I'm the human who was adopted by a top-tier incubus. Austin Colton had just come of age, and he desperately needed a human to feed from.

I volunteered once… and got completely shot down.

I figured he must've hated me, so imagine my shock when I suddenly started hearing his inner thoughts instead.

'Don't ask me why I'm always burning up! Ugh…'

'Hey, quit playing with my tail, baby! Do you even know what that does? It's all swollen and tender…'

'Can't disturb Iris while she's studying. Tonight, I guess her pajamas will have to do.'

'What if I tell Iris the truth? That a first time with a top-tier incubus could drain half her life force? She'd run for the hills.'

I was speechless.

My family was so poor we couldn't even afford food. So poor that I posted myself for sale online.

A staff member from the agency paired me with a top-tier incubus: the youngest son of the powerful Colton family—Austin Colton.

He had just come of age and was going through his first heat cycle, which meant he urgently needed human bodily fluids to survive. Saliva, sweat, tears… anything would work.

For an ordinary human like me, the amount of money Austin was offering was insane. I figured he must've been desperate. So the second we met, I started getting undressed. "Where do you wanna do this? The couch, or the bed?"

Honestly, if I saw a guy who looked like him on the street, I would doubt that I was not in the real world. Nobody should be that perfectly put together. But he was a top-tier incubus. That explained it. This species was just unfairly gorgeous by design.

Then he said, "That won't be necessary."

Turns out, he'd only brought me here to get his parents off his back. Every alarm in my head went off at once: Oh my god. He's gay.

That night, we slept in separate rooms. I went to check on him once. He was in the shower. Later, in the dead