Succubus Blues Read Online Free PDF Page A

I want to know about this vampire hunter.”
    â€œAre you going to sleep with him?”
    â€œI—what?” For half a moment, I thought the angel was asking me about the vampire hunter. “You mean Seth Mortensen?”
    Carter exhaled smoke. “Sure. I mean, if I were a succubus obsessed with a mortal author, that’s what I’d do. Besides, doesn’t your side always want more celebrities?”
    â€œWe’ve already got plenty of celebrities,” Jerome said in an undertone.
    Sleep with Seth Mortensen? Good grief. It was the most preposterous thing I’d ever heard. It was appalling. If I absorbed his life force, there was no telling how long it’d be until his next book came out.
    â€œNo! Of course not.”
    â€œThen what are you going to do to get noticed?”
    â€œNoticed?”
    â€œSure. I mean, the guy probably sees tons of fans on a regular basis. Don’t you want to stand out in some way?”
    Surprise washed over me. I hadn’t even considered that. Should I have? My jaded nature made it difficult to find pleasure in many things nowadays. Seth Mortensen books were one of my few escapes. Should I acknowledge that and attempt to connect with the novels’ creator? Earlier today, I’d mocked run-of-the-mill fans. Was I about to become one of them?
    â€œWell…I mean, Paige will probably introduce the staff privately to him. I’ll sort of stand out then.”
    â€œYes, of course.” Carter put out the cigarette in my kitchen sink. “I’m sure he never gets the opportunity to meet bookstore management.”
    I opened my mouth to protest, but Jerome cut me off. “Enough.” He gave Carter another of those meaningful looks. “We need to go.”
    â€œI—wait a minute!” Carter had succeeded in derailing me off the topic after all. I couldn’t believe it. “I want to know more about this vampire hunter.”
    â€œAll you need to know is that you should be careful, Georgie. Extremely careful. I am not joking about this.”
    I swallowed, hearing the iron in the demon’s voice. “But I’m not a vampire.”
    â€œI don’t care. These hunter types sometimes follow vampires around, hoping to find others. You could be implicated by association. Lay low. Avoid being alone. Stay with others—mortal or immortal, it doesn’t matter. Maybe you can follow up on your favor for Hugh and score some more souls for our side while you’re at it.”
    I rolled my eyes at that as the two walked to the door.
    â€œI mean it. Be careful. Keep a low profile. Don’t get involved with this.”
    â€œAnd,” added Carter with a wink, “say hi to Seth Mortensen for me.”
    With that, the two left, closing the door gently behind them. A formality really, since either of them could have just teleported out. Or blown my door apart.
    I turned to Aubrey. She had watched the proceedings cautiously from the back of my sofa, tail twitching.
    â€œWell,” I told her, reeling. “What am I supposed to make of that?”
    Duane was actually dead? I mean, yeah, he was a bastard, and I had been pretty pissed when I threatened him last night, but I’d never actually wanted him to be really dead. And what about this vampire hunter business? Why was I supposed to be careful when—
    â€œShit!”
    I had just glanced at my microwave clock. It coolly informed me I needed to return to the bookstore ASAP. Pushing Duane out of my brain, I dashed to my bedroom and stared at myself in the mirror. Aubrey followed more sluggishly.
    What to wear? I could just keep my current outfit. The sweater and khakis combination looked both respectable and subdued, though the color scheme blended a bit too well with my light brown hair. It was a librarian sort of outfit. Did I want to look subdued? Maybe. Like I had told Carter, I really didn’t want to do anything that might solicit