Poof!

Twisted horns and a heart-tipped tail popped out at the same time.

I wasn't hungry; I was craving.

Arnold's mouth twitched like he was smiling, or maybe sneering.

"So you're also… Guess I don't have to hold back anymore!"

He took off the ring on his ring finger, and dark, glossy scales flickered into view.

My voice was already shaking.

"Wait, why are you grabbing my tail like that?"

He didn't answer. He only pressed the tip of my tail against his collarbone.

It felt cold and nice.

Without meaning to, I stretched my tail closer, wanting more.

"Where else do you wanna touch?" He smiled like he was baiting me.

I gulped. "Can I?"

Arnold looked down at me and answered generously, "Sure. Just call me 'honey'."

Desire punched logic into the ground in under three seconds. Logic lost.

I choked up. "Honey, please…"

I pointed at his abs with the tip of my tail.

Arnold's lips curved as promised, and he let go.

The moment my tail touched his waist, it wrapped around him two full loops on its own.

Arnold was yanked right up to me, gazing at me with a calm, almost leisurely look.

It was as if he was asking, "Well? Isn't this way better than meeting a cute guy?"

"Arnold, you're despicable!"

The second I realized what I had just done, I wanted the floor to swallow me.

"Yeah, yeah." He clearly wasn't new to my insults.

He grabbed the back of my head and forced my mouth open without asking.

"Then bite me."

The comments flew past at lightning speed.

["Bite me?!" As if he wouldn't be the one enjoying it!]

[Arnold is hopelessly in love. Other men go all alpha and make their girlfriends dress up for role-play. This guy? He puts on the costume himself and seduces her. Where's his pride? His self-control? And more importantly, where do I order a boyfriend like this?]

[I love this arc, but I already know how it goes. The female lead is gonna show up soon. Arnold's gonna realize "Primal urge isn't love", and suddenly, she's his soulmate. Classic storyline.]

[Wait, why is the post-bite scene locked?? I'll pay. Please let me in!]

The year I awakened as a succubus, my parents had taken my little brother, Marvin Day, overseas for treatment.

No one stayed with me or taught me how to deal with the pain after awakening.

When it got unbearable, the only one around was Arnold, that annoying idiot.

We had been enemies forever.

At three, we threw mud at each other. At ten, we secretly punctured each other's bike tires. At eighteen, we deliberately ruined each other's first relationships.

We had a lifelong feud going.

At first, he absolutely refused.

"Eva, if you don't get off right now, I swear I'll end you."

I held up my pinky.

"With that little guy?"

Arnold narrowed his eyes darkly.

"What, are you saying you've seen bigger?"

I froze.

I hadn't. But there was no way I could admit that.

I grabbed at his belt and snapped back, "So what if I have? Yours is nothing special, anyway. One touch, and you're already done. Pretty useless, honestly. You should be grateful I even picked you!"

Arnold exploded. He shouted, "Very well," then turned the tables.

"You'd better keep that attitude all night."

Then, Arnold started "fighting" me.

Please. I was a succubus, for God's sake. How was a regular guy supposed to beat me in bed?

But I learned the truth after one night.

Arnold wasn't normal. He had strength that never ran out.

He was actually a perfect bed partner!

So, I learned how to exploit him.

I mocked every new move he learned and gave him low ratings on purpose.

Every time, I got another round.

But now, that trick didn't seem to work anymore.

A wild Arnold was like a bull that never got tired.

I felt like I was gonna burst.

Wasn't I just the side character in this story?

Where was the heroine, Serena Simonds? Why wasn't she here yet?

-

Speak of the devil.

On the third day Arnold was parading me around the company like his personal treasure, she arrived.

Serena showed up at the office door carrying a vacuum flask.

She was the adopted sister of Ray Simonds, the male lead, and she had just come back from overseas.

"Arnold, I heard you've been sick and haven't come to work all week. Are you okay?"

The comments exploded.

[Rich bad boy meets soft, innocent girl. Yep, that's the vibe we signed up for.]

[The female lead is finally here! Look at her, so delicate and gentle. She's nothing like Eva, who can go ten rounds with Arnold.]

[It's obvious now. Arnold acts normal around Serena, but he turns feral with Eva. That's love. You hide the crazy for the one who matters.]

I rolled my eyes.

They were making it look like he was barely hanging on. I was the one with the actual crisis here!

"Eva, what are you standing there for?"

Arnold didn't even look up from his documents when he ordered me around.

Remembering that my deal for getting out of the basement was becoming Arnold's assistant, I quickly reached for the vacuum flask in Serena's hands.

Serena shot me a look but still forced a smile and handed it over.

For some reason, the big boss was upset again.

Seeing that I was about to guide Serena to the couch, he strode over, grabbed me by the back of my collar, and growled at me through clenched teeth.

"I told you to send her away. I didn't tell you to carry her things. Is that how you do your job as a personal assistant? Go, make her leave. Do it like a proper lady of the house."

Was he crazy?

I wasn't a mind reader. If he didn't say it clearly, how was I supposed to know?

The comments were just as confused.

[What's happening? Isn't Arnold supposed to fall for the innocent heroine at first sight, feel "dirty" because of Eva, go home, scrub himself raw, and beg Serena not to judge his past? Why does it look like he's mad that Eva isn't jealous?]

