sure he was caught up in the same physical spell as me, probably reliving our encounter from yesterday as well. My arousal was growing too, and wrong as I knew it was, I actually went out of my way to make sure we occasionally touched as I guided his body. Finally, sexually charged or not, I couldn't help but laugh.

"I think this is the worst I've ever seen you dance," I told him. "And believe me, that's saying something."

He smiled ruefully, but I suspected dancing was the last thing on his mind right now. "I'm out of practice."

"Well, I'm glad you're actually here this time, instead of sitting on the sidelines."

"Things change, I guess."

I held his eyes for a few moments. "Yes. Yes, they do."

A few more moments of silence passed before he asked, "How's your immortal, um, situation going?"

"Hmm?" Seth's hand had come within millimeters of brushing against my breast when we turned. Sternly, I chastised myself to forget about the way his body had felt-and looked and smelled and tasted-yesterday and remember my other problems. "Oh, well. Not so great, actually. I got some more info, except it's hard to-"

When I fell silent, Seth tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look. "What?"

I'd forgotten the idea that I'd briefly hinted at to the vampires. "Seth...I have a strange question to ask you...and you can feel free to say no."

The look on his face still seemed to say he wanted to rip my clothes off, but there was something else...something serious and concerned that made sweet, sentimental feelings mingle with my own lust.

"If there's anything I can do to help, I will."

"I know," I said. "Except this isn't exactly your help...it's Kayla's."

If Seth had been doing any semblance of dancing now, he might have stumbled and missed a beat. As it was, it was kind of hard to tell the difference.

"Kayla?" His four-year-old niece's name was clearly not what he'd been expecting to hear.

"Do you remember when I said she had psychic powers?"

"Yeah...but I didn't really think much of it."

"Well, I told you the logistics of summoning, right? Now I've got a lead on where Jerome is but not how to find him once we're in the right spot. I could do it if I was back to normal, or a psychic might be able to do it. Unfortunately, my usual ones aren't easily accessible."

Worry was rapidly dominating over desire now. I was sad to see the arousal leave him, but this was a serious topic.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of Kayla getting mixed up in any of this. In fact, I know I don't like it."

I nodded. "I know. I figured you'd feel that way-believe me, I don't like it either." I loved all of Seth's nieces, but Kayla in particular always tugged at my heartstrings. "Just something that crossed my mind earlier."

"Well, I-ah!"

Another couple slammed into my back, shoving me forward into his arms. My hands reached out to catch myself, but it didn't stop our bodies from pressing together. Every part of me tingled at that contact, and if I'd had any remaining delusions that I could forget about what we'd done yesterday, they shattered for good now.

"Sorry," said Andy. He was dancing with Casey, and like her, he was a longtime staff member.

Casey groaned. "Georgina, please take him. Even Seth can't be that bad."

"Debatable," I murmured. I didn't want to move, didn't want to break my hold with Seth. I wanted to stay there and keep touching him, and because of that very impulse, I stepped back. My breathing was heavy, and it took me a moment to gather myself. I drew in one more deep breath and grinned at Andy. "Okay. Let's see what we can do with you."

Casey led Seth away, and I managed to avoid him for the rest of the dance lesson. When it wrapped up, everyone clapped in my honor and demanded I teach a follow-up. I assured them I would, but I was too flustered and preoccupied to settle on a date right now. I promised to get back to them later.

Several of them immediately jumped in to put the room back together, and seeing no further reason to stay, I hurried off to my office. My plan was to check up on some of the paperwork and hide out until everyone was gone so that I wouldn't have to see Seth again. I was half-way down the hall when I heard someone call my name.

"Georgina?"

I halted. It was Maddie. I turned, hoping the smile on my face looked neither fake nor panicked. Fuck. She was here to bust me for cozying up with her boyfriend on the dance floor. And honestly, it was no more than I deserved.

But her face was all smiles and good cheer as she handed me a stack of papers. "I went kind of crazy," she said sheepishly, "but these are some condo listings I printed for you. I've been searching online the last couple of days and kind of looked at everything since you still weren't one hundred percent sure of what you wanted. Got a lot of good hits by the beach."

I took the stack from her, stunned. This was the last thing I'd expected.

"It's probably overkill, but it should give you a lot to look at. Then, if you get some ideas, we can go on from there."

I glanced down at the top sheet, displaying a three-bedroom condo out on Alki. "I...wow. Thank you, Maddie. You shouldn't have."

