"Limoncello is a drink,” Orion informed me severely. “Drinks are forsipping."
"It’s in a shot glass!"
"Because the alcohol is concentrated. A small serving is enough."
"Now you tell me."
How many times would I humiliate myself in front of this sexy incubus? I took a moment to catch my breath and consider what he revealed.
While I lacked firsthand experience, I understood the basics of sex demonry.
First, sex demon and volunteer meet and hit it off. The demon uses their influence, ‘charming’ the volunteer. This isn’t to alter or suggest any behavior but basically to supercharge the experience, ramping up the sensations and desire to the max. Then when the charmed reaches the height of passion and pleasure, the charmer feeds on the supercharged energy and gets the most fulfilling meal possible. Using a little of their power to heighten the feelings creates a more enjoyable experience for the charmed and meal for the charmer.
All that kinda skipped ahead, though. Because first came all the prep and behind the scenes stuff. Stuff like a vetting process, consent and preference forms, and setting chosen safe words or actions that are immune to the charm.
Usually, newbies like I posed as were admitted as more of an introduction. If they liked what they saw and a member of the den liked them, they were given an actual invitation if all the paperwork and shit checked out.
But they never showed all the safety precautions in… uh… films?
…
Fine, my sources were largely from watching a lot of incubus porn. In real life, sex demons had a whole system down cold, one that involved lots of happy, thoroughly satisfied customers.
Happy customers were good for business. Mysterious deaths were not. Ashvale sex demons needed to identify the attacker and put a stop to their behavior immediately.
“But where do we fit into all this?” I asked him.
"This is a huge responsibility. My club and den oversee and set the tone for the rest. I need to ensure this gets handled quickly and correctly.”
"You’re the big boss and you don’t like delegating,” I translated. He scowled at my phrasing, which meant I was right on the money. That only left one more question. “Why do you need me?"
"I saw your magic."
I snorted. "And you were impressed in the two seconds before it crapped out?"
"Perhaps if you had some faith in yourself others would follow."
Damn, the suggestion caught me off guard. He seemed earnest too, even though nothing I did tonight seemed particularly impressive.
It was almost touching. Then he lifted his own shot glass and sipped his limoncello. He took a pointed sip, thetiniestsip ever for such a well-built man, just to emphasize the correct drinking method, and the nice moment ended.
“Okay, no more bullshit. Something’s fishy here. Is this legit?” I demanded.
"Yes.” The bastard didn’t even blink. “The DSA are aware I’m also looking into this."
“What’s the catch?”
Orion considered his words carefully. “Assisting me means going after a dangerous criminal. He’s killed before and he will kill again if given the chance. More than that, I have reason to believe this incubus isalreadyaware of you. You’re connected to him somehow.”
"Hey, I’m innocent! You have no proof. You’ve got the wrong guy, I swear!” The knee-jerk denials only lasted a second before I reigned them in. “Wait, what are you accusing me of? Are you accusing me?"
"Not necessarily,” he said. “Despite your guilty conscience. Let’s start with this. Have you had any dealings with an incubus called Lex?"
"Uh, no? Doesn’t ring a bell.”
Orion nodded, apparently not expecting a better answer. "The circumstances aren’t completely clear to me yet either. I found you while hunting for this incubus, and I’d like to know why. Stay here tonight and we can investigate this in the morning."
"And then what?"
