Naamah

She smiled at me. God she really was the most beautiful creature. "Yes, you idiot. I both eat and drink. And I like my coffee strong and black. No sugar. I'm sweet enough!"

I laughed. If only she wasn't a daemon. But, she was!

I'd got some chicken in the fridge so I took out two breasts and cut pockets in them. I chopped up a handful of dried apricots, diced a small red onion and tossed them both into my wok, with a pinch of salt and a good grating of black pepper. A pinch of oregano, a small glug of balsamic vinegar, turn down to simmer. I turned the ring off for it to cool, and washed a couple of baking potatoes. The oven on to heat up, prick the potatoes and rub them with olive oil, and into the oven. The stuffing was cool enough so I split it in two and filled up the chicken pockets, then wrapped them both in bacon. I put them on the top to wait. It was too early to put them in.

Naamah hadn't said anything, just watched intently, while drinking her coffee.

"You're good, aren't you? Why did Sandi leave you?"

Esme had been talking, hadn't she!

Before I answered I opened the fridge again and took out a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I held up the bottle and asked, "Wine?"

"Why not. Thank you. I'm glad I didn't kill you last week. I'm enjoying your company."

"Thank you, Naamah. I'm glad you didn't kill me too. I'm sure you are a fantastic lover but I'd rather live and never know you in the biblical sense than enjoy you once and die. Now if I could enjoy your charms and live..... then that's a completely different ball game, and I'd be up for that. Literally."

She laughed. "So what did you do to cause me pain when I kissed you?"

I turned over my hands and showed her my wrists. "I'm surprised you didn't see them when I was at the sink. It was the only way I could think of to protect myself. And even though I think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I'm probably a little bit in love with you already, if not a lot, I still want to enjoy my life. And, you are a daemon, so I don't really think I can trust you. You are only completing your task because you are impelled to do so. If you got the opportunity, you'd suck my life force away completely, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." Single word answer. Didn't mince her words, our daemon!

"Well that was quick and simple, wasn't it? That's why I don't trust you. But at least you were honest."

"I think I would rather not drain you, but I am what I am. If you were a daemon then we could, you know, jig-a-jig."

"Jig-a-jig," I laughed. "That's an interesting way of saying it. I thought you were much blunter, more basic than that."

"I do need to blend in with your society, you know. Especially if I'm going to make you filthy rich, so I can go back."

I had a sudden thought. "Naamah, do you have to go back through the same..." I paused for a second, "portal I suppose you could call it. Where you came through."

"A daemon trap," she replied

"OK, a daemon trap. Does it have to be the one you came through?"

"Yes, of course. Why?

"We have a problem then. The Old Hall burnt to the ground last Friday. Possibly one of the candles in the basement room. It's been completely destroyed, just a pile of rubble."

"What. Take me there. NOW." Those sparking eyes of a few seconds ago now replaced by hard, pale eyes. She then shook herself, literally. Her head shook back and forth a couple of times, then she looked at me again. The eyes were back to the grey eyes, the nice eyes.

"I apologise. Could you please take me up to see the site of the fire? Please, Master."

I turned off the oven and went to grab a coat. I looked at Naamah's clothes. She was dressed in a navy blue flared skirt, stopping a hand span above the knee, a white blouse and a cardigan that matched the skirt. "Are you going to be warm enough?"

"You are nice. I'll be fine. I'm a daemon. We generate our own internal warmth, remember we live in Hell. But thank you."

Fifteen minutes later I pulled up on the road outside the Hall. There was police 'DO NOT CROSS' tape across the entrance to the drive, but no one about. We slipped under the tape and walked up the drive. It was a mess. The east gable end still stood, but the other walls had collapsed inwards. Once we'd got to within 30 yards, Naamah stopped. She looked a little pale. "The trap should be calling to me by now. Nothing. I can't feel it." She turned to me. "Take me home please."

We walked back to the car in silence, and drove home. Once back inside I poured Naamah out another glass of wine, and restarted dinner.

"Are you OK? You look a bit pale."

"No. Not really. I'm trapped, here, in this realm. I don't know how to get back." Then she turned to me. "You'll have to send me back. You have The Book."

"Yes, the book in ancient Aramaic! That's a lot of help. Unless you can translate it for me?"

Her shoulders stooped. "I cannot touch The Book. It is not only forbidden, but would cause me intense pain, possibly kill me."

