Eldon decides to spend some time with Gloria, but will he be able to get over his feelings for Jessica, or is he just deluding himself? Either way, life is about to get interesting for the twins.
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Chapter 03
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The Kiss
Eldon ordered his roc to descend. The bird dropped gently to the ground and took a few steps to slow its momentum. His chariot, as he'd referred to it to Gloria, was surprisingly graceful despite its large size. Gloria let go of him, before dropping to the ground. It'd felt nice having her hold him. For a small time, he was able to forget about Jessica and his broken heart, but it was time to end the charade.
"What are we doing here?" Gloria asked as Eldon joined her on the ground. "I thought we were going to the Pillar of Earth's capitol city for some drinks."
"Okay, my sister is out of earshot," Eldon said, turning to face the succubus next to him. "You can go do whatever else you want. I'll tell Shelly that we had a great time together, or something. I'm sure if I smile enough, she'll buy whatever I tell her."
"Or something?" Gloria asked, raising one delicate eyebrow. Then her eyebrows drew together in anger. "You think she's paying me to spend time with you? I'm a succubus, not a whore!"
Eldon backed away from her, holding his hands up, palm out. "I didn't mean it like that. I just figured that since she set this whole thing up, we could stop pretending and go our separate ways. I appreciate what you said about me back there, but let's be honest with each other. We're both doing this as a favor to my sister."
"I wasn't pretending back there," Gloria snapped, flinging her arm out to point behind her. "I really did want to meet Sheldon Lance. Why is that so hard for you to believe?"
He wanted to believe her, but wasn't sure. He'd lived in his father's shadow his whole life. He had no idea that anyone would want to meet him because of what he did for a living. Was he really that well known? He felt his ego puff up a bit and couldn't deny he liked how that made him feel.
"I just assumed—" he began to tell her, but she cut him off.
"Assumed what? That because I was a succubus, a soul sucking creature, that all I ever do is pretend?" She grabbed the red cap off her head and threw it to the ground in anger. "I thought the son of Lyden Snow would know better than that. Your father always treated the succubae with respect whenever we've seen him. Now there's a man who knows how to treat a woman, and doesn't make assumptions about them based on what species they are."
"My father?" he asked. "My father wasn't around very much, growing up. Oh, don't get me wrong, I know he tried and he loves me, but with all of his wives and responsibilities, his time was stretched pretty thin." Eldon sighed and tried to gather his thoughts. "You're right, though. I was raised better than that, and I'm sorry. I honestly didn't intend to offend you. I know Shelly worries about me, and I haven't exactly been the best person to be around lately. That's why she set this whole thing up." He gestured between them. "I thought I was in love or something. Well, not love. I didn't know her well enough, but she... She treated me in a way no one ever has." He couldn't help but remember how she'd reacted to his deformity. Instead of ridiculing him, she accepted it and even treated it as a positive thing.
"Because of your cock?" Gloria asked. Eldon's head snapped up at her words, his eyes wide. "I can read surface thoughts, remember? I'm a succubus?"
He felt his cheeks burn as he realized what he'd just been thinking. She'd seen all of it in his head. Jessica could read surface thoughts also, though she emphatically denied being a succubus.
"I don't know any succubus by the name of Jessica," Gloria said next. "Your sister told me about what you consider a deformity, and I still chose to meet you. It's not that big a deal, really."
"Because you're a succubus," he said with a hint of acid. He was getting tired of having her read his thoughts. It didn't help that his sister was talking about his twisted penis with strangers. She had no right to talk about that.
"You need to get over your hang-up about me being a succubus," she chided him. "I can't control what I am, but I
can
control how I treat people. You don't like people thinking something's wrong with you because you have a different reproductive organ than everybody else. I don't like people throwing what I am in my face."
Eldon was speechless for a moment. "You don't understand," he said shaking his head and turning away.
"I don't?" she laughed. Something in her voice made him turn back and look at her. She had her eyebrow arched again and an incredulous look on her face. "You know nothing about me. All you know is what I am, and that's enough for you to know what I do and don't understand?"
