Natural Consequences Read Online Free PDF

Relax. Have some fun with this life.”
    His eyebrow rose. “You don’t think I have enough fun with you and Lorelei?” he asked, his lips hinting at a grin despite his stress.
    She mimicked his expression. “You could have more,” she suggested. “I’m kind of surprised life isn’t all strippers and sex clubs for you and Lorelei yet. You’re under a succubus curse. If you try to deny it, you’ll go nuts. You’ve gotta manage it, and that means letting your freak flag fly sometimes.”
    “That’s what I’m saying, though,” he said as his grin faded. “You and Lorelei are incredible. Shouldn’t that be good enough? More than enough?”
    “It’s not a question of ‘good enough,’ lover,” Rachel answered patiently. “For either of you. It’s a curse. It’s not supposed to be fair.”
    “No, but I should be.”
    Rachel let his statement hang in the air before she spoke again. “Y’know, this isn’t the only open relationship in the world. We didn’t invent the term. The others don’t come from demonic curses, either. The healthy ones just get there through a whole lot of honesty.”
    “Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been working on that.”
    “I know,” she said. Rachel sat up on the counter, gracefully sliding over to put both her feet on the arms of Alex’s desk chair. “I should probably get back on the job. Still got things to deal with in the bay. All kinds of nasty tentacled shits trying to move in down there. Ugh. So fucking gross. I’ll come back to you when I’m free again. You gonna turn into a mopey emo bastard on me?”
    “This happened like two minutes ago . Give it a chance to sink in, okay?”
    “It’s just a job,” she reminded him evenly.
    “It is,” Alex sighed. “I’ll get over it.”
    “ Go home. Talk it out with Lorelei,” the angel nodded. “She loves you. So do I.” She leaned in to kiss him softly. Then she was gone.
    Alex opened his eyes to find a scowling security guard looming over him. His nametag read “Lambert.” The man pushed an empty trash bag in his hands. “Two minutes, creep,” said Lambert. “Get your shit and get out of my building.”
     
    *   *   *
     
    Gathering his belongings didn’t take long. Alex wasn’t one for pictures or trinkets, but like anyone in an office for almost two years, there were a few things he wanted to save. He had a good pocket knife, a coffee mug, an iPod dock with speakers and a few holiday cards. His daily LolCat calendar. The small blue police box pencil sharpener that Kat gave him last Christmas.
    Frustratingly, the guard hounded him out the door before Kat got back. He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her or anyone else, though he caught a vengeful glare from Susan on his way out.
    “You don’t plan to keep that roll of tape, do you?” asked Lambert. The guard watched as Alex secured the trash bag of belongings to the back seat of his motorcycle in the parking garage. Sadly, he had neither saddlebags nor a backpack today. This was as good as it would get. But it would’ve been easier to make sure he didn’t leave tape residue on the leather seat without Lambert pressuring him.
    “Is that why you followed me out here?” Alex asked. “Seriously? The roll of packing tape?” He kept working, eager to just make his exit.
    “Yeah. That and making sure you don’t find any other women to harass on the way out.” Lambert had a few years on Alex, along with a f ew more pounds—both muscle and otherwise. With a blond buzzcut, thick black-rimmed glasses, a torso spreading slightly over his Sam Brown utility belt and a canister of pepper spray on his hip, Lambert was somewhere between mildly intimidating and sadly comical. Alex couldn’t decide which.
    “Dude. This is the fifth floor of the parking building. I’m not gonna harass anyone out here.”
    “No, you’re not,” Lambert glowered. “Because I’m gonna watch you ride your little scooter out of here and never come