Stepping inside the front archway, I opened the entrance door to Dominic’s and approached the hostess. She was busy helping other guests, so I took the opportunity to look around while I waited. It was a nice place, an Italian bistro set in a pale-yellow stucco building, designed to look like an authentic eatery in Rome, or at least what people here thought an authentic eatery in Rome would look like. The soft fairy lights strung along the iron railing of the fence and around the trees gave it a pretty holiday sort of feel.

  I didn’t see Tobias at any of the tables.

  I wondered if he’d arrived yet or if he was one of those “fashionably late” sorts of people. I hoped not because I was too anxious to have to sit there, waiting. My nerves would get the best of me.

  “Are you waiting on anyone?” the hostess asked as the couple in front of me was escorted away by another member of the staff.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered and darted another nervous glance around the place, before focusing my attention on her again. “I’m supposed to meet a date here but I don’t know if he’s already arrived.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Tobias,” I answered. “Mathison.”

  She slid a single finger down a sheet of paper in front of her until she found his name and smiled.

  “Oh, yes!” she chirped. “He’s in our Verona Suite.”

  Suite? “Your what?”

  “The restaurant has open seating, but also private dining rooms. Mr. Mathison requested one of those more private rooms and he’s currently waiting for you there. I’ll lead the way,” she said, motioning for one of the other hostesses to take her place at the podium. “This way,” she said, heading down the center aisle of the restaurant.

  I watched as we passed private dining rooms marked ‘Rome’, ‘Venice’, ‘Florence’, and ‘Milan’ before finally arriving at one marked ‘Verona’.

  “Here we go,” she said, waving me toward the door. I paused in front of it, not sure what to do next. “You can just go in,” she urged.

  I smiled and nodded, pushing the door open.

  This was going to ruin the plan with Angelo, since neither one of us was going to be able to see the other, and I wasn’t going to have a chance to text him now either.

  We’d planned for Angelo to show up in the next fifteen or twenty minutes, so it would look like a coincidence when they approached our table and suggested joining us. Once settled in, they’d steer the topic towards Bailey’s work at Spook Society in hopes of coaxing some answers out of Tobias. And if all that failed, then I was going to have to rely on my ‘succubus gifts from nature’, as Angelo had referred to them.

  It had seemed like a good plan until it wasn’t—and now it wasn’t. I felt a thud as my heart sank. I’d just have to wing it. I took a deep breath and began pushing the door open as the hostess waited, and I silently hoped Tobias wouldn’t bolt the second he recognized me.

  As I approached him, it seemed my concerns were for nothing.

  Rather than appearing upset or annoyed, I was shocked to find him smiling broadly as I entered the room. He stood up and walked around the table to greet me, placing his hands on my shoulders and kissing me lightly on the cheek in greeting as the hostess hovered nearby. I couldn’t help but note the way she batted her eyelashes at him and smiled. It was strange to watch someone half his age flirt with him while I was standing right there—presumably his date, but he seemed oblivious to her.

  “Hello, Melanie,” he said to me, using the name I’d given him, as he moved to one side and pulled my chair out for me.

  I found myself not only surprised but also confused. He’d used my fake name without even a hint of resentment, surprise, or anger. Was he just playing along because I’d hired him? Because he didn’t want to embarrass me in front of the hostess? Once she left, was he going to turn on me?

  “Hello, Tobias,” I replied, trying to sound much calmer than I felt.

  The hostess placed menus on the table and left us to study them. I found myself studying Tobias instead. He looked scrumptious in a pristine suit with a perfectly pressed tie. His smile was infectious, though I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around why he wasn’t upset to find I’d duped him into this meeting.

  “Do you mind if I choose the wine?” he asked, acting like this was the first time he’d ever encountered me—like he hadn’t yelled at me about murders only a day or so ago.

  “Go ahead,” I answered, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I turned around to make sure the hostess was gone and she was. It was just the two of us in the room and the door was closed.

  “They have an excellent wine selection here,” Tobias continued. “The food is fantastic, as well.”

  He was acting like this was a real date, which was beyond strange. Not to mention the fact that he also looked very well rested. He was nothing like the exhausted mess I’d encountered on our previous meeting. In fact, I might even have described him as confident, bordering on a bit cocky.

  Even more confusing was the fact that he seemed completely unbothered by my presence, and didn’t even mention the fact that we’d parted on less than friendly terms. It was almost as if… he’d forgotten about it. But how was that possible? I decided to play his little game and see where it led me.

  ***

  And it led me… nowhere.

  Dinner was nothing less than spectacular, just as he’d suggested it would be. The Tignanello Vintage red wine complemented both his ossobuco alla milanese and my spaghetti alla carbonara perfectly. The conversation was interesting, though he seemed to avoid discussing anything truly personal.

  I noted that even when I mentioned Hallowed Homes, he played along as if it was news to him that we even existed. By the time dessert arrived, I was completely baffled, but I didn’t break character. I figured I’d come here for a reason, and it was time to get to it. I took a small bite of the raspberry topped chocolate gelato and nodded.

  “This is divine,” I told him.