As Gloria's words sunk in, Eldon couldn't stop a soft laugh from bubbling up. Gloria's face went an angry shade of red as she glared at him.
"I can't believe this!" She stomped her foot. She bent over, picked up her red hat and brushed it off before putting it back on her head, pulling her blue and blonde ponytail through the back. "You're right, there's no sense in continuing this." She turned to go and already had her leathery black wings out to fly away when Eldon found his voice to stop her.
"I'm not laughing at you," he told her. "I'm laughing at how foolish I was being." She stopped with her wings spread wide, but didn't turn around. Shouldn't she know what was in his head? "You're right, of course. I made assumptions that I shouldn't have. I don't know anything about you, other than what you are, and I let that rule how I treated you." Eldon watched as she tucked her wings against her body and turned to face him. She didn't put them away, however, and he knew he had more work to do. "I'm sorry. You mentioned getting drinks. I can't think of a better way to get to know who you are. That is, if you're still willing?"
He held his hand out to her. She looked at it with skepticism. For a moment he was sure she was going to turn away. When she finally stepped forward and took it, he couldn't hide his relief.
"One condition," she told him.
"Name it," he replied. He felt terrible for the way he'd treated her and wanted to make it up to her.
"Make any comments or remarks about me being a succubus, and I'll make sure all my friends will know."
Eldon wasn't sure what her threat meant, but suspected that having the wrath of the succubae would be a bad thing.
* * * *
Eldon's laughter boomed off the rafters in the tavern. "You're kidding me!" he gasped, looking at Gloria with shock. "You didn't really do that, did you?"
Gloria's smile was broad as it split her lips. "Yeah, and you should have seen her face. Of course, that was before she became the Pillar of Fire, or even met your father."
"What happened after that?" Eldon asked.
"Well, we were on Earth, so we couldn't really talk about what we were. I took her under my wing and taught her a trick or twenty. As old as I am, she taught me a thing or two as well."
"Did you ever meet my grandfather?" He'd heard a lot about the man that at one time ruled over the succubae. He thought he would have gotten along with him and regretted that he'd died before Eldon was born.
"Now there was a man who knew how to please a woman," Gloria laughed. "Shemhazau was a lot of fun before he disappeared. I was sorry to hear what happened to him." She took a sip of her wine. "To friends and family," she toasted, holding her glass up.
"Friends and family," he parroted, clinking his earthenware mug against her glass. He took a sip of his beer, looking at the woman across from him. Even knowing what she was—he refused to think the word, lest he offend her again—he couldn't deny her personality was attractive. She wasn't hard to look at either, but he knew she could look however she wanted.
"What about you?" Gloria asked him. Her cheeks were a bit rosy, but she didn't sound or act drunk in any way. "I'm sure that living with your sister, there have to be a few embarrassing stories."
"Shelly?" he asked, trying to think. He couldn't think of anything as embarrassing as one succubus accidentally seducing another one. "Not really."
"Oh, come on," Gloria pressed. "Your sister is quite the good looking woman. You mean to tell me the two of you never..."
"No!" he shot back. "She's my sister. That's just plain gross." The thought of doing anything with his sister didn't nauseate him, but it didn't appeal either. As far as he was concerned, Shelly was a human that he fought alongside. She was a companion and a friend. Yes, she was his twin sister, but there were only familial feelings there. Nothing more.
"Sorry," she said, mollified. "I meant no offense. It wouldn't bother me in the least if you—okay, okay. Forget I mentioned it."
"I'm not offended," he said. The mood had perceptibly changed and he tried to figure out how to get her to smile again. "I don't get out much, so there isn't a lot of opportunity for embarrassing situations. Unless you count last week when I got caught kissing a girl while I looked like her boyfriend. He seemed pretty pissed about it, but she didn't mind too much. She even admitted I was a better kisser!"
He was rewarded by a smile on her lips, though he tried to hide the pang that went through him. Jessica had saved him from that situation before it became violent.