“There ya are—ooooh! Look at you! So fluffy. So clean.” Jessie teased, ruffling Nikolai’s leg fluff as he sat down with a bowl of his own dinner. “Food’s superb, as always big guy.”
“Thanks,” Nikolai snorted, glancing up at Isabella. “Having fun?”
“Vroooooom!” Isabella made little motor sounds, feet kicking out to the side of Jessie’s head. Katarina sighed, looking up at her kid.
“She’s got you both wrapped around her finger.” Katarina beamed up at her kiddo who swayed happily from side to side on top of the minotaur’s head.
“She’s not the only one,” Jessie blurted out, garnering a ‘you’ve got a point’ finger waggled at him from Nikolai. Katarina raised both her eyebrows at them, a smug look curling up on her face. It looked so good on her as she finished her bowl. Getting up from the table, she dunked her empty dishes in the sink, then returned to the tiny terror on Jessie’s head.
“Alright, Bug, bath time.”
“Jessie, Vroom—”
“Bug, Jessie’s eating.”
“Then bath wait.”
Nikolai tried not to snort into his food as Jessie climbed to his feet. “It’s all good. I can be a good motorcycle and get her to the tub, then you’ve got to hop off, okay, Bella?”
“Vroom! Vroom! Bath!”
Katarina’s shoulders trembled as she slapped her forehead, listening to the ridiculous pair zip off into the house. Nikolai leaned around her to watch Jessie climb the stairs slowly so that Isabella could rev the engine.
“He’s such a good dad,” Katarina whispered. Nikolai nodded solemnly, not saying a word.Not my place. Not my kid.But he couldn’t but help and wonder…what if when Katarina got back up on her feet? What would happen when she wasn’t in survival mode and starving? When she looked at life clearly…would she stay? Would she let Jessie spoil that little girl rotten?
It wasn’t like Nikolai wasthinkingabout things past the present. Sure, he was attracted to her, and dragon’s breath did he like her. And sure, the kid was growing on him if only the little shit would stop jump scaring him when he worked on vehicles. But thinking past the next day was dangerous. Making plans, expecting more than the next day was a one-way ticket to pain.
He would know. He’d been pining for the floppy-eared, horned bastard currently making engine noises somewhere upstairs for years.
I’ve been in love with him practically our whole lives, and what’s that done?Imagining a life with Jessie only made the ache in his chest greater. So, he wasn’t going to do that with Katarina. Because when she was ready to spread those pretty bat wings again, he wasn’t going to be the reason she was chained to the ground. She deserved the chance to explore, to be, to exist…she’d already spent so long chained to the wrong man.
So he’d count himself lucky that she was a hungry succubus with a cute kid while he could. And when she inevitably foundsomething better than an emotionally complicated mechanic and the mob boss he was in love with, then it wouldn’t hurt so bad.It probably still will…He thought to himself about how much it’d still hurt as he watched her head upstairs, passing Jessie in the hallway with a flirty wink, and a smile.
Was it wrong to have gotten used to her presence so quickly? Was it wrong to like it?
Chapter Twelve:
~Katarina~
Katarinaturnedoutthelight in the bedroom, pulling the door closed to the sweet, sweet sound of her child tuckered out. Like a light, the second Isabella hit that pillow, she started to snore. It’d been a big day, what with school, Nik’s car, Jessie’s rough housing—the poor thing was wiped. Katarina, however, was not.
She turned from the door to find a large, imposing Minotaur in only pajama pants looming in the opposite doorway. Those pants were tented like he was carting a steel pipe on his hips. The easiness of his smile turned her insides into molten lava as he curled a finger in front of her. Beckoning her closer, his gravity was devastating as she stood in front of him in mere moments. He twisted, pinning her back into that tiny frame. All the air in her lungs evaporated. Katarina stared up into warm, chocolate eyes that roamed her face.
“Now, baby girl,” he purred, tracing her jaw with a soft fingertip. “About that car. See, you’re going to need parts. You’redefinitelygoing to need new tires. Probably a splash of paint. Rust off…the works.”
“The works?” She giggled, leaning back into the frame so she could press her hips to his. A firm cock, barely contained within those soft, pajama bottoms pressed against her. Her fingers instinctively traced him. Jessie shivered, eyes fluttering inresponse. She grinned. “Too bad I don’t have any money to pay you back.”
“Oh, you’re not paying for this,” he teased. His hand found the back of her head and this time, when she leaned into him, she didn’t hesitate to kiss him. His mouth was firm against hers, tasted of cherry limeade and pop rocks, all cracking against her tongue. He explored her mouth slowly, filling her with his aura. Her fangs popped out in her gums, and she felt her tail slithering down the back of her leg. If she wasn’t careful, the wings and claws would come soon after and she’d be a horny, feral thing.Not exactly ideal on a first time…then again…if anyone would be into the whole succubus thing, it’d probably be Jessie.
He pulled back from her mouth, voice strained and raspy. “Baby girl, I just want to clarify—this little playful banter we got going on? You don’t have to do this to work on the car, it’s yours and the shop’s there.”
“I know,” she murmured softly. Wrapping her fingers around his cock, still trapped in his pajamas, she earned herself a sharply sucked in breath from Jessie. It curled her lips up wickedly as she purred against his mouth. “But it’s really working for me.”
“Ooooh, baby girl, the things I’m about to do to you,” he growled, snatching back her mouth. Jessie only stopped at the sound of wood creaking. The pair froze, turning to stare across the hall with wide eyes. The door was still firmly shut. It wasn’t till Nik morphed from the shadows, smirking like a fool, that Katarina relaxed.
“Getting started without me, are we?” he teased, clearing the last step.
“Couldn’t resist,” Jessie chuckled softly under his breath. He pulled Katarina into the room shortly before Nik closed it behind him. Without having to say a word, Jessie walked Katarina back into Nik’s firm chest. She gasped as two mouths descended on her. The air was alive with sweet but tart flavors, her stomach already warm from feeding off their energies. She melted like chocolate as Nik peppered her shoulder with kisses. Her sleep t-shirt was tugged up and off her without mercy andhung somewhere in the dark. Jessie’s mouth was all over her throat and collarbone, working his way down to her aching nipples. Katarina raked her fingernails down his soft back. His muscles rippled under her touch and fluffed her pride. She had to chew on her lip, or she’d fill the house with her sounds. Especially as Nik’s hand found its way into her shorts. He cupped her cunt and stroked it slowly, making sure to trace her till wetness pooled in her curls before he even dipped in. Her clit begged him to touch her. An eternity of inattention could drive a girl to madness, after all.