  “Yes. Do you want to try mine, too? The pistachio is fantastic.”

  “No, but thanks.”

  “Of course,” he said, taking another bite of his own.

  I seized the opportunity to steer him back toward the topic I’d come here to discuss. Somehow he’d managed to charm me over dinner to the point that I hadn’t pushed to get past his reluctance to talk about himself.

  Even stranger, he continued to pretend like he didn’t recognize me, calling me ‘Melanie’, as if that were my name. It was a strange little game we were playing, but somehow I was just as complicit in it as he was. Maybe it was just easier that way? Easier to pretend like we were strangers rather than face the embarrassment of what had erupted between us the last time we’d met? I wasn’t sure what was going on, but figured the path of least resistance might be the easiest way to get what I’d come for.

  “You mentioned the house you live in—isn’t that place supposedly haunted?” I asked, hoping for some reaction. I got one, but it was far from what I expected.

  Tobias smiled and stood up. He moved his chair around the table so he was sitting at the nine o’clock position to my six o’clock. He placed his hand softly over mine and patted it lightly. I was overwhelmed by him. His scent, his touch, everything about him was enticing. No wonder women paid him for his company.

  But I couldn’t let go of the fact that he was just so different from the first time I’d met him. It was like day to night. Was it possible when I’d met him, he just hadn’t been himself? Maybe I’d caught him at a particularly bad time? I mean, I’d awakened him from a deep sleep. And yet, this man before me wasn’t even similar to that other man in anything but his appearance.

  “Do we really want to get into the history of my old house?” he asked. “It’s a dull story.” Then he leaned in until only a few inches separated us and he inhaled deeply, as if taking in my scent. It reminded me of what Roy had done when we’d been… deeply involved.

  I suddenly felt panicked and considered excusing myself to go to the restroom so I could find Angelo and Bailey. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I felt very strange. I was so attracted to Tobias that I couldn’t think straight and that, in and of itself, was odd because the first time I’d met him, I’d just thought he was cute, but nothing more.

  I could scarcely breathe with him so close, but I tried to push through it. I took a deep breath and dug a fingernail into my free hand to refocus myself with the sharp, biting pain.

  “Is there a reason you don’t want to talk about your house?” I asked. “It’s such a lovely old place, so charming. But living there by yourself—don’t you get lonely?”

  “I don’t think about being lonely,” he answered, clearly not taking the bait.

  I cleared my throat and looked him dead in the eyes. I was tired of playing this charade. “I’d love to visit your house again and get a full tour.”

  “You seem quite intrigued,” he said with a smile, leaning closer to me as he spoke. “Almost as much as I am with you.”

  How was it possible that he was still playing the part of a man who’d never met me before?

  I wasn’t able to answer the question because he suddenly pulled me into a kiss. It wasn’t just a little peck on the lips, either. Instead, it was lips on lips and a second later, I felt his tongue in my mouth. My succubus leapt forward, eager for a meal, as my libido jumped into high gear and seized the opportunity before I could stop her.

  For a moment, I completely forgot why I was here. All I could think about was how good his lips tasted on mine—how good his mouth tasted. I leaned into him and reciprocated the kiss as the succubus surged forward and began to feed from him, but strangely, it was like she hit a wall and didn’t siphon any of his energy at all. Then an image of Roy and the naked passion we’d experienced a night or so before dropped between my eyes and immediately put my fires out.

  I pulled away from Tobias and fought to catch my breath. What in the world was going on? Why was I acting like this? Especially after the succubus had been fed so recently—and fully fed, at that!

  “Should I not have kissed you?” he asked, or it was more apropos to say he purred. “I apologize if so.”

  I was about to say something, but the words died on my tongue. I just didn’t understand what was going on. And there was this strange energy between us, one I wasn’t fully familiar with and, yet, I was familiar with it at the same time. I usually felt that burning intensity when my succubus was feeding and pulling life essence from whoever was feeding her. Yet, I hadn’t been feeding from Tobias. As soon as the succubus had tried, she’d encountered a wall.

  Then it hit me—I wasn’t the one doing the feeding.

  He was feeding off me!

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tobias leaned into me again and gripped the back of my neck as if he thought he’d try a more forceful approach this time, and that was when I unleashed the succubus. It was as if our energies collided like two magnets repelling. We both lurched backwards, and Tobias nearly clattered out of his chair.

  One hand covered his mouth as if I’d punched him and his eyes were suddenly round with shock. Pulling his hand away from his mouth, he continued to stare at me with wide eyes.

  “What are you?” he gasped.

  I raised a lone eyebrow at him. “You’re the one who owes me an explanation. You’re obviously an incubus, but you aren’t registered with the council, and that’s a requirement.”

  “An incubus? What are you talking about?”

  I noted how the tired look had returned to his eyes and the truly bewildered expression remained. It seemed I wasn’t talking to the same Tobias—like he’d just done another one-eighty.

  Yep, this was definitely a case of possession. I wasn’t sure who it was that was possessing Tobias, but he was definitely being possessed by someone and not just any someone—an incubus someone.

  “Who am I?” I asked him.