"When I was in the pentagram on Halloween you asked me to give you the book. Now you say you can't touch it?"

"I know. I was trying to get you out of the pentagram, that's all. Didn't work though, did it?"

Dinner was a sombre affair. I tried to talk to Naamah but all I got was monosyllabic answers. Eventually it was time for bed.

"Look, I don't know how you want to do this. I've only got one bed. You're welcome to share," I smiled, "but I know I can't touch your skin. If I give you a pair of joggers and a t-shirt you should be OK. I promise not to take advantage of you."

"Very funny," she replied. "I suppose it'll work." And it did. She stripped off in the bedroom in front of me -- I'll admit it, I watched. Any man would have as long has he still had a pulse. She donned the joggers and tee and got into the bed. She still seemed tense, so I told her to lie on her front and rubbed her back through the t-shirt, being careful not to touch any skin. Eventually she seemed to relax. I turned my back on her and settled down. The sensation of another body in my bed again was very unsettling. I wanted to roll over and cuddle in, but was afraid of hurting Naamah. Crazy really as just a week ago she intended to love me to death. Who said life was fair. The most beautiful girl I had ever met was sleeping in my bed and I couldn't even touch her. Eventually I dropped off too.

Saturday 8^th November.

I woke up feeling refreshed, having slept better than for a while. Then I remembered why. Although we were still lying back to back we had moved together during the night and were touching from shoulder to bum. It felt good. I could smell Naamah too, a subtle aroma, possibly a hint of perfume, something floral with and underlying muskiness. The essence of a beautiful woman. I lay inhaling the scent for a couple of minutes, but my bladder was telling me to move.

I slipped quietly out of bed and off to the toilet, then a shower. When I went back into the bedroom to get dressed, Naamah had rolled onto her back. She smiled and said "Good morning, David."

"Morning," I replied. "Did you sleep well? I didn't know daemons slept."

"In daemon form I wouldn't," she said getting out of the bed and quickly stripping off her night clothes, "but in human form," and with that she twirled round on her heel doing a complete 360, "I need the same as a human. So, food, drink, sleep."

"I wish you wouldn't do that twirly thing. You look sensational but I can't touch!"

She twirled again. "What, this?" she asked.

I put my hand over my eyes dramatically, but with splayed fingers. "Yes, that!"

"Oh, Ok," she said and proceeded to turn her back on me and then bend from the waist, keeping those long, long legs straight, to slowly pick up her discarded clothes. While still bent over she looked at me over her shoulder with a cheeky grin, knowing she was fully exposing her sex to my view. Then slowly stood up, dropped the clothes on the bed and said "I'm going to get a shower if that's all right with you."

"Tease," I said, sticking out my tongue. "There's a clean towel on the towel rail for you. I put a fresh one out this morning."

She then pointed at the tent in the front of my towel. "I haven't lost my touch then?"

"It's got nothing to do with you being a succubus, everything to do with being a beautiful, sexy woman. Go get your shower, I'll make breakfast."

Naamah came down for breakfast in yesterdays clothes.

"What are your plans now?" I asked.

"Well, I need to know all about you and your life. I have to make you rich before I can return, and you have to learn how to send me back. So I thought I'd stay here with you as your girlfriend for the moment. Sound OK?"

"I don't know. I hadn't really thought it out. I suppose I'm Ok with it. But if you're staying we need to get you some clothes. That seems to be the only set you have."

"Yes, well I came in the red shorts and top but they were probably destroyed in the fire. I 'acquired these', say ....from a friend!"

"Naamah, did you kill this 'friend'?"

"Well, she seemed to be enjoying herself, and I may have got a bit carried away. I do remember what you asked though and I'm trying to reign in my impulses. It's not easy. I'm used to just letting myself go. And then, pouf," and with that she threw her hands up in the air, "they're gone."

"Well, we need to go shopping. We need some food for next week and if we go to the shopping centre we can go to some clothes shops for you. Then you won't have to 'borrow from friends', will you?"

She blew me a kiss.

"Oh, and we're meeting Alice, my sister, for lunch. You remember Alice, don't you? Your payment!"

"I remember her all right. You spoiled my fun, but in the circumstances I suppose I can forgive you."

