“Yeah, but the place is full of troublemakers, and I’m in need of a shower.”
“All the better.” Erik claps me on the back, his superhuman strength jolting me forward. “Your stench will keep the instigators at bay.” His head tilts a bit. “You know what?” He wears a strange look. I can almost smell the smoke from thebrainpower he’s using for whatever great idea he thinks he has. “It’s time we find a sexy little succubus to give you a lap dance.”
I don’t know why he thinks a lap dance is what I need, but with a succubus? “Why a succubus?”
“Because she’s looking for essence and will be eager to accept yours. She won’t care if you’re sweaty and stinky, just as long as you pull down your pants and give her what she wants.”
“In that case, she won’t care if it’s my essence, yours, or anyone else’s.”
“That’s the best part.”
“No, thank you.” I shake my head.
“It will help you understand why your friends don’t come around as much.”
I’m not the least bit interested. Not one iota of that scenario is appealing. I don’t know if Erik is trying to throw me a bone or piss me off. I’m still unsure of how to take him, and I don’t want to insult him. But meaningless intimacy turns me off. Especially if Erik and I are interchangeable.
I’ve never seen him as a full draugr, only half-shifted, but even in his human form, Erik is large and terrifying. The unnaturally dark shade of his skin makes him look like he stepped out of a fire. That, in contrast to his icy blue eyes, makes Eric downright haunting. I’m not sure I want to go anywhere with a zombie viking, especially not to a supernatural hangout.
My boss is new to our community and mostly keeps to himself. I don’t see him outside of work. Supernaturals are free to be themselves here, but sometimes that’s asking for trouble, and Erik’s the only draugr in Erie Cove.
“Maybe next time.”
Erik skulks toward me. His long strides close the distance between us in three steps. Standing inches from me, he looks down his nose, as if he’s trying to intimidate me. Not going to work. He may be bigger than me at the moment, but I’m noslouch as a human, and even bigger in my gargoyle form. Not to mention, I can fly.
Leaning his face inches from mine, he speaks again, “You’re not afraid to go for a drink with me, are you?”
Not that I’ll admit to. I shrug. “What I’m not into is paying for a woman’s attention.”
“You won’t have to,” he says in a much lighter tone. “She’ll be happy to oblige. Just promise her a little jizz.”
I shake my head. My jizz isn’t for sale. “Maybe some other time.”
Erik twists his mouth to the side, his features betraying his disappointment.
“What’s the big deal?” I ask. “Do you want to go see her?”
He shrugs in response. “I don’t.” He answers a little too quickly.
I think he’s lying. Maybe he thinks that if he uses me as an excuse, it might open the door for him, too. That’s definitely not what I’m into. If I’m with a chick,I’mwith her, end of story. “Boss, you don’t need me to go hold your hand.”
“You think I’m afraid to get my rocks off with her?” He sneers at me.
“I think you want to use me as an excuse.”
“I don’t need an excuse, and I’m not looking for anything but a way to get you to stop complaining about your friends wanting to do the dirty with their women. I figure if you experience the sensation of a silky pocket of warmth—” His eyes close and his shoulders rise as he fills his lungs with air.
“I get the point,” I interrupt before he can continue. “And I’m still not interested,” I repeat. Gargoyles aren’t turned on by looking at any old thing with a skirt on. It’s more like love at first sight, getting hit by a bolt of lightning or Cupid’s arrow, and all the other cliché bullshit that people make movies and write books about. All the things that I’ve never experienced. “I haveno interest in seeing if the succubus makes things click for me, because she’s a succubus. It’s a hard pass.”
“You need to find a woman.”
I shrug. “Maybe I’m doomed to prattle around this dreary town waiting for my fated-mate while watching my friends frolic around with theirs.” That’s a load of bull. Erik has my mind spinning in the wrong direction. I want no part of love and marriage. I’m not even sure I believe in them. I tune my boss out and focus on the nail I need to hammer down.
“Stone.” Erik grabs my arm. “Eternity is a long time.”
I wonder if that’s his story. Is he so lonely that he’ll turn to a succubus that has no interest in the man, only the man parts? I swing my hammer and hit the tip of my pointer finger.
“Fuck!” I watch the end of my finger shatter and fall to my feet. Luckily for my finger, Erik wants us to stay half-shifted when we’re on the clock. That way, we have all our gifts handy. In my case, that means opposable thumbsandwings, not to mention, as a half-gargoyle, I’m a lot less fragile.
