My entrance gained the attention of the men in the lobby, and even those with dates turned their heads to gawk at me. "Come on, Liz, get yourself together. . ." I muttered to myself I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. Some of the tension lifted from my shoulders and I felt a little dissipation in the succubus aura around me. I also had an idea. Now was my first and last chance to get a good look at this Mr. Handsome before he got a chance to see me. If I didn't like the way things looked, literally, I could always walk out and hail a cab.
I stepped up to the tall podium. Behind the slab of wood stood an imposingly tall man in a penguin suit. He had thin whiskers that ended in sharp points that could have been used as toothpicks, and his dark hair was slicked back in the manner of a guy who cared way too much about his appearance.
His thin lips were pressed into an imposing frown as he looked down at me. "Yes?" he asked me in a nasally voice.
"I have a-um, a reservation. It's under the name of-um, Mr. Handsome," I told him.
The waiter referenced his list and a smile slipped onto his pale lips. "Yes, a table for two. Are you expecting a gentleman friend?"
My heart sank. "He's not here yet?" I asked him.
The waiter shook his head. "Not yet, miss. Would you like to be shown to your table?"
"Um, sure, that'd be nice," I agreed.
The waiter clapped his hands and one of the younger waiters appeared from the dining hall. The head waiter handed his younger protege one menu from behind his podium. "Take this young lady to Mr. Handsome's table," he explained.
The new waiter bowed to me to hide his smile and gestured with his arm to the tables. "This way, miss."
He led me only a few feet into the carefully arranged mess of tables and chairs before he took a hard left and guided me to a table in the darkest corner of the room. There were two chairs and on the tablecloth was a small paper nameplate with the name 'Mr. Handsome' handwritten on the front. The waiter pulled a chair out for me, and after I sat down he snatched the nameplate from the top.
He set the menu in front of me and pulled out a notepad and pencil. "Would madam wish for any appetizers?" he wondered.
"I-um-" I opened the menu and found I couldn't read any of the French except what was familiar or close to the English language. "Um, maybe I'll just wait for my date."
The waiter bowed. "Very good, madam. If you need me for anything at all don't be afraid to hail me." He hurried off to manage his other tables.
I set my purse on the table and fidgeted in my seat. A small band played in the background and people talked in low, polite voices. The atmosphere was stifling with rules of decorum and overly-tight clothes. I tugged at the front of my dress. Damn thing felt like it was getting tighter by the moment, and it might have been.
The hour ticked closer to six. I killed time by reading the indecipherable menu. I was still idly staring at something that might have been escargot when I started at a menu set down on the table near mine. I whipped my head up and saw a man slip into the chair opposite me. It was David.
Chapter 6
David grinned back at me and opened his menu. "What would you like to start out with? I hear their chicken is fabulous," he commented.
I straightened and glared at him. My voice came out in a low, strained hiss. "This is a date, and you're not invited."
David chuckled. "On the contrary." He pulled out a folded slip of paper and held it out to me.
I raised an eyebrow, but took the slip and unfolded it. There, in Ann's handwriting, was the name on the reservation for the table. My eyes flickered up to him. "You're Mr. Handsome?" I guessed.
He leaned back and bowed his head. "Guilty as charged," he confirmed.
"I'm out of here." I stood, but he caught my hand.
"Please, just a moment, Liz," he pleaded. I looked down into his face and saw that his beautiful blue eyes begged for me to stay. I pursed my lips, but sat back down. He leaned across the table and sighed. "I apologize for this elaborate ruse, but believe me when I say I only wished to follow the route of the human mating rituals. I realized my more straightforward manner was not to your liking, and devised this idea of a blind date with your friends so that I might effectively get close to you."
I frowned and held up my hand. "Wait, so you're telling me you went through all this trouble just to get me on a real, honest-to-god human date?" I asked him.
He nodded his head. "Just so. You clung so stubbornly to your human life that I thought perhaps a slow courtship within the boundaries of a romantic human relationship would be preferable to you."
I tilted my head to one side and blinked at him. "So you've been plotting this all the time you were driving me nuts at work?" I guessed.
The corners of his mouth twitched up in a smile. "I can't be entirely to blame for your actions, but yes."
I snorted. "You're entirely to blame for everything that's-" Our waiter came up to the table and glanced from one of us to the other.
"Are you prepared to order?" he asked us.
David didn't even bother opening his menu. "Yes, the roast duck,with cabbage and the finest wine in the house," he ordered.
The waiter raised an eyebrow and leaned towards David. "Sir, the wine of the house is a thousand dollars per bottle."
"Then we will have a full bottle," David replied.
The waiter bowed his head. "Very well, sir. Your order will be here soon." He took our menus, bowed to us, and left.
I leaned towards him and my eyes swept over the snazzy place. "You'd better have more than good looks to pay for that," I hissed.
"I'm quite prepared for any monetary transaction." He took out a wallet and opened the top slit. Inside were countless hundred dollar bills.
I choked on my spit. "Did you rob a billionaire to get that?" I quipped.
He chuckled and pocketed the wallet. "No, but some of my more elderly past human admirers have been very fond of me. You needn't worry about expense so long as I'm around."
