The Incubus

Horrified, he grabbed a washcloth and soap and tried to scrub off the incriminating markings, but to no avail. Suddenly his phone chimed, and when he read the text he'd received, he howled with anger. "It won't come off - I used permanent marker. But don't worry: you'll grow a new layer of skin in a month or two."

Using his stubby wings, Eros flitted behind the columns of his mother's temple, trying to get a peek at the succubus Aphrodite had summoned. As the goddess of love, Aphrodite was the embodiment of female beauty and grace. But Helene, the succubus, was the embodiment of female sexuality, and that made her infinitely fascinating and desirable to Eros.

When the dark-haired female entered the temple and bowed before Aphrodite, Eros could only stare in enchantment. "It's no surprise Homer was struck blind when he beheld her," the infant-sized god thought to himself. "And it's little wonder she was his inspiration for the Iliad."

But as he gazed at the enticing figure of the succubus, Eros was filled with anger and frustration. Why do I have to be forever imprisoned in a child's body? He glanced down between his thighs. Why can't I have a real cock instead of this pitiful little nub?

But his self-pity was forgotten as he inched closer to hear his mother's instructions to the kneeling succubus. "You did well on your mission, Helene. Esme is one of my favorites, and that philanderer Eduard was no good for her. Your seduction and subsequent humiliation of him should haunt that cad for a long time."

"I am glad you are pleased, my goddess," Helene murmured.

"I am," Aphrodite continued, "so much so that I have another assignment for you. Do you know the incubus Paris?"

"I've never encountered him, but I know his reputation."

"Well, he is a rogue spirit, and his little adventures lately have become a thorn in my side. He needs to be reined in before he complicates any more of my plans. I want you to locate him and let me know exactly where he is."

"What should I do once I locate him?"

"Nothing. Simply send the information to me and keep him there. I'll take care of Paris."

"Yes, my goddess."

"And Helene, be careful when you find him. Despite his knavery, he is surprisingly powerful."

"As am I, my goddess. I will not fail you."

"Good. Then make haste, because I wish this problem solved without delay."

Eros stared after the succubus until he could no longer make out her swinging hips. I can't stay in an infant's form another instant, he vowed to himself, but before he could approach his mother to plead his case, the goddess beckoned to another. Instantly Eros felt a clammy chill envelope him as a dark, smoky figure floated into the temple. "A Shade!" Eros gasped under his breath. "What business does my mother have with a creature from the Underworld?"

The shadowy figure stopped in front of Aphrodite's throne, and even the goddess seemed affected by its presence. "You saw Helene just now?" she demanded.

The dark presence bowed in acknowledgement.

"I want you to follow her. Remain unseen - she is not to know of your presence. But when she finds the incubus Paris, you are to take him."

The shadow nodded again.

"But, Shade," she instructed forcefully, "the succubus is mine. You may take Paris to the Underworld and do with him as you wish, but Helene is not to be harmed, do you understand?"

With another bow, the shadowy form retreated. Even though he was immortal, Eros felt relieved when the dark figure was gone.

With the Shade's departure, Eros flew off to a nearby copse of cedar trees to think. So, Mommy Dearest has plans within plans - how very interesting. He thought once again about the smoky presence he'd just observed, and he shuddered. I wouldn't want to be Paris right now.

It had taken Helene little time to discover the likely location of Paris. She had sought out her friend Pheme, the goddess of rumor, who told her tales of an unlikely number of sexual feats, unexpected divorces and broken engagements in the Music City. Such reports were like footprints on soft soil to the succubus.

Once she'd vectored in on Nashville, she focused on the Opryland Hotel as the most likely place her objective would be staying. Problem solved - except that the hotel has over 2 million square feet under roof and almost 3,000 guest rooms, making the task of finding the incubus no small undertaking. But when you can't easily find your prey, Helene's strategy was to encourage the prey to find her. She decided to employ the same tactics she'd used so effectively at the Bellagio: find a central location, dress in an appropriately seductive manner and broadcast enough lascivity to attract any being as sexually oriented as Paris.

Accordingly, she donned a black, off-the-shoulder bodycon dress with a lace-up back that made it obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. The skirt of the clingy dress only went down to mid-thigh, and was tight enough to suggest she wore no panties either. Then she pulled on black patent leather Laboutin over-the-knee boots, which made her legs look even longer and sexier.

Outfitted in her hunting gear, she made her way to the hotel's Falls Bar, nestled in the Conservatory. There, amidst the tropical plants and cascades of rushing water, she ordered a glass of white zinfandel and waited for her prey to walk into her trap.

