"You might not want to screw me that badly, but I've turned down at least two dozen MMA fighters in the past few years, so I know I have some sex appeal."
His eyes narrowed. "Who the fuck was interested in you?"
It sounded like an insult, but I knew it was more of a threat.
"I know the drill, and I'm not giving you names. I'm just saying, I can be attractive tosomepeople, so a sex demon could potentially be interested in me."
"Do you know how incubus magic works?"
"No."
"They have to recharge their power by visiting the dreams of someone who is attracted to them and having sex with them in those dreams. A mated incubus can only visit their mate. A mated immortal cannot be visited by anyoneotherthan their mate. It has nothing to do with sex appeal."
"So he couldn't feed from me."
"No. There's also the fact that his bargain mark is actually the mark of a fated mate, which is an annoyance, to say the least."
My eyebrows shot upward. "It'swhat?"
"He's Merrily's soulmate. It makes him untouchable in fae society, as you know. Like you did, he thinks it's the mark of a favor he owes her."
"She doesn't want to be with him?"
"I assume not. None of us have brought the topic up. Merrily's the oldest of us, and she has her reasons for everything she does."
"Damn."
"She may not be aware that we know at all, so don't mention it."
My eyebrows lifted. "You keep secrets from each other?"
"Not many, but a few."
"Does Liv know?"
"She does. She asked me about it after the Cabinet meeting where he showed up with the mark. It was nearly a full century ago."
"Wow."
Callum turned the hot water off. I realized the tub was near overflowing, the water above my chin. If I slouched, I'd be under.
"Did you close the overflow drain somehow?" I asked.
"Long ago."
We both leaned back in the tub, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the relaxation.
Callum's hands each took one of my feet, and I groaned softly when his thumbs pressed into the pads of them, massaging slowly.
"If this is about trying to convince me to let you get me off again, you're not going to win," I said, digging my fingers into the sides of the tub.
"I just want to make you feel good."
"You can't ask for that without accepting reciprocation." I nearly moaned the words.
"You make me feel good just by maintaining physical contact."
He wasn't joking. To him,not being in painwasfeeling good.