I leaned back and folded my arms across my chest. "I'm still going to blame you for everything that's happened," I insisted.
David sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Very well. I will accept your blame."
I raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
"I fully and truthfully accept your blame for your recent trials," he rephrased.
"You do?"
"Yes, and now that we both acknowledge the blame what will you do? What use is it in making future decisions?" he asked me.
I frowned. "Well, I'm not going to be accepting any marriage proposals from you," I quipped.
He bowed his head. "Fair enough, but what will you do? From here, where will you go? How will you manage your new and growing abilities? The cat can only train you so far before you find yourself wanting for more, and we are both aware of the consequences should you use the doll to suppress your blossoming powers."
"I'm-well, I haven't thought that far. I can't think that far with so many guys pawing me," I argued.
"Let me help you," he offered.
I snorted. "I think you've helped enough."
He leaned towards me and his glistening eyes looked into mine. "If I swear I will remain only a tutor and not a lover, will you accept my offer of teaching?"
I scrutinized his face. "Why would you do that for me?"
"Because you may not believe me, but I truly do love you, and to see you as this-" he gestured to me, "pains me almost as much as your rejection of my love."
I looked down at myself. "I don't think I look that bad in this dress, and I guess I'll admit this curse filling me out helped me fit better into it," I commented.
A ghost of a smile slipped into his lips. "There is indeed nothing wrong with your physical appearance, now or before, but I can see the strain your abilities cause your body and your mind. The cat sees this, also, and that's why he feels the need to keep such a close eye on you at all times. Even now I believe he's watching us."
I looked around half-expecting to
find a cat dressed in a miniature tuxedo. He'd be wily enough to talk his way into the restaurant. "I'll. . .I'll think about it," I told him.
His eyes widened just slightly. "Do you speak the truth?"
I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not whistling Dixie," I quipped as I raised my water glass to my lips.
David smiled. "Good, then let us speak of other topics while you decide. I believe humans generally talk to each other about their jobs. How was yours this day?"
I paused mid sip and looked at him over the brim of the glass. "You mean you don't know?"
Both of his eyebrows raised. "Should I?"
I shrugged and set down the glass. "I just figured both you and Mo were stalking me constantly."
David smiled and shook his head. "No. I'm afraid my occupation keeps me from such a pleasurable activity."
"Uh-huh, and what exactly does your 'occupation' have you do?" I inquired.
His lips curled up into a sly grin. "I give dreams to lovers and nightmares to schemers."
"Like you did with those guys in the park?" I guessed.
He gave a nod. "Yes, though those I visit are often asleep and never know my presence."
"Sounds like you don't get much reward for your work," I quipped.
He chuckled. "Sometimes the work is the reward. I bring lovers together and avert schemers from plots that would harm others."
"You know, everything you're telling me is really vague. I mean, how do you get dreams into their heads? How do you know who you're supposed to be visiting? Do you have a certain city or state that you stick around?" I questioned him.
"Our-my brethren and I go where we are needed. Geographic distance doesn't matter when you travel through the shadows. As to who we visit, there is some leeway in our choices. I myself prefer young lovers in hopeless situations," he mused. I didn't miss how his eyes stared unblinkingly at me.
I averted my eyes and fidgeted in my seat. "So you like a challenge?" I guessed.
"Yes, for the reward is far greater. You see, my species feeds off the dreams of humans. We take sustenance from their delights and nightmares," he explained.
I cringed. "Doesn't that hurt them?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. It is a relationship where neither party is injured."
"So were you once human like I was-am?" I corrected myself.
"No, I have always been as you see me."
"So an incubus?" I guessed.
He chuckled. "Yes, though my kind prefers the title 'Dream Presences' because not all of our gifts focus around sexual encounters. Many, but not all." David paused and leaned back as the waiter returned with a cart bearing our food and drink. We'd talked that long without my noticing or wanting to strangle David for changing me into a succubus.
The waiter set our plates in front of us, poured us a glass of wine, and left us again. I ignored my food and watched David cut into the juicy slices of duck. He stuck a piece onto his fork and lifted it to his mouth before he noticed my rapt attention. His fork paused in front of his mouth.
"Is something the matter?" he asked me.
"So you can eat human food?" I guessed.
He smiled. "Yes, and perform the more unsavory aspects of humans such as flatulence and burping. All of it on command, of course, and without any actual need to do so."
I looked him up and down. "It isn't because you stole another body, is it?"
David chuckled and popped the bit of duck into his mouth. "No, this is my true form, if you can call it a form. The person you see is a manifestation of myself. A true Dream Presence is more like a shadow like those you see out of the corner of your eye but can't quite catch sight of."
"So if I pinched you would you feel it, or would you just pretend to feel it?" I wondered.
He put down his fork and held out his arm. "Would you care to try?"
I grinned and gave him a nice, big pinch for all the trouble he'd given me. David didn't even flinch. "Does that answer your question?" he teased.
I frowned. "So when we've-you know-done it, did you really feel anything?"
He retracted his arm and sighed. "That is another matter entirely. I dislike admitting a lack of control, but in the case of our amorous meetings I felt more sensation than I ever experienced in any dream I've given a person. I couldn't control the lustful desires I felt for you when I sensed your own carnal needs through the locket."