"Well, she doesn't really remember you. She'd had quite a lot to drink, and with the stress and shock of a daemon summoning, her memory was quite hazy. Oh, and don't shake hands with Alice, or kiss her, when we meet. You should be Ok with a hug. In this weather you'll both be covered up quite well. I, sort of, tattooed her as well, with the same tattoos as I have on my wrists. But I did Alice here," I said pointing to my lower abdomen.

"Why did you do it there, over her sex organs? The most powerful place you could have put it on a woman for protection from a succubus, or incubus for that matter."

"Pure luck. When we got back to my house after the party and summoning, Alice passed out on my bed. She was lying on her back and her top had ridden up exposing her tummy. It just seemed a good place to put it at the time without waking her up."

"Luck with the protective symbol. Luck with where you tattooed yourself and your sister. It looks as if you're getting divine inspiration."

We clothes shopped first and Naamah changed into jeans and a jumper. On anyone else it would have been just that -- jeans and a jumper, but on Naamah it was catwalk quality. The jeans hugged her body just so, and the jumper moulded to her curves in a head turning way. She was obviously braless under the jumper, but considering she was several thousand years old and a mother to numerous daemon children, there was not a hint of sag. She looked to be in her early twenties with a body of perfection. I was stunned, and I was getting used to having her around. Every other red-blooded male in the shopping precinct couldn't help but stare, and most of the females too, some with admiration, some with envy bordering on hate.

We met Alice and went into a cafe/restaurant for lunch. I introduced Alice to 'Enn', my new girlfriend.

"Well, Sandi's not the only one who's traded up, is she?" she quipped. "Enn, you are gorgeous. Where did you two meet?"

"Oh, I met David to do with work. I'm planning a book and wanted a good artist for the cover artwork. We seemed to gel pretty quickly. He's rather dishy, don't you think, and is really very sweet."

"I never thought of him as dishy, but there again he is my brother. But sweet, yes, without a doubt. He's definitely what a little sister needs."

"I think he's definitely what a woman needs, this woman anyway," came the reply.

The two girls chatted over lunch like they were old friends. Over coffee Alice said "Enn, have we met before? The longer we talk the more sure I am that we've met before. I just can't place you. And where does the name come from? Enn? Unususal!"

"Well, as you can tell from my appearance, I'm not originally from round here. I've a very mixed heritage. 'Enn' is just my initial, my name is Naamah. It's a biblical name. Naamah was Noah's wife."

"You don't sound foreign," Alice came back with, "your English is excellent."

"Thank you. I do speak several languages fluently."

After lunch we food-shopped then went home. Alice had gone off to meet up with some friends, but was coming for dinner Sunday.

For the next two weeks, Naamah lived with me, watched me work in the studio, talked to me about my work, met me at the office at the end of the day, always arriving early enough to chat to Esme. She met and charmed both Charlie and Jackie. She engineered a meeting with three of our authors, and had them eating out of her hand within minutes.

I have to admit I didn't know what she was doing most of the time I was at work. I hoped she wasn't topping up her energy levels by draining life forces. If she was, it meant she was having sex with others. I had no rights to her, and with my henna tattoos we couldn't even touch, but nevertheless I felt the pangs of jealousy. Was I seriously falling in love with a daemon?

We were still sleeping together. Naamah had bought a full length nightdress, and I got a thin long-sleeved t-shirt. It meant I could sleep holding her. Even a thin covering seemed safe - as long as there was no skin on skin contact we were Ok. However it seemed to strengthen my feeling for Naamah. I wanted to keep her as mine.

Saturday 22^nd and Sunday 23^rd November.

After breakfast Naamah ordered me into my studio. She followed me in shedding her clothes. "Paint me, David. I know you have the talent to create a masterpiece."

Four hours later I had sketched out the basis of the picture, and was starting to build up the colour. Naamah had barely moved a muscle. She was the perfect live art subject. I kept bottled water in my studio for when I was working. I passed a bottle to Naamah, and grabbed one myself. I lost myself in my art, and barely noticed the time pass. We stopped mid evening. Naamah had been unbelievable in her ability to sit for me.

"I have to stop. I'm getting tired from all the concentration and I don't want to cock things up. Can you sit for a bit again in the morning? I'm on a roll and don't want to stop."

We ordered in Chinese and the crashed into bed.

The next morning we were back in the studio early. The painting was my best ever work. The texture, the lighting, the subtlety of colouring, the depth -- the drama. Looking at it you could feel the emotion I had poured into the creation of it. I was quickly immersed fully into the work, so much so that I didn't hear any knocking, or the door opening.

