The old woman lifted the bottle against the light filtering through the chapel's stained glass windows. Her lips pursed, and she sent Caleb a skeptical look.
"This here's holy water, then? Looks no different than the stuff from the well."
"It
is
from the well," Caleb said. "But I prayed to the goddess overnight so she would infuse it with her power."
The woman's fingers tightened on the bottle. "And it will really keep that fiend away from my layabout husband?"
Caleb nodded. "Sprinkle some over your windowsills, and no succubus will be able to enter your home for a week or two."
The woman eyed him beadily and reached into her purse. "All right, then," she said, meticulously counting off ten coppers. "But if it doesn't work, I'll be back for my coin."
He plastered a smile onto his face. "Goddess bless you."
Caleb kept up his smile until she departed, then allowed himself a sigh. That was the third report this month; clearly, a succubus had made the village her hunting ground. So much for his hopes to quietly serve the requisite years in these backwoods and return to the city where he belonged.
The sun was about to set, so he swept the floor, spoke the evening prayer, and locked up the chapel. Nodding to the farmers returning from the fields, he made his way to the small house assigned to him by the church. As he deposited today's donations into the coffer, his mind returned to the woman who had come for holy water. If she was less of a hag, perhaps her husband wouldn't be so keen to fool around with succubi.
He immediately chided himself for the uncharitable thought. The unrefined attitudes of the locals were irritating, but that was no reason to get blasphemous. Succubi were evil by their very nature, even if comely and less shrewish than wives. Nothing good could come from consorting with such creatures.
It was getting dark, so he lit a candle and fixed himself a simple supper. Back in the city, he would have magic lanterns to chase away the darkness, but this place had no such luxuries. Finishing his meal, he blew out the candle and headed upstairs to his bedroom.
The shutters were open, swinging lightly in a breeze and letting in the birdsong from the nearby forest. He tried to recall whether he had left it ajar this morning but soon gave up; there was nothing to steal except the coffer downstairs, and that was enchanted to high heavens. Shrugging off his cassock, he draped it over a rickety chair and stretched languidly.
A faint rustle reached his ears, and a peculiar smell wafted to his nose. Sweet and heady, almost like enchanted perfumes from the city. He sniffed curiously and turned to follow the scent until he faced the window and froze.
A horned woman lounged on the windowsill, one smooth toned leg dangling above the floor, the other bent artfully to rest atop the sill. Her skin was dusky, and her hair and eyes were crimson like the depths of hell she had spawned from. His heart hammered in his chest as he made a warding gesture.
The succubus flinched, but that was all. Leaping off the sill, she closed the shutters and sashayed toward him, her spade-tipped tail swishing behind her back. He backtracked until his legs met the edge.
"In the n-name of the goddess," he exclaimed, making another gesture. "Begone!"
The succubus laughed, and her ample breasts threatened to spill from her tight leather bodice. "There isn't much conviction in your words, priest," she said in a sultry voice. "But I recognize your power. It is you who has been depriving me of the company of local men, isn't it?"
He lifted his gaze back to her face. "What of it, fiend?"
"There's no need to be rude. My name is Lilith." She tossed back her flowing hair, spreading that maddening scent. "And you're Caleb, a young priest sent from the city. Don't look so surprised; people talk."
His gaze darted around the room. He had no weapons, and even if he did, he wouldn't know how to use one. Given her resistance to his warding, he doubted it was worth trying again. She was no ordinary succubus but one who had centuries to grow her unholy power.
"Are you here to kill me?" he asked warily.
She laughed again. "We never kill, unless you count what some call the little death. No, Caleb, I'm here for the same reason I visited those men. If I can't take what I crave from them, I shall take it from you."
His cheeks heated up. "You're mad if you think I would--would lay with you."
"Am I?" She swayed her hips and ran her hands down her sides to her obscene leather thong. "Your goddess doesn't forbid you from loving women, does she?"
Despite himself, he followed the journey of her hands as if mesmerized. Then his mind caught up with his ears. "Not just for bodily pleasure! And never
demons
."