I pulled out the said locket and looked it over. "So this thing works like that? Like what I feel you feel?"
"If your emotion is strong enough, yes. For example, I am able to sense your fear and your arousal," he admitted.
"And you're still not going to tell me what's inside, are you?" I asked him.
He smiled and shook his head. "No. The locket was created from my heart, and only love can open it."
I whipped my head up and blinked at him. "'Heart' as in the heart that's supposed to be beating in your chest?"
David chuckled. "Not in the physical sense, but the spiritual. As I said, Dream Presences do not have physical forms, but I put all my affection into that locket. It clings to you because I wish always to be near you."
I looked down at the trinket and pondered his words, and his promise to help me control my abilities without any catch. "Maybe. . .maybe you can teach me a little. You know, how to keep guys from fondling me, and how I can keep my hands off of them, too."
David smiled and bowed his head to me. "I am your humble servant, my love. You need only tell me when you wish to start, and I will obey."
"Tomorrow, after work. Be at my apartment at six," I commanded him.
"As you wish, my love," he agreed.
I blushed and fiddled with my fork. "Do you have to keep calling me that?"
"I prefer it," he replied.
"Well, I order you to stop that," I commanded him.
He chuckled. "I'm afraid that must be excluded from our deal. I cannot change my affection for you, nor the terms of endearment that come from them."
My shoulders slumped. "Fine, but not too loud."
"Very well. Now you should really try the duck. It is cooked to perfection."
Chapter 7
I hated to admit it at the time, but I actually had a good time. Sure, he still insisted on referring to me as 'my love' at every chance, but he was actually a decent conversationalist when he wasn't trying to kiss my lips. Before I knew it two hours had flown by, and so had our ducks-into our mouths. Our plates were empty, half the bottle of wine was gone, and I looked over the table at my companion with some new-found admiration.
"You know, you're not half bad to talk to when you're not trying to tempt me into damnation," I commented after he finished explaining to me the finer intricacies of wine.
David set his wine glass down and smiled. "Is that what you still believe about us? That we're devils in disguise?"
I shrugged. "That's pretty much the reputation 'Dream Presences' have in the human world," I pointed out.
"It is an unjust one. I prefer to think of us as on the opposite side of the same coin to, say, a priest," he mused. "We each have our benefits. The priests tell their flock that God loves and cherishes humans, and we show humans that they love one another. It's a matter of spreading the faith of love and worship."
I snorted. "Is that what you keep telling yourself?"
He grinned, undeterred by my comment. "Have I not shown you the capacity for love between us?" he pointed out.
"Well, you've shown me a lot of new positions, but I don't know about love," I quipped.
"All of our liaisons have been manifestations of my love for you. I know no better way to show affection than through the act of pleasing the object of affection," he explained.
I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Giving a girl back her life would be kind of nice, too," I told him.
His smile faltered, and he reached across the table to clutch my hand in one of his. "I would give you-"
"I know, I know, you'd give me my life back i
f you could, but you can't." I pulled my hand from his and gathered my purse before I stood from the table. "Maybe we should go. It's getting kind of late."
David nodded and stood. "Yes, but we will see each other tomorrow, correct?" His tone was almost pleading.
"At six," I affirmed.
Some of his good humor returned, and he offered me his arm. "Then let us be off."
I smiled and accepted his arm. David led me outside and onto the busy street. Cars zoomed by and pedestrians in their fancy clothes strode past us. There were countless parked cars in the area, and I turned to David. "Which car is yours?"
"I do not own a vehicle," he told me.
My face fell. "So we have to try to get a cab in this rush hour?" I surmised.
"We could walk. The night is refreshing," he suggested.
I glared him him and jabbed a finger at my high heels. "I'm not walking any farther in these things than I have to." I tore myself from his arm and sidled up to the curb. Taxis sped by, both full and empty. I stretched out my arm and raised my voice to a loud holler. "Taxi! Taxi!" I called, but none of them stopped. "Damn it," I muttered. I turned to David and glared at his smiling face. "You could help, you know," I growled.
"I know of an easier way to return to your apartment," he revealed.
"We're not walking," I argued.
He shook his head. "Not walking."
"No buses."
"Not a bus."
"You can't be meaning the subway."
"Not the subway."
I raised an eyebrow. "Then what?"
"By shadows."
I blinked at him. "Huh?"
"By the shadows that our people use." He held out his hand to me and looked into my eyes. "Would you like me to show you?"
My eyes flickered between his outstretched hand and his beautiful blue eyes. "It won't turn me into anything, will it?"
He chuckled. "Not at all. You may enjoy it." I reluctantly slipped my fingers into his. He gathered me against himself and smiled down into my blushing face. His body was warm and smooth against me, and I felt the succubus inside me react lustfully to his presence. "We fit perfectly against each other," he commented.
"And inside each other," I added. I inwardly slapped myself for such a stupid comment.
David grinned. "Yes, but another time, my love." A tall sign post stood a few feet away from us, and he guided us into its dim shadow. "Are you ready?"