Free Come to Me by Lisa Cach Page B

for God's sake, down! She is not the ripest, most luscious piece of fruit you've seen your entire life. No
!
    "You have the book. Touching the page would have allowed that easily enough," she said, her tone betraying no hint of the anger that he could see burning in her eyes.
    "This way… is more useful to me."
    "Let me go."
    "Yes, in the morning."
After you've shown me what that body can do… No! She's a devil
!
    "Let me go," she repeated, an edge to her voice.
    "In the morning. If you agree to do as I wish." And he had so many wishes, most of which he could never let her fulfill.
    "You cannot keep me here past the dawn," she said archly. "You know, of course, that your spells will not hold me in the daylight."
    He felt a start of alarm. "No," he agreed, "of course not." The book hadn't covered that issue. All the book had done was talk about spells for capturing a succubus, not what limits such a spell might have. "But if you disappear in the dawn I will simply summon you again when night falls. I do not imagine you wish to spend any more nights trapped thus."
    Her cool façade slipped a fraction, and her lips parted, fear and disbelief struggling to show themselves on her features. "You would do that to me?"
    "I will if you force it upon me," he said, trying equally as hard to hide his surprise at her strong reaction. She must truly loathe captivity. Perhaps that threat was all the leverage he needed to have her do his bidding. "Do as I wish and you will be free."
    He didn't much relish the idea of setting her free at all, really. Once loose, she might seek whatever revenge she pleased, attacking him before he could defend himself. He hadn't a choice about eventually letting her go, though, had he? He couldn't spend every evening for the next fifty years reciting that spell, just to keep her caged.
    She was staring at him. Then her lips twitched and tightened, as if forcing herself to swallow something distasteful. "What is it that you wish me to do for my freedom?" she asked bitterly.
    Nicolae felt his muscles relax in relief. The battle had been more easily won than he had imagined, and at no cost to himself. He had been certain he'd have to offer Samira some sort of bargain to get her to do as he wished. He had hated to think of what she might have asked of him. A night with him, where he made no protest to whatever depravities she desired? A month of visits, where she drained him of his essence?
    He'd spent a good part of his day lying half-awake in bed, trying to imagine what she might want and how he would be able to give it to her. A virgin he might be, but he had a healthy imagination. Too healthy. Unfortunately, the imaginings had not been nearly as distasteful or distressing as they should have been, and if he dared to admit it to himself, he'd come to hope that she'd demand a great deal from him in whatever bargain they struck.
    She was dangerous, clearly. If mere thoughts of offering her a bargain had been enough to obsess his thoughts all day, how much worse off would he have been if he had had to give in to some strange, erotic demon request and let her have what she wanted? He might never have had the strength to rise from his bed again.
    The idea should have bothered him far more than it did.
    And why did he keep picturing her clothed as a young noblewoman, walking in the forest with a basket on her arm?
    "There is but one thing I want of you," he said, and against his will all the lustful imaginings of the day sprung fully back into his mind.
He wanted her to come to his bed in the night and mount him, to ride him until dawn; he wanted to grab those full breasts and squeeze them as she arched her back above him, her hips rocking, her hand reaching behind her to lightly grasp his balls. He wanted her to bring him to release again and again and
… "Just one thing," he said again, his mouth dry.
    Damn her to the hell from which she'd come: At this moment, he'd be as happy to spend himself within her as to