She beamed at my thanks. "Happy to. Let me know what you think-and thanks again for the lesson. It was so much fun! Hopefully I'll be less horrible next time. Maybe I can get Seth to practice at home."

She gave me a quick hug and then hurried off to catch a ride with Doug. I trudged to my office, papers in hand, and set them on my desk. I collapsed into the chair, feeling horrible. While I'd been out doing bad, wicked things with her boyfriend, she'd been working diligently to find me a new home.

I tried hard after that to browse some spreadsheets, but my heart wasn't in it. I mostly stared at numbers without really comprehending them, and when a knock came at the door, I welcomed the distraction. I jumped up from my chair.

"Come in." I wondered if Maddie had forgotten to give me another ream. But it wasn't her.

Seth stood in the doorway.

I stared, hoping my mouth hadn't dropped open or anything embarrassing like that. "What...what are you doing here? I thought you left."

He looked as though he wanted to step inside but was afraid to. "Doug took Maddie home, and I came back to...to get..." He stopped and shook his head, unable to continue with a lie about having forgotten something. "I came back to see you."

I remembered the way his eyes had watched my body, the smoke in them when the skirt had ridden up my leg. That same smokiness was there now, and I felt my own body's desire flare up in response. Really, though, after the way we'd touched while dancing, the desire had never really left me. Nonetheless, I tried to be reasonable.

"Seth, we can't...not again...it's..."

"I know," he said. At last, he crossed the threshold. "And I told myself...told myself I'd let it go...but I haven't stopped thinking about you since yesterday. And after tonight." Hesitantly, as though afraid someone might be lurking, he shut the door behind him. "Just the way you looked out there. It was...amazing. Believe me, I didn't screw up dancing because I'm bad at it-which I am. It's because I wasn't thinking about it at all. I was thinking about you. God, I couldn't stop. And it's not just how sexy you are tonight. It was more. It was the way you lit up the room, the way you charmed everyone and made them happy. You don't need any special powers to do that, Georgina. It's just in you, part of who you are. How funny you are, how smart. It's what made me fall in love you back then, and it's what..." He didn't finish, and I was glad. If he had said "...makes me love you now," I wouldn't have been able to handle it.

I noticed that he'd moved a lot closer. I took a deep breath. "It would have been easier on me if you said you just thought I was sexy." Shallowness I could handle. Not this emotional depth.

He gave a rueful smile and stepped even closer so that we were only a couple feet apart. "Oh, believe me, I do. And it would be a lot easier on me if you weren't."

I could scarcely breathe. We were so close now, and every atom in the room felt charged. I felt charged. There was no mistaking the look on his face. He wanted me too-badly. Lust and desire spilled off him, and I knew my own face mirrored those feelings. He was careful, though, standing as close as he dared, waiting for my signal. There was a tension to him, like it would only take one small sign from me for him to explode.

Desperately, I tried to grasp a hold of everything reasonable that I knew. I remembered how miserable I'd felt when he left to go see Maddie yesterday. Hell, I tried to think of Maddie herself-that cheerful, guileless face that trusted me so much. I tried to think of Dante. None of that worked, though, because all that was in my head was Seth, how perfect it had felt being with him. How perfect it felt being with him even now.

Reaching out, I took his hand and brought it up to my collarbone. It was all he needed. He stepped closer and traced the lines of my neck, then moved down to my shoulder. He pushed the dress's strap so that it slid down my arm. His fingers followed it, pulling it farther so that the top of my dress fell forward, revealing most of my breast. My nipple was already hard and ready when his hand moved over and pulled the rest of that side of the dress down, completely exposing my breast. He cupped it, squeezing its fullness and running his fingers along the curve.

His other hand moved to my other side, cupping that breast and teasing its nipple underneath the dress's silk. My body pressed closer to his, and our mouths met, hot and intense. Yesterday had been sweet and full of emotion. There was emotion here today, but it was intermingled with raw passion, with an animal instinct that made me wish he'd ravage my body right now.

And honestly, that wasn't too far from what happened. I stumbled from the press of our bodies and found my back pressed-gently-against the wall as he continued caressing my breasts. My hands wrapped around his neck, moving up to half-tangle and half-pull his hair. He finally released my breasts and ran his hands over the length of my body, down my hips and thighs, across the sheer, silky fabric covering my legs. Sliding his hands back up, he pushed my skirt up and slipped one hand under my thigh, so that it wrapped around his waist and kept the dress up. His other hand moved down under my black lace thong panties, probing to see if I was ready.