Her mouth split into an impish grin. "My nature is what it is, but I may satisfy the other requirement yet. I could think of no better revenge against an overly dutiful priest than turning him into my... accomplice." She sashayed closer, relaxed yet radiating danger like a poisonous snake.
He wasn't sure as to her meaning, but it boded him no good. Shoving her away, he bolted to the door.
Lilith snapped her fingers, and all his strength suddenly drained from his body. He toppled backward like a puppet whose strings have been cut and collapsed on his bed. Try as he might, he couldn't so much as twitch a finger. It wasn't that he was bound; rather, he couldn't put any strength into his limbs. Only his eyes and facial muscles obeyed his will. He glowered at her.
Her fanged smile widened. She prowled onto the bed, straddled him, and studied him with her crimson eyes. Licking her lips, she leaned in. Her flowing hair draped over his face, filling his nostrils with its luscious scent.
"Get back," he said faintly. "No--don't--"
He squeezed his eyes shut as if expecting pain, but her soft lips brushed his with unexpected gentleness. She kissed her way along his jaw, then his ear. His skin tingled everywhere her lips touched. When her fangs grazed his earlobe, his eyes flew open, and he whimpered.
Smiling, she straddled his waist and unbuttoned his shirt. Her long-nailed fingers felt much warmer than a human's. When they slipped under his shirt to caress his chest, he couldn't help but hiss.
Why was her touch so pleasant
?
"You're a well-built young man," she remarked, tracing the contours of his muscles. "All the more reason to get your seed."
He looked away but could not entirely suppress his pride at her appraisal.
She raked her nails across his chest, not breaking skin but certainly getting his attention. Her lips quirked in satisfaction. Clearly she wanted him to watch.
She slid lower, her knee brushing his crotch on the way, and draped herself over his chest. Her tongue traced the scratches left by her nails, setting his skin ablaze. She kissed and licked her way to his abdomen, making him tense at her direction, but then wandered back to his nipple. He gasped as her hot tongue flicked at it and gritted his teeth, determined to stay silent.
Her fangs flashed in a grin as she rose off him. With effortless strength, she heaved him into the middle of the bed and nimbly divested him of his boots and socks. Then her crimson gaze found his, and she reached for his belt.
Again he tensed; his trousers were feeling too tight, and he knew his body betrayed his shameful desire. Yet he could not resist as she slowly unbuckled his belt and tugged off his trousers, leaving him in his simple undershorts. Her slit pupils widened.
"Looks like you're hiding quite a tool in there," she said, tracing a slender finger over the tent in his undershorts. "Shall I set it free?"
Caleb squared his jaw and averted his gaze. The mattress creaked as Lilith changed her position. Something warm pressed on his crotch, and he looked up with a gasp.
She sat before him with her legs brazenly spread, her bare feet sandwiching his cock. With a devilish smile, she started to rub him through the fabric.
He looked away again, but her heel pressed painfully on his balls, and he got the hint. She resumed her caresses. Her eyes fixated on his face, registering each sharp intake of breath, each tremble of his lip. Her pupils were dark and wide, and her breathing rapid.
"You're so hard," she whispered. "My body's burning at the thought of taking you inside."
The motions of her feet paused as she reached down to untie her bodice. Her heavy breasts spilled out, topped with dark pebbled nipples. Caleb would have stared even if she wasn't forcing him to.
She smiled at his hungry gaze and cupped them. "You can touch me anytime you want. Just say the word."
He swallowed. She fondled her breasts and moaned. Squeezing his cock between her feet, she resumed stroking him, faster than before.
He suppressed a whimper. His cock struggled against the confines of the fabric and stained it. Lilith moved one hand to her leather thong and rubbed herself over it.
"Doesn't this feel good?" she breathed. "It can be better, so much better."
"No!" His voice cracked. "Let me go, fiend!"
She laughed throatily. "I like a man with willpower. The night is young; let's see how long you can resist."
Her feet glided unceasingly against him. He bit the inside of his cheek. Lilith rubbed herself faster, panting almost as much as he. His muscles tightened.
Why did this have to feel so good
...
Lilith tossed back her head with a low moan and squeezed him hard between her feet. She sucked in a few deep breaths, then raised the hand she had been petting herself with and licked it slowly.
