“Getting rid of a succubus?” Akiko Thornblood asked, looking out from the computer screen. It was fully dark now, and for the first time, Magnus was frustrated that he only had an Internet connection to Akiko. He’d prefer to have remained mobile. But cell reception was spotty at best, and there was no way he could talk with her on his phone.

“We confronted Ben Stormstout,” Magnus said, looking at Kristina. “Dame Thornblood, the succubus has Ben totally corrupted. He nearly punched me right in the middle of the diner.”

Akiko sighed, nodding. “The longer a succubus is with a victim, the stronger the control becomes. As for getting rid of one, I don’t have a lot of information. Whenever they’ve encountered Lycan territory and stuck around, the Lycans have had to use . . . extreme measures to get rid of it.”

“What do you mean, extreme measures?” Kristina asked. “Why not just tear her damn head off?”

“Because she’s not strictly physical in nature,” Akiko replied. “She’s . . . well, the term demon sounds silly, but it’s as close as we can get. When Lycans have attacked succubi before, they’ve hit them with weapons, with teeth, with brute force, and nothing happens. They bounce, they get up, and they just keep going.”

“No footsteps,” Magnus said, shaking his head. “She’s a ghost.”

“Not quite. A succubus can be confined to a room,” Akiko said. “But when that hasn’t worked, Lycans have been forced to find and kill every person under the succubus’s influence. That can get messy.”

“Especially since she’s seduced quite a lot of powerful people around here,” Magnus said. “How did she get so deep so fast?”

“Probably, she got in with Ben first . . . then Peter, and from there . . . well, I doubt all the deaths are her actions,” Kristina said sadly. “So is there any hope at all, Akiko?”

Akiko shrugged. “I’m looking, reaching out to some of my Asian contacts, but succubi are very rare. My best advice would be to evacuate those that the succubus hasn’t corrupted, but that could be . . .”

“Impossible,” Magnus said. “The Kenai are already breaking down, and this is the Aklarks’ homeland. We’ll see what we can do. I hope you’ll have more information later.”

“I’ll try my best. In the meantime, you need to protect yourselves. Keep your link as strong as you can,” Akiko replied, closing down the video line.

Magnus sighed and looked at Kristina. “This could be a time to cut and run.”

“But you’re not the kind to cut and run,” Kristina replied. She bit her lip, then leaned into Magnus, laying her head on his shoulder. “I sensed it when we met. You’re not shifty.”

“No . . . guess I’m not,” Magnus said, his hand stroking her shoulder idly. “You know . . . your catching Ben’s arm was one of the sexiest things I’ve seen.”

Kristina blinked, surprised. “You think my being strong is sexy?”

Magnus turned, smiling at her. “Of course I do. You’ve got a thing for Lycans, huh? Well, I’ve always had a thing for bigger girls, strong women. But more than that, I think you’re very beautiful.”

Kristina gulped and lifted her chin to look Magnus in the eyes before they leaned into each other, their lips meeting tentatively at first, then more strongly. This wasn’t like their first kiss, fueled by the sounds of others, or the crazed passion that Magnus had been driven by the night before. This was a real first kiss, a kiss that came from two people who were exploring a connection that they felt deep in their bones but was still unfamiliar.

Magnus’s lips traveled down Kristina’s neck, tasting and licking at her lightly bronzed skin, and she moaned, throwing her head back and pulling him in. His lips were hot fire on her skin as he pushed her back into the sofa, devouring her as his hands found her breasts, rubbing and massaging the heavy mounds through her shirt. Kristina moaned as Magnus laughed against her skin. “What?”

“Sharing, linking with you, I remembered more of last night,” Magnus said, amused. “Too bad you’re wearing a bra tonight.”

“Well, you’ll just have to take it off me,” Kristina teased. “I’m sure you know how.”

Of course I do.

Mmm, so is this how I get to feel linked sex?

Kristina was thrilled as she felt a queer doubling of her mind and she started to see through two sets of eyes, two hearts, and two bodies. Her pulse raced as Magnus unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her bra, kissing down her throat to her collarbones before stroking her breasts in his hands, powerful but sensitive at the same time.

He knew exactly how soft and how rough she liked it, her body rising as his fingers found her left nipple and his mouth found her right, his teeth scraping lightly, warm heat flooding the space between her thighs and making her groan. “Magnus . . .”

Nothing but a wave of hot emotion rolled over their link. Magnus was beyond words as he feasted upon her huge breasts, his body rising in desire as she stroked his hair, pushing into his amazing tongue and teeth.

She felt a tremor deep inside her as Magnus kissed lower, her eyes going wide as he licked her soft stomach before dipping his tongue into her belly button. “You’re . . .?”

“You want it, and I like doing it,” Magnus said with a grin as he undid the waistband of her jeans and pulled them off. Kristina was so stunned she was barely able to get her hips up off the couch to help Magnus as he exposed her pussy to the light. Kristina watched in wonder and fear as Magnus slid off the couch, pushing her knees apart and kissing her inner thighs.

She’d never felt a man kiss her like that before. All of her previous lovers had been strictly no oral. Now, the sexiest man she’d ever known was kneeling on her living room carpet, holding her knees apart before he suddenly sat back, pulling his shirt over his head and showing her his lean, chiseled body. “I know you like that.”

Kristina nodded, lifting her right breast to her mouth and sucking on her own nipple, feeling both the electric tingle of her nerves being set on fire but also the wave of increased desire from Magnus as he watched before he leaned forward and his long tongue stroked over her pussy lips. Kristina moaned around her nipple as a feeling she’d always wanted but never felt before rippled through her body, her eyes fluttering as Magnus traced her lips with the tip of his tongue before sucking on her labia softly.

Magnus . . .

Enjoy it.

Kristina leaned back, letting her body be washed over by the pleasure of Magnus’s long tongue sliding into her pussy, lapping at her wet folds and turning her body into molten fire.

Magnus’s tongue found every spot inside her as she ran her hands through his hair, urging him on to lick deeper, faster. Again and again, his long tongue stroked inside her pussy, coating his tongue and face with her juices. Kristina moaned as he licked higher, finding her clit and circling it with his tongue before sucking on the stiff nub. Her body exploded, and she ground her pussy into his face as her body quivered on the edge of coming.

“Please, Magnus,” she begged as he kept her trembling, and over their link, she heard him chuckle.

Of course.

Magnus nibbled on her clit, the electric scrape making her body explode as she came, calling out Magnus’s name and covering his face in her fluids. She bucked and writhed, her body shivering as Magnus held himself still, holding her legs open as he let her feel the waves of emotion that coursed between them.

Kristina sagged to the couch as her orgasm faded, and she took a deep, shuddering breath. “My God . . . is that what it’s like?”

“It can be—” Magnus started, but suddenly, the front door of Kristina’s house burst in, and he sprang to his feet as Kristina twisted, trying to see what it was. It took her a moment. He didn’t look the same since he was already going through his change.

“Ben!”