He blushed, but resisted the urge to hide or turn away. “Still. I should have thought of you before putting you in the middle of it if there is a problem.”
“I would have done as you wished regardless.”
“Lorelei. You’re my friend. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you or put you at risk. If I’m about to, you need to tell me. Okay?”
“As you wish,” she smiled quietly. “Master.”
He grinned back at her, blushing again and unable to help it. Alex looked her up and down. “You look great in that outfit,” he said.
“I am glad that it pleases you. There were clothes of a different sort in the house that may have also pleased you greatly, but I would just as soon burn everything that I wore for that man.”
“Well, as long as we can replace it. You, um…appear to have a lot of money.” He glanced at the hardtop Lexus convertible behind them.
“Enough. What is mine is quite literally yours. If you are my friend, you will not be shy about that,” she grinned. “I suggest that we take the car to go shopping rather than your motorcycle. There are side streets where we can park it where it will not be bothered.”
“It’s too bad it isn’t warmer. Putting the top down might be fun.”
Lorelei’s grin shifted as she stepped in closer to Alex and put a hand on his groin. “I can keep you warm easily enough,” she smiled.
Chapter 8:
Even in the cool September evening, wind blowing under an overcast sky as they drove toward downtown, Alex felt completely warm. Lorelei ensured that in exactly the manner she’d suggested. The succubus simply lounged in the front passenger seat, looking hot and occasionally stroking her fingers down his neck, or sometimes across his lap. Were Alex a cooler, more confident guy, he might have had his right arm outstretched around her shoulders. He might have let the stereo blast something upbeat.
Still, the car was worth more than he could make in two or even three years at his part-time job. He kept both hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road.
Despite his attentive driving, he felt better about the relationship that had put him into it. The longer they stayed together, the more he dared to consider that he might actually, in some small way, measure up to her interest.
It wasn’t like he’d never gotten a date in his life. Much of his loneliness could fairly be chalked up to bad luck. And for all the lusty stares and flirtation he’d received lately, it wasn’t like Rachel seemed affected by Lorelei’s influence. She seemed to like Alex for himself…
…which brought to mind the things she’d said that morning. He wondered how good he’d feel about his relationship with Lorelei if he addressed that.
“Something’s on your mind,” Lorelei observed, her tones as sultry as ever.
“I kind of wonder if we should be explicit about what’s okay with me and what’s not,” he said. Rachel was right. He had to get this done, for peace of mind if nothing else. If it displeased Lorelei, he’d have to live with that. Too much was at stake.
“There will be no more Raymond Cordinglys,” Lorelei assured him.
“It’s not just that, it’s…” Alex fought for the words. He wasn’t even sure how to begin. “I don’t want high school girls throwing themselves at me, or being thrown at me,” he finally said. “Ever. Off limits. Nineteen and relative emotional stability are bare minimums.”
“Ah,” the succubus smiled, “the rules. The Laws of Alex.” She had been leaning somewhat against the door, but now she shifted in her seat to lean lightly against his right shoulder. “I hear and obey. What is thy bidding, master?”
“Okay, now you sound way too close to Darth Vader and that shit’s freakin’ me out.” Lorelei laughed, very much with him rather than at him. He felt a bit better. She was good at making him feel better. “I mean it, though. I know age is arbitrary, but it’s good enough. No jailbait for me.”
“Oh, I cannot help it if you earn such attention all on your own,” Lorelei said, “but I swear that I shall do nothing to encourage it.”
“So that effect that I’ve been having on women since we met won’t hit them?”
“That can’t be so narrowly defined. Base desires do not check anyone’s driver’s license. However, the depth of your attraction plays a role. As you are less interested in younger women, they will be less affected. In truth, that ‘effect’ is as much a matter of luck and timing as anything else.” She chuckled a bit, adding, “Given our earlier activities, you may find your luck and charm especially potent tonight.”
“I’ll try to be careful, then.”
“You might consider having some fun with it,” Lorelei shrugged. “It would make me happy. That ‘effect’ isn’t mind control. There is no supernatural compulsion. It’s not even as deceptive or manipulative as alcohol. It’s simply easy to tell that you would not disappoint.” Her hand stroked along his groin. “But back to your commands, master,” she whispered hotly into his ear.
“No married women.”
“Aw,” Lorelei pouted, lightly but somewhat genuinely. “Not even unhappily married women who deserve a little illicit fun?”
“Look, on the off chance that ‘Thou shalt not covet’ is for real, I’m willing to forego the women with rings on their fingers. Unless there’s a cheat sheet on what is and isn’t a mitigating circumstance?”
She shrugged. “Not that I can recite to you, no.”
“Well, the main interest I have here is in not hurting anyone, emotionally or otherwise.”
“You have made that abundantly clear, and I have been mindful of it in all that I’ve done.”
“Speaking of,” Alex said, and then swallowed. This one worried him. “My mom.”
“Hm,” Lorelei intoned tauntingly. “Before you speak on that, may I ask something of you?”
He gave a grumbling sigh, but she was hard to resist. “Can’t guarantee I’ll be okay with it.”
“I have broken none of these restrictions thus far, and I shall not. You have voiced that you wish to trust me, and I long for your trust. May I keep a few secrets to myself?” Her tone was as dripping with teasing sexuality as it had been at any other time since they’d met.
Alex stiffened in his seat, trembling from something other than the cold. “Now I know something’s going on.”
“No, you strongly suspect,” Lorelei corrected, “and the unknown is almost always more disturbing than the truth. Almost. As I said this morning, your mother is harmed in no way. She has simply become happier and more confident. She is as safe from me as you are-moreso, in fact. So, the question becomes: if there is…something going on…do you truly mind?”
Again, he gulped. “Okay, look. She looks great and if that makes her happy then I’m happy for her, I just don’t want her to…um…”
“You don’t want her to change as a person.”
“Yeah. Has she?”
“No,” Lorelei answered. “I cannot guarantee that she won’t flirt or get attention. She certainly will, especially the latter. But no, Michelle is still entirely the mother you have always known. Just much sexier.”
Her hand slid down between his legs again. “You can’t blame a girl for enjoying herself when a man thinks she’s sexy.”
“Still. Maybe we’d better just…move on.”
“Oh, I can dance around this particular pole all night if you wish.”
“Puns. You’re making puns. That’s awesome.”
“What else did you want to talk about?” she asked sweetly.
“So, your money. I don’t want to go spending your money, but…”
“Your money now, master.”
“No. I don’t want to take things from you.”
“Alex,” she said, a bit more seriously. “Imagine that my life could be dramatically improved if I only had more dried leaves. Suppose that for whatever reason, I cannot collect many myself. You could, however. They’re often all around you. Would you not share whatever leaves you found? Given your affection for me, wouldn’t you gather them in great bundles, well beyond my actual need, simply to provide me with comfort?”