I jerked around. Greg’s voice was close to me—too close. I’d had my back to him while checking out the books, but now he was right behind me. I took a few steps back and bumped the couch.

“Yeah,” I said nervously. “Thanks for the help. I should leave now.”

“Not yet,” he said, moving closer. “You just got here.”

I tried to wriggle off to the side, but his hands suddenly reached out and grabbed a hold of my arms, pinning me into place.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. There went my heart rate again.

“I don’t know what’s going on with all this summoning stuff, but I do know there’s a succubus here who doesn’t feel like a succubus anymore, which probably means you can’t fight like one.”

I tried to break from his grasp, but his hands were like steel. “You’re crazy. Of course I’m a succubus. You know I am.”

“Yeah? Then shape-shift away from me. Turn into a bird. Turn into a bodybuilder.”

I clenched my teeth and tried to shake his hold again. “Let me go, you son of a bitch. You hurt me, and a whole host of demons are going to show up and rip you limb from limb.”

“Not so sure about that,” he chuckled. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. You think any succubus would fuck someone like me?”

He shoved me down onto the couch, one strong arm pinning me in place while the other hand fumbled awkwardly under my shirt and grabbed a hold of my breast. Moving his head close, he tried to press his lips against mine, but I turned my head just in time.

“Let me go!” I screamed. I managed to wriggle a leg free and knee him in the gut. It wasn’t enough to free me, but it made him scowl.

I’d worried about getting hit by cars, meteors, and structurally unsound overpasses. Never, never had I thought about being raped. It hadn’t been a fear of mine for centuries, not since I realized I could shape-shift into someone larger and stronger, someone capable of throwing off any assailant.

Maybe it shouldn’t have bothered me so much. I’d had sex with plenty of people I didn’t like over the years. I’d always grimaced and waited it out. But there was something about this that was different. It wasn’t my choice, and compounding it all was the feeling of helplessness I had. I hated not having options. I hated not being able to think my way out of something. There was nothing to be done, though. Not this time.