SCORCH

It's every demon for herself.

After I escape hunters and arrive in good Ol' Witch City, Salem, Massachusetts, I head to a gothic club to feed. But, the dumb-as-rock gargoyle bouncers kick me out. They've confused my scent with another demon's.

But, I thought I was the last of my kind.

Not good. We can't both hunt in the same territory, especially with his dangerous cavalier style. I track the incubus, but when I find him, Daron's irresistibly devilish nature makes me rethink my plan. For just one night...

Will he want to play? Or consider me prey?

One night. One encounter. It won't change anything, right?


Only it does, and it's catastrophic. We've accidentally bonded.

Which means I crave him. Only him. And all the time. A sucky curse for a succubus.

How can we undo the damage without succumbing to the call--or worse, starving?

"Are you saying you didn't do it?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation. "Daron, are you as blockheaded as one of those stone gargoyles? I already told you the answer. Shall I spell it for you? N-O. No."

All the blood drained from my head, pooling in some sorry puddle near my feet.

"That means..." I shook my head refusing to believe it.

She planted her hands on her hips. "Exactly." Her tone rose with a twinge of panic, similar to what was swelling through my chest.

"It can't be possible."

Selena sighed with dread. "I wish it wasn't."

"Are you saying--" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm not saying anything. Unfortunately, I know it's true."

I rubbed my eyes. "How--how did it happen?"

She shrugged and threw her hands out to her sides. "I don't know."

My pulse shot up and breath came quicker. "You had to have done something." I pointed at her. On hearing how loud and accusatory my voice rose, I lowered it so as not to draw attention from humans in the apartment building as we strolled by. "Maybe something powerful happened and all your succubus mojo went haywire."

Her lips curled with revulsion. "Check your ego and your accusations, incubus. You were good, but not that good that I'd want to make us permanent."

"Permanent," I repeated. My heart pounded like an echo in my brain. I shook my head from side to side as if dragging it through sludge. "It can't... we can't."

A startled tuxedo cat darted out from behind some trash bins on the side of a building and dashed across the road, disappearing in the shadows.

"You think I want this?" She snarled and motioned between us.

"I'm guessing no."

"Of course not. Eww. In case you didn't realize, there were two demons doing the horizontal tango. Since I know I didn't cast any 'spell,'" she paused while circling her hand, "you must be the one to blame." She pointed dead at my chest.

I huffed. "I certainly didn't generate any freaking magic that would set this kind of bond between us." I groaned. My skin turned so hot, a fine sheen of sweat coated me. "It's a trap. I don't want to be captured."

"Captured," she repeated at a higher pitch. Under the glow of the streetlight, the look of horror that passed over her features rang clear, so different from that ecstatic expression she'd had. "If we didn't do this, how did it happen?"

"I don't know." This couldn't be real. I crossed my arms, released them, and then steepled my fingers to my mouth. The universe must be playing some sort of sick joke on us.

My muscles tensed. I leaned against the brick wall and sagged. It wasn't true. Because what I felt between us was deeper than I wanted to admit. I closed my eyes, trying to blink the truth away. It didn't work. I reopened them and tried to control my quickened breaths. The realization was far too potent.

Scary. Terrifying. And holy-terror-of-terrors real.

"You know what this means?" Her expression mirrored my dread as if we simultaneously released an internal scream.

I dropped my hands to my sides and summoned the courage to state the horror. "We're bonded?"

She nodded and dropped her head into her hands.

My brain decelerated to slow-motion, circling around that vicious life sentence. "We're screwed."

Read what happens next for Selena and Daron in SCORCH!