  “What?” he asked, looking at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

  “What is my name?” I asked again.

  “Fifi something. You’re from the realtor’s office at Hallowed Homes.”

  “Okay, you’re back to yourself,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Thank the gods for that.”

  “What… what are you…” He asked again and then looked around himself, still in apparent shock. “What are we doing here?”

  I held up a hand to quiet him because I could tell by his wide eyes; he was about to lose it. And I didn’t have the time or patience to deal with that at the moment. “Listen, stuff is happening to you that you don’t understand, and I want to help you. But, I can’t help you unless you talk to me and answer some of my questions.”

  “How did I get here?” he demanded.

  “You came here to meet me, but you don’t have any memory of doing so… because you weren’t the one in control of your body.”

  “What?” he started, shaking his head.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you lose chunks of time you can’t account for? Do you sometimes end up in places that make no sense to you? Do you feel like you’re losing control of your life?”

  He was quiet as he considered my questions and I could see the fight playing through his eyes as he tried to decide just what to admit to me and how much. Finally, his shoulders slumped, and he nodded, taking a deep breath. Then, as if noticing it for the first time, he picked up the glass of wine in front of him.

  “Is this mine?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked at me then. “I’m ready to answer your questions.”

  I couldn’t help the relief that soared through me. “Do you remember anything about tonight? Anything at all?”

  “No,” he answered and shook his head. That heavy depression had returned. “I have these blackouts. I’ll be in one place and then I’ll find myself in another with hours having passed between.”

  “Okay, I want to talk about why that is in just a second, but can you first tell me about your nightmares?” Nightmares and the nature of those nightmares would reveal a lot—it was one of the first signs of possession. And even though I was fairly convinced Tobias was possessed, I had to first make sure this wasn’t something else.

  “I don’t want to talk about those,” he said balefully before looking back up at me with a stricken expression. “How did you even know I have them?”

  “I did my homework where you’re concerned,” I answered quickly before getting back to the original question. “And I know you don’t want to talk about them, but they’re important. I know I can help you, but first I need to figure out the best way to move forward.”

  “How can you help me?”

  “Because I’m fairly sure I know what your problem is.” I took a deep breath and reached out to take his hand, but he pulled away from me. “Tobias, nothing you tell me will go any further than us.”

  “Okay,” he said, taking a big gulp of the wine and refilling it from the bottle on the table.

  He held the bottle up toward me and I nodded, watching as he refilled my glass, as well.

  “Tell me about the nightmares?” I asked.

  He nodded finally and then sighed. “There was a ghost of someone, or maybe it was a demon—I don’t know, but it was in the house when my parents bought it,” he answered, shrugging. “I know that sounds completely crazy, but I don’t know how else to put it.”

  “It doesn’t sound crazy, and I believe you.”

  He looked at me with surprise in his gaze, as if this was the first time anyone had ever told him they believed him. I suddenly felt sorry for him. “Can you continue?” I asked.

  He nodded. “This… thing… used to take over my body, and I used to fight it, but after a while, I learned it was easier just to give in. If I let him have his way, he let me sleep without the horrible nightmares.”

  “Are those the times when you would black out? When you let the demon take control?”

  “Yes—I lose consciousness when he’s in control and I end up in this weird place—it’s like a place where nothing exists but grayness, but after a while my body becomes mine again, if that makes sense.”

  “It does,” I answered.

  “Well, can you explain it to me then?” he asked.

  I nodded. “You have an incubus possessing you.”

  “An incubus?” he repeated. “You said that word before, but I still don’t know what it means or what it is.”

  “An incubus is a male sex demon.”

  He didn’t seem surprised. In fact, he simply shrugged and then took a deep breath before taking a large swallow of wine. “I figured something was possessing me. I had no idea it was an incubus, er a sex demon though. I just thought it was a ghost—a powerful one.”

  “Do you know the demon’s name?”

  “He calls himself Euryvos. It took me a while to realize he was the reason I had these blackouts.”

  Everything clicked into place then. I’d shocked Euryvos at the point that I’d allowed my succubus to take over, and when he’d realized what he was dealing with, he’d retreated and left Tobias to fend for himself.

  I hadn’t been on a date with Tobias earlier. I’d been on a date with Euryvos, who didn’t recognize me because he hadn’t been present when I’d first visited Tobias—he hadn’t been in control of Tobias’ body. It also explained why Euryvos hadn’t realized I was a succubus when he’d attempted to feed on me. Euryvos wouldn’t have been able to sense my succubus while using Tobias as a vessel, because Tobias lacked the magic to recognize monsters in his midst. Likewise, I hadn’t been able to detect Euryvos’s presence due to the mask Tobias provided.

  “Can you tell me more about the times you’d black out?” I asked.

  Tobias nodded, but I could tell this subject was a difficult one for him. “At first, I didn’t remember anything afterwards, but then I’d dream things that felt real and, after a while, I started to realize they were real.” I nodded because that’s exactly what I’d figured was happening and the reason why I’d wanted to know about his nightmares. When someone was possessed, they’d usually dream of the things the entity had done while in control of their bodies.