Succubus Revealed Read Online Free Page A

far more likely. It was only the obvious evidence—like my key and Seth’s University of Chicago teddy bear watching this spectacle—that drove home the fact that I was indeed where I was supposed to be.
    Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening and closing rang through the condo. “Hello?” came a blessedly familiar voice.
    “Seth!” exclaimed all three of us in unison.
    Moments later, Seth appeared in the doorway. As usual, he looked adorable. His reddish brown hair was typically unkempt, and he was wearing a Dirty Dancing T-shirt that I’d never seen before. Despite my panic and confusion over this current situation, the concerned part of me still noted the little signs of fatigue on Seth’s face, the dark circles and lines of weariness. He was thirty-six and usually looked younger than his age. Not today.
    “Seth,” said the bat-wielding woman. “This lady broke into your house.”
    He looked at each of us in turn before resting his gaze on her. “Mom,” he said quietly, “that’s my girlfriend. Please don’t bludgeon her.”
    “Since when do you have a girlfriend?” asked the guy.
    “Since when do you have a baseball bat?” I asked, recovering my composure.
    Seth cut me a wry look before gently trying to remove the bat from the woman’s hands. She didn’t let go. “Georgina, this is my mom, Margaret Mortensen. And that’s my brother Ian. Guys, this is Georgina.”
    “Hi,” I said, feeling surprise of a different sort. I’d heard a lot about Seth’s mother and younger brother but hadn’t expected to meet them anytime soon. Seth’s mother didn’t like to fly, and Ian was . . . well, from the stories Seth and Terry told, Ian was just hard to track down in general. He was the wayward Mortensen brother.
    Margaret relinquished the bat and put on a polite but wary smile. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
    “Ditto,” said Ian. I now understood why he looked familiar. Aside from the fact I’d probably seen a picture of him somewhere, he also shared some of Seth’s and Terry’s features. He was tall like Seth, but with Terry’s thinner face. Ian’s hair was all brown, with no coppery hint, but it had that same messy look that Seth’s did. Except, on closer examination, I had the feeling Ian’s had been purposely styled that way with the help of much time and product.
    Seth suddenly did a double take between Ian and me. He didn’t even have to say anything for me to guess the question on his mind. Or questions, perhaps. My nightgown and Ian’s shirtlessness undoubtedly raised a number of them.
    Ian’s defense came swift and certain. “She got into bed with me.”
    “I thought he was you,” I said.
    Seth’s mother made a strange noise in her throat.
    “You were supposed to be on the couch,” said Seth accusingly.
    Ian shrugged. “It’s uncomfortable. And you weren’t home yet, so I figured there was no harm done. How was I supposed to know some woman was going to come manhandle me in my sleep?”
    “I didn’t manhandle you!” I cried.
    Seth rubbed his eyes, again reminding me how exhausted he was. “Look, what’s done is done. Why don’t we all just go to bed—where we’re supposed to—and then get to know each other in the morning, okay?”
    Margaret eyed me. “She’s going to sleep in here? With you?”
    “Yes, Mom,” he said patiently. “With me. Because I’m a grown man. And this is my home. And because in thirty-six years, this isn’t the first woman to stay over with me.”
    His mother looked aghast, and I groped for a more comfortable topic. “Your shirt’s great.” Now that she wasn’t threatening to strike me, I could see that the crossword spelled out her five granddaughters’ names. “I love the girls.”
    “Thank you,” she said. “Each one of them is a blessing, born within the holy confines of wedlock.”
    Before I could even fumble a response to that, Ian groaned. “Lord, Mom. Is that from that Web site I told you not to order from?