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It was probably perverse of me to find it arousing that the incubus at the motel lusted after us both, knew what we were doing all night every time we checked into room 15 and probably got himself off to it, but it filled me with smug satisfaction to know that even if no one else did, he knew that Vince wanted me. That Vince fucked me in that motel room. I was the one who got to be with him that way. Be on the receiving end of all his wild, furious lust and domineering nature and mind-blowing skills in bed.

Me. I got to have Vince that way. He didn’t.

Vince was mine.

—

My match with the Ghastly Boys went very well. Their wrestling style was unique and the audience loved it—lots of shooting across the arena to hide in dark corners and pounce, clashing with me in the air and sending us tumbling back down to the ring for a dramatic crash, briefly splitting apart to swirl around me in a cloud of shadows.

I was worn out but exhilarated by the end of it. I’d won our match, because Holt had decided that the Beast of Burden would be the only newcomer to beat his opponent this weekend. Corey had been delighted, calling it ‘The Fall of the Tasselled Tussler,’ and he’d already begun workshopping ideas with Holt for a long-running and very dramatic feud between the two of them.

When I got into the backstage area, covered in sweat and still catching my breath after our match, most of the wrestlers were gathered to wait for Holt’s nightly ‘good job’ speech.

“Great job, Crossbody,” Carl said with a fanged grin, tilting his blood-tinged protein shake in my direction.

I tried not to let my smile grow too wide. “Appreciate it.”

“That was fucking amazing,” Vince blurted, which made several of the others glance over at him in surprise. He ignored them, grinning at me. “It was really good. Super entertaining.”

A blush bloomed on my cheeks. “Yours and Kit’s match was excellent too.”

“What the fuuuuck?” Gabe muttered to Biff. “They’re being nice to each other. This is creepy.”

“It’s because of the progress we’ve made together in therapy,” Corey declared. “I’m really quite good. They’ve come on leaps and bounds in just a couple of weeks. Haven’t you?” He beamed at us with pride.

Vince’s mouth twitched. “Yes,” he said solemnly, “those ‘good morning’ exercises are really helping. Thanks, Corey.”

“Just doing my job as our mother hen,” he said airily. He tossed back his long braid, then laid a hand over his chest and looked around the room as his eyes glimmered. “I love all of you. And yes, that includes our newest colleagues.”

“I love all of you too,” Gabe said quickly, darting a lusty look at Beast and then the Ghastly Boys. “Just full of love over here. Got a whole load of it inside me, just waiting to shoot out—”

“Gabe,” Val interrupted flatly, but the incubus was not deterred, looking at Biff with a wicked, fanged grin.

“I’m talking about my spu—”

“Fucking fantastic show, everyone.” Holt saved us all by striding into the room with Taylor. “Rafe said our online numbers shot up tonight. Amazing job on the marketing campaign, babe,” he added to his human partner, giving him a dopey smile.

“Thanks, honey.” Taylor blushed, tangling his fingers through Holt’s.

“Barney, Ken, that was an incredible first performance,” Holt told the Ghastly Boys, who had slunk into the room at some point and were standing in silence in the corner. “Really electrifying stuff.”

“Thank you,” they whispered as one.

“Crossbody was amazing too,” Vince piped up, which made Dan stare at him in disbelief.

“He certainly was.” Holt nodded at me. “Great job, Crossbody. You coached the Ghastly Boys through their first match wonderfully.”

I cleared my throat and lifted my chin, trying not to blush. “I appreciate it.”

“I have high hopes for the rest of the weekend.” Holt looked around the room, grinning wide. “You’re all going to be fucking fantastic, and when the show’s over on Sunday, I’m taking everyone to Gargy’s to celebrate.”

“What’s Gargy’s?” John-o’-the-Wisp asked.

“Oh, just a darling little dive bar where we can all let loose after a show,” Corey told him, then brightly added, “And it’s usually frequented by the most rugged men.”

“Oh yeah?” John grinned, then shrugged. “Alright, I’m in.”

“You ain’t gonna have the energy to get laid after our match on Sunday, buddy,” Dan said jovially. “I’m gonna put you through it.”