[Relax. Arnold just hasn't realized he's in love with Serena yet. Once he does, he won't even look in Eva's direction.]

[Arnold is stressing himself out. One minute, he's terrified his girl will run, and the next, he's scared she'll shove him at someone else. Why am I suddenly shipping Arnold and Eva? Why aren't they the endgame?]

As if I'd ever be paired with someone so messed up!

I rubbed my neck and walked up to Serena.

"Um, Mr. Wright is busy today. You should come back tomorrow."

But she wouldn't give up and pushed past me. "I just want to say a few things to Arnold."

"Don't, please."

For my sake.

I grabbed her arm in a panic, and only then realized that for someone who looked fragile, she had a surprising amount of strength.

When she shook me off, her heel slipped, and she fell backward.

At that exact moment, the door opened, and another tall figure stepped inside and caught her smoothly.

"Serena, didn't I tell you not to cause trouble for Arnold?"

The comments went berserk.

[Oh, wow! The male lead is here! This is where Eva falls for Ray at first sight and later goes after Serena like it's her life's mission, which is how Ray and Arnold make her lose her mind eventually.]

[The funniest part is that Ray is also a pureblood incubus, and he's actually the bonding match Eva's family picked for her. Peak love-triangle chaos.]

[So the main characters are doing the incest route? That's wild!]

So Serena was the only normal human in this story?

But after reading the part about losing my mind, I decided I'd better not mess with her.

I rushed over to help Serena up.

And then, I looked up to see Ray right in front of me.

Oh, dear. He was handsome in a dangerous way.

The man was around six feet two, with perfect legs and a narrow waist.

If I still had a tail, it would've been sweeping the floor like a broom.

Serena hit the jackpot. She actually landed two hot guys.

This wasn't fair. Why did she get everything? Couldn't I have just one?

Evil thoughts exploded in my brain, completely out of my control.

I blurted out, "What's your name? Can I call you 'honey'?"

Before the last word even finished, a furious voice rang out behind me.

"Eva Day! Don't you know where your 'honey' is?! Get your filthy little hands off him! Now"

The moment the shout rang out, I realized this man was the male lead; he wasn't someone I was allowed to touch.

I awkwardly pulled my hand back and was about to run, but Ray recognized me first. He grabbed me excitedly, smiling widely.

"You're Eva Day? My aunt showed me your picture."

I could feel a burning stare hitting me from behind.

It was painfully intense.

I forced a greeting out and tried to usher the two of them toward the door.

However, Serena had zero awareness and happily clung to my arm.

"No way! You're my brother's bonding match?"

Of all things to say, she had to pick that one.

I panicked and covered her mouth, but it was already too late.

Arnold shut the door. He pressed his tongue against his cheek and walked toward me with a face full of anger.

"Bonding match? Since when were you planning to bond with someone else?"

I stumbled back in panic and fell onto the couch.

What I wanted to say was, "There are a lot of things you don't know."

But then the comments popped up.

[All four of them finally crossed paths. He loves her, she loves someone else, and that guy loves a different girl… Boom, the whole plot just melted into chaos soup! Everyone, grab a spoon.]

[But it's already a disaster. I'm telling you, Arnold is in love with Eva. Otherwise, why is he this possessive? He doesn't care about Serena at all. Why is this man refusing to stick to the script?]

[No clue, but I hope it stays unhinged. I love this pairing. Every time I think Eva's out of the mess, the author finds a new way to drag her right back in.]

[Eva, babe, just give in a little. His tail is already out. Which means: one, he's an incubus and ready to bond; two, he's pissed; and three, he's about to use that thing to ruin you. Girl, you don't wanna be ripped in two. Trust me.]

Wait, ripped in two?

I watched as a thick black tail wrapped around my ankle.

I made a split-second decision.

I reached up, grabbed Arnold's face, and kissed him.

Sure, we shared a bed for three years, but we had never kissed anywhere else.

And definitely not a kiss like this. No tongue, just lips.

Arnold froze.

While he was still short-circuited, I switched to my sweetest voice.

"He's just someone my family picked. I've never even met him. You're the only one in my heart."

The room went dead quiet.

The pale skin on his face flushed pink in seconds. Along with it, his anger and jealousy vanished.

And then something weird happened: He started purring.

It was low and soft, like a cat. The kind of sound only a very happy incubus would make.

I was utterly puzzled.

Meanwhile, the comments lost their minds.

[I declare Arnold the least flirt-resistant man in history.]

[This is hilarious! One innocent kiss, and his brain shorted out!]

[If an incubus keeps making that sound, it means one thing: Either they're sick, or they're in heat.]

I tested the waters.

"Honey, are you listening?"

Arnold's pupils snapped tight, as if he had just woken from a dream.

He straightened up in a rush and pretended to inspect the office. Then, he cleared his throat and tossed me a black card.

"Take it. Buy whatever you want."

"Huh?" I stared at him in confusion.

Being stared at made him flustered and irritated all over again. "I told you to buy whatever you want. Stop asking."

I hadn't even said anything.

The comments scrolled like crazy.

[Arnold's inner monologue: Why is she this good at flirting? How is that even legal? I need to keep it together. Why am I purring?? Say something smooth, idiot. Act cool. And did she just confess? I'm so happy! She really loves me. I'd give her the world!]