Perhaps it was her second glass of wine on an empty stomach, or perhaps the sound of rushing waters, but Helene never noticed the tall, drunken man until he had wrapped his arm tightly around her bare shoulders. "Hey, darlin'," he drawled drunkenly, "you're the hottest thing I've ever seen. Why don't you and me go find someplace private?"

Cursing her inattentiveness, Helene struggled to shrug him off, but the man was huge. With his weight draped all over her, she couldn't seem to extricate herself. He ignored her efforts and boozily tried to kiss her while groping her breasts. Just as she decided that she had no choice but to cause a public and very embarrassing scene, someone grabbed her assailant's hand and bent it sharply back towards the elbow. The drunk yelled in pain and slipped to his knees trying to relieve the pressure on his wrist. Her defender immediately elevated the imprisoned hand, ducked under it and twisted, forcing the howling giant flat. Then he placed his knee on the big man's spine, pinning him to the floor.

At that moment two security guards appeared and took charge of the situation. Cuffing the attacker, they quickly marched him away, and only then did Helene focus on her rescuer. "Paris!" she gasped, and he stared at her in surprise. "Do I know you, pretty lady?" he asked.

She was shaken enough that she couldn't think of an appropriate answer, and as she hesitated he led her over to a vacant table. The bartender rushed over and offered them drinks on the house, all the time apologizing for the incident.

Paris had never stopped staring at the woman, and once the bartender had left, he suddenly nodded. "I know you - I mean, I don't know you but I know who you are. You're a succubus."

So much for strategy, Helene thought, and offered her hand. "I'm Helene, and you're Paris." As they shook hands, she abruptly realized that he was broadcasting lustful emanations at her. To her dismay, she felt them working. Even worse, she now discovered she was doing the same thing to him. She tried to stop, only to discover she couldn't.

Paris was having a similar experience. He too could feel that his lascivity was turned up to high. The woman he'd saved was remarkable, but he'd intended to let her recover her equanimity before he attempted to seduce her. Apparently, his body had decided otherwise. A moment later he realized that she wanted him every bit as much as he desired her. Her lust level was also on full, and it was all he could do not to embrace her on the spot.

As if she could read his thoughts, she stood, took a step toward him and began to pant. "I have a room nearby. Do you want to . . .?"

"Oh god yes!" he gasped. Grabbing her hand, he followed as she ran as fast as her boots would permit. They began kissing frantically in the elevator, and when they reached her room, she could hardly stop long enough to fish the card key out of her purse. Once she'd unlocked the door, Paris picked her up and carried her inside, kicking the door closed behind them. He hastily brought her over to the side of the bed, and both of them began tearing at their clothes as though they were on fire.

Finally the two perfect nude bodies embraced each other, feeling nothing now but each other's heat. Paris picked the succubus up again and lightly tossed her on the bed. She was no less eager, pulling him down on top of her and planting kisses wildly all over his face.

The burning in their loins would not permit any further delay. Helene lifted her shapely legs in a wide vee to encourage his entry. His desperate desire made him clumsy, and as he awkwardly attempted to line himself up with her opening, neither noticed the dark smoke penetrate the door and reform into the Shade Aphrodite had sent. The shadowy form neared the bed and realized it would be difficult to take the male without the female. It shrugged. Let Aphrodite rage. There's always room for one more in the Underworld.

The Shade raised its icy hand to strike the blow that would consign the two lovers to Tartarus forever. So intent was the creature on its victims that it failed to sense the golden glow behind it. But Eros could see very clearly, and he instantly loosed a golden arrow at the dark figure bending over the couple. The instant the arrowhead touched the Shade, the creature shuddered and began to dissipate as though caught by the wind. But the golden arrow did not pause; instead it flew on, embedding itself in both the incubus and the succubus. "Uh-oh," Eros gasped, clasping his hand to his mouth, but there was nothing he could do now.

Just as Paris was penetrating the woman beneath him, he paused, startled. Then he felt a sudden warmth bloom in his heart, and he cried out, "I love you, Helene!"

She too felt the burning deep within and her eyes flew open. "I love you too, Paris. Please, please, make me yours forever." And as the two began the fevered coupling as old as time, they felt their lust multiplied by the power of true love.

Eros had seen it all so many times that he turned away now to consider his new problem. How he was going to explain to his mother what had happened? She'll probably cut off what little dick I have, he thought morosely as he turned and began his trip back to Olympus.

It was mid-morning the next day before the two lovers finally rolled away from each other and lay gasping in exhaustion. Paris turned to stare at his partner, and Helene did the same. He saw with concern that she wasn't smiling.

"I love you, Paris, but how are we going to make this work?"

"We'll get married and live together - what's the problem?"

