Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead Read Free Book Online Page A

it set to vibrate in my pocket but was afraid I would miss Jerome’s call. But no matter how many times I looked, the phone’s display remained the same. No incoming calls or texts.
    With things winding down, McKenna made her way back to me and wrapped herself around my leg. “Georgina, are you going to come to our house tonight? Grammy’s cooking. We’re going to have lasagna.”
    “And cupcakes,” piped in Ian, carefully packing up his goods. By my estimation, he’d given away exactly one cupcake, and that was to a boy who’d taken it on a dare from his friends.
    I lifted McKenna up, surprised at how big she was getting. The years didn’t alter my immortal friends or me, but mortals changed by leaps and bounds in such short time periods. She wrapped her arms around me, and I pressed a kiss into her blond curls.
    “I wish I could, baby. But I have to work tonight.”
    “Are you still helping Santa?” she asked.
    “Yes,” I said solemnly. “And it’s very important work. I can’t miss it.” Without me, there was no telling how sober Santa would stay.
    McKenna sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder. “Maybe you’ll come over when you’re done.”
    “You’ll be in bed,” I said. “I’ll see what I can do for tomorrow.”
    This earned me a tighter hug, and I felt my heart ache. The girls always had this effect on me, triggering a mix of emotion that was both love for them and regret for the children I myself would never have.
    Children had been something I’d wanted as a mortal, something denied to me even then. The pain of that reality had been driven home last year when Nyx, a primordial chaos entity, had visited me in my sleep and used tantalizing dreams to distract me while she stole my energy. The one that had recurred the most had shown me with a little girl—my own daughter—stepping outside into a snowy night to greet her father. He’d been shadowy at first, later revealed as Seth. Nyx, in a desperate bid for help later, had sworn the dream was true, a prophecy of things to come. It had been a lie, however. An impossibility that could never be mine.
    “Maybe you’ll come by my house after you’re done with work,” Seth said to me in a low voice, once she’d wriggled away.
    “That depends,” I said. “Who’s going to be in your bed?”
    “We had a talk. He knows to stay out of my room.”
    I smiled and caught hold of Seth’s hand. “I would, but I’ve got some things to do tonight. I’ve got to hunt down Jerome about . . . business.”
    “You’re sure that’s it?” he asked. “You’re sure my family’s not scaring you off?”
    I’ll admit, I didn’t relish the thought of seeing Margaret Mortensen’s disapproving gaze, but I also couldn’t imagine I’d be very good company for Seth if I still didn’t know what was going on with my transfer by tonight. The transfer. Looking into his kind, warm eyes, I felt a pit open in my stomach. Maybe I should be jumping at every chance I could get to be with him. Who knew how many more we had? No , I scolded myself. Don’t think like that. Tonight you’ll find Jerome and clear up this mess. Then you and Seth can be happy.
    “Your family has nothing to do with it,” I assured Seth. “Besides, now that you have extra help, you can use your free time to get some work done.”
    He rolled his eyes. “I thought self-employment meant not having a boss.”
    I grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll come by tomorrow night.”
    Kayden, passing by for one last cookie, caught sight of my kiss and scowled disapprovingly. “Ew.”
    I parted ways with the Mortensens and headed off to the mall. It was often a surprise to mortals to learn immortals like me purposely chose to take day jobs, so to speak. If you were around for a few centuries and semiwise with your money, it wasn’t that hard to eventually build up enough to comfortably live off of, making human employment unnecessary. Yet, most immortals I knew still worked.