I was. I was warm and wet and slick, and the finger he slipped into me went in so easily that he then tried two, then three. I groaned and arched my back as he moved his fingers in and out of me and his mouth left hard, bruising kisses on my neck. My own hands fumbled down, trying to unfasten his pants. When I'd tugged them and his boxers down, he gripped my hips and turned me around so that I faced the wall. He shoved my skirt back up and tugged my panties halfway down my thighs. I bent over and extended my arms, using my hands to brace myself against the wall.

He entered me, forceful and deep, with no buildup or teasing. He was just as hard and long as I remembered, just as wonderful. Steadying his hands on my hips, he thrust roughly into me, desperately trying to sate the need I'd seen in him earlier, the need I shared. I cried out each time he shoved into me, knowing I should be quiet in case someone else had come back to the store. But I couldn't be. I was too caught up in the out-of-control passion of this moment, in the sinuous, primal lust that had consumed us both. And underscoring all of it was the realization that it was Seth. Seth, Seth, Seth...whom I loved more than anyone else. You are the world .

He moved his hands up from my hips to cup my breasts, forcing me to readjust my position. All the time, he never broke his rhythm, staying fast and urgent. His fingers pinched my nipples hard, and I cried out louder. I think that turned him on even more, spurring him to thrust harder into me. Hoping to excite him further, I completely gave myself over and let go of any restraint with my voice. The louder I moaned, the more his body pounded into mine. It was all I could do to keep myself from getting pressed against the wall, and as I moaned over and over, it had nothing to do with arousing him and everything to do with the ecstatic and exquisite force of what we were doing.

And when I finally came, the heat between my thighs building to an unbearable high, it was his name I screamed. A surge of new wetness came with my orgasm, and then I heard him groan and give a thrust so hard that it did shove me against the wall. His hands still clenched my breasts, his nails digging into my tender flesh, as he shuddered and took his release. He came for a long time, his low cry slowly fading.

When he pulled out, the loss of him in my body made me feel incomplete. Nonetheless, I straightened up and leaned against the wall, gasping to catch my breath. My voice was hoarse.

"Jesus," I said. "That was bad."

Seth looked startled-and then hurt. "Bad?"

"No, not performance bad-more like dirty, wicked bad. The kind of stuff that gets an R rating."

"What, we can't do that?" He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck.

"Well, yeah...er, well, damn it. We're not supposed to be. Not at all. It's just that last time, it was like...I don't know. It was making love. This time it was..."

"Fucking?" he supplied.

"Oh God," I groaned. "Seth Mortensen just said 'fucking' out loud. The end times are near."

He laughed and placed tiny kisses over my cheek. "I'm not some innocent. You should know that from my books."

"Yeah, but still. You aren't O'Neill. Unless you're getting into fistfights that I don't know about."

"Mmm...not lately."

We stood there in each other's arms, both warm in the afterglow of what we'd done. Then, just like last time, a strange awkwardness began to grow. We didn't even need Maddie calling now. I carefully pulled away.

"You should probably go, huh?" I didn't say it, but I was certain he'd be seeing her later.

"Yeah, but..." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"What, having an illicit and cheap affair?"

He grimaced. "No. But I mean, I've spent ages imagining what it'd be like to be with you and wishing you weren't a succubus. I was always down on myself...I felt so shallow to be consumed by sex like that. And now that it's finally happened-now that you aren't a succubus-it's not superficial or shallow at all. It's so...I don't know. It's powerful. I wish this was an illicit, cheap affair. I wish I didn't feel this so deeply. Otherwise, when we said yesterday was it, it really would have been it."

I wished then, more than anything, that he'd say he was going to leave Maddie and we could be together again. He didn't, though, and I certainly wasn't going to bring it up. Besides, what good would it do? In only a few more days, I'd be back to normal, and our relationship would be as dysfunctional as before. What I wanted was pointless.

"Can I..." He took a deep breath. "Can I see you again? I know we said no more..."

I knew that by "see you again" he meant "have sex with you again." And somehow, I realized we were on a precipice here. The first time had been...well, not accidental...but certainly unexpected. This time had been an out-of-control animal lust. But now? An open declaration of this affair-premeditated sex-it took things to a whole new level. There was no going back. I studied those eyes I loved, the warm and gentle lips. I assessed my body, how it ached yet still burned with pleasure. Then I glanced over at Maddie's painstakingly researched real estate packet.

That should have been my mood killer, my warning. It was a reminder of who we were both betraying here. Seth had given in, but though I was on the verge, I could still pull back and save us from this. I had the power to say no.

"Yes," I said at last. "You can see me again."
 

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