"Yes, and I want that - I really do. But, Paris, I'm a succubus, a sexual creature. Men are always going to want me . . ." she looked down, unable to face him. "And I'm going to want them too," she added in a sad voice. "I just don't see how I can be faithful to you."

He reached over to take her hand, his face now solemn. "I've been thinking about that too, Helene. You know women come on to me all the time, and it's my nature to respond."

Worry filled her face, although it didn't make her any less desirable. "What are we going to do, Paris? I can't bear to give you up."

He rolled over and began to kiss her, gradually increasing the ardor of his caresses. "We'll figure something out, Helene, I promise." She felt the waves of lust coming off of him and surrendered, glad to be able to forget their dilemma, even if only for now.

Eros fluttered miserably in front of his mother's throne. He'd confessed what he'd done, and she'd listened to his account without reacting. Even now her beautiful face looked as though it was carved out of marble.

He couldn't bear the silence any longer. "Don't you see, Mother, I'm pretty sure that damned Shade was going to take Helene to the Underworld as well as Paris. I didn't think you wanted me to let . . ." His justification died on his lips as Aphrodite raised her hand.

"Your arrow went through both of them?" she demanded. "Both Paris and Helene? You're sure."

"I'm afraid so, Mother."

"You're positive it couldn't have just been Paris?"

Eros rolled his eyes. "You should have seen the way they were humping each other. I've seen the same thing happen billions of times: they were truly, deeply, madly in love."

She stared at him intently; then her face broke into a big smile. "You know what, my little love god, I think you've come up with a much better solution than the one I planned. Come here and give your mother a hug."

As he flew into his mother's arms, the chubby cupid was overcome with relief. He wasn't sure what he'd done right, but if his mother was happy, he sure wasn't going to question it.

But being a goddess, Aphrodite sensed her son's uncertainty instantly. "Don't you see, my darling, if the Shade had taken Paris, there would have been questions raised, lovers bereft, potential repercussions, an imbalance in the world. This way, those two sex addicts are going to be so occupied with each other that they'll have no time to interfere with my plans. Making them fall in love with each other was brilliant!"

Eros squirmed excitedly. Perhaps this was exactly the opportunity he'd been looking for. "Mother," he said earnestly, gazing up into her blue eyes, "since I've done so well, how about letting me mature a little? I mean, I've been stuck in this infant's body like forever. Couldn't I just age a little, you know, like become a teenager?"

She held him out at arm's length and looked at him lovingly. "Oh, Eros, I can't possibly do that. Then I wouldn't have my beautiful baby boy to snuggle with!" She pulled him back to her bosom, so close that she couldn't see the expression on his face or here what he murmured under his breath, "Hades!"

Three Years Later

The couple on the sofa were obviously nervous. Paris brought them drinks while Helene tried to encourage them to ask any questions to ease their tension. It was the husband who started. "We've been talking about the Lifestyle for a while now but never really knew how to get started. Then one day we were chatting with our friends the Thompsons . . ."

"Oh, Dick and Linda," Helene interrupted. "They're a lovely couple."

"Yeah, we were kinda surprised when they told us they'd swapped around some. I guess we felt like if they could do it, so could we."

"They were the ones who recommended we contact you," he went on. "They said you two were really good at getting people started, you know, in the Lifestyle."

"That's so sweet of them," Helene cooed.

Paris looked over at the wife, who was twisting a napkin nervously in her fingers. "You must have some questions - everyone does."

"I guess what I want to know is what effect has all this had on your marriage - you know, you're relationship with each other?"

Paris reached over and gave his wife's hand a squeeze. "Truthfully, it's made our marriage better than it would have been otherwise."

The wife looked skeptical. "Really?"

Helene gave her an earnest look. "That's really not an exaggeration. Sharing each other with new people has made our lives together richer and more vibrant. I really can't imagine us together now without it."

"See, honey," the husband gushed, "it's been a positive, not a negative."

The wife still seemed a little uncertain. "So how long have you been doing this sort of thing?"

Paris grinned. "It feels like we've always lived this way. It's definitely a part of our DNA."

"And there's never been any jealousy? It hasn't hurt the way you feel about each other?"

Helene slid over on the sofa to sit side by side with Paris. "I can say without hesitation that we've never loved each other more. We still feel just like we did when Cupid's arrow hit us."

The other couple laughed, and the wife seemed to relax a little. Her husband gave her a squeeze and then looked at Paris and Helene. "I think Linda and Dick were right: you're the perfect couple to get us started. We really want this first time to be a good experience."

Helene smiled radiantly. "Oh, I think we can promise you a night you'll never forget."

Paris grinned at them. "Yeah, it'll be mythical!"