Alice walked in and broke my concentration.

"My God, D! That's fucking fantastic. It's spectacular. Enn, you are so....I can't think of a suitable word. Amazing doesn't really do you justice." She leaned down and kissed Naamah. Amazingly Naamah didn't pull away, didn't seem to have been hurt by the contact.

"Alice, take your clothes off and come and pose with me," she instructed.

"I can't do that. I can't strip in front of Davie. He's my brother."

"Not today. Today he's just a hugely talented artist. Do it, Alice. He needs this."

Alice looked from Naamah to me and back again. You could see that she didn't want to but Naamah's instruction seemed to compel her. She suddenly seemed to decide, and quickly stripped off her clothes. I immediately saw that the henna tattoo had faded away to a vague smudge. No wonder Naamah wasn't hurt by the kiss, and that was probably why her suggestion had compelled Alice to do something that was probably against her better judgement.

They started off with Naamah sitting between Alice's legs, with Alice wrapping her left arm round Naamah, across her breasts, with her right hand on Naamah's hip. She rested her forehead on Naamah's neck.

I was in a frenzy, pencil sketch first to outline the work, then oil pastels to gradually build up the base colours. Further layers of different colours of pastels crayons to build the picture until the basis was done. I leant back. The girls seemed in a world of their own. Their bodies hadn't shifted, but they were whispering to each other all the time. The picture of two naked girls didn't show anything sexual. The position of legs hid any view of Naamah's pussy and Alice was mainly hidden behind her. There was the swell of Naamah's breasts but the majority was underneath Alice's arm. Despite this it was the sexiest, most erotic thing I have ever seen. Forget porn. This was so much more stimulating. This was art with a capital A. I was gobsmacked that I could do work of this quality.

I knew I was a decent artist, but this recent work far surpassed anything I'd ever done, or anything I thought I was capable of doing.

Naamah recognised that I had reached the point that the picture just needed finishing touches. "David, get a new canvas." She pushed the armchair they'd been sitting on out of the way.

"Lie on the floor, Alice. Hold your hand up like this, and stretch your head back as if you are shocked, or frightened." Then Naamah stood over her, slightly stooped, gazing down at the prone body, and held her hand down until the two stretched out hands nearly touched.

"OK David. You need to get started. I don't know how long Alice can stay still."

Again I started with light pencil strokes to give my picture substance, then grabbed my oil paints and started. Time seemed to fly as I concentrated fully on my art. My eyes constantly flickered between the tableau in front of me and the canvas. Eventually Naamah spoke.

"David, I hope you have what you need. Alice needs to move, and drink something. Tea or coffee first, then wine, at least a couple of glasses. And food. We've had nothing since breakfast. Neither has Alice."

The spell was broken. I had all I needed. There was still lots of work to do to complete the pictures but I didn't need the girls for that. The scenes were indelibly printed in my memory anyway. "Al, are you OK. You know what I'm like when I'm painting. I get carried away. Let me grab some clean towels and then you can have a shower. You too Enn. Today was unbelievable. I love you both."

Naamah helped Alice up and they both hugged me, neither trying to look at the unfinished pictures. They knew I would show them when I was happy they were done to my satisfaction.

After washing my hands I put the coffee maker on and grabbed some steaks out the fridge to bring them up to room temperature before griddling them. I seasoned them and put them aside. I had salad in the fridge which would go with the meat. I grabbed the corkscrew and took the corks out of two bottles of wine. A Pinot Noir Rosé from New Zealand, lighter for the ladies to drink before dinner, and an Australian Cab Sauv, full of berries, perfect to go with the steak. There was a bottle of Pinot Grigio in the fridge in case they wanted white. I poured three coffees and took them through to the bedroom. As I walked in the girls were just coming out the bathroom, wrapped in towels and holding hands. "We're done," said Alice, "get your shower while we get dressed. Though as we've been naked most of the day I don't suppose clothes matter that much."

The girls made the salad while I grilled the steaks, and then we ate. We were ravenous. I grabbed a tub of ice cream out the freezer -- some Ben and Jerry's. The two ladies squealed with excitement and devoured the lot. I was happy to let them. They had the harder job today, keeping still while I painted. By the time the two bottles of wine were finished we were all flagging.