Succubus Revealed Read Online Free Page B

You know their stuff’s made in China. I know this woman who could have made you one out of sustainable organic fabric.”
    “Hemp is a drug, not a fabric,” she told him.
    “Good night, you guys,” said Seth, pointing his brother to the door. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
    Margaret and Ian murmured their good nights, and she paused to kiss Seth on the cheek—which I actually thought was pretty cute. When they were gone and the door was closed, Seth sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands.
    “So,” I said, coming to sit beside him. “Exactly how many women have stayed over in thirty-six years?”
    He looked up. “None who were caught by my mother in so little clothing.”
    I plucked at the skirt of the nightgown. “This? This is tame.”
    “I’m sorry about that,” he added, waving vaguely toward the door. “I should’ve called and warned you. They just drove into town tonight—unannounced, of course. Ian can’t be expected to do what people expect. It would ruin his reputation. They showed up at Terry’s, but there’s no room for them there, so I sent them on ahead since they were so tired. I had no idea it would result in you trying to sleep with my brother.”
    “Seth!”
    “Kidding, kidding.” He picked up my hand and kissed the top of it. “How are you? How was your day?”
    “Well, I tried my best to keep Santa from getting drunk and then found out Jerome signed us up for a Hellish bowling league.”
    “I see,” said Seth. “So. The usual.”
    “Pretty much. What about you?”
    The small smile that had been tugging at his lips fell. “Aside from unexpected family? The usual too. Terry was out late with work stuff, so I was there all night with the girls while Andrea rested. Kendall has to build a papier-mâché solar system, so that was fun for everyone.” He held up his hands and wiggled fingers coated in white powder.
    “And let me guess. No writing?”
    He shrugged. “It’s not important.”
    “You should’ve called me. I could’ve watched them while you wrote.”
    “You were working and then . . . what, it was fondue night, right?” He stood up and stripped off his shirt and jeans, getting down to green flannel boxers.
    “How did you know that?” I asked. “I barely knew that.”
    “I was on Peter’s e-mail list.”
    “Well, regardless, it doesn’t matter. And that mall job is nothing. I could have been over here in a flash.”
    He stepped into his bathroom and returned a few moments later with a toothbrush in his mouth. “That job is nuffing. Haf any of your interfeews panned out?”
    “No,” I said, not adding that I hadn’t gone on any other interviews. Everything paled compared to Emerald City.
    The conversation was put on pause while he finished brushing his teeth. “You should be doing something better,” he said, once he was done.
    “I’m fine where I’m at. I don’t mind it. But you . . . you can’t keep going on like this. You’re not getting enough sleep or working. ”
    “Don’t worry about it,” he said. He turned off the light and crawled into bed. In the dimness, I saw him pat the spot beside him. “Come over here. It’s just me, I promise.”
    I smiled and curled up beside him. “Ian didn’t smell right, you know. I mean, he smelled good, but not like you.”
    “I’m sure he spends gratuitous amounts of money to smell good,” muttered Seth through a yawn.
    “What’s he do for a living?”
    “Hard to say. He’s always got new jobs. Or no job. Whatever money he’s got goes toward carefully maintaining his hard-fought, effortless lifestyle. Have you seen his coat?”
    “No. The only clothing of his I’ve seen is his boxers.”
    “Ah. Well, it must be in the living room. It looks like it came from a thrift store but probably cost four figures.” He sighed. “Although, I shouldn’t be too hard on him. I mean, yeah, he’ll probably hit me up for money while he’s here, but I can’t knock him and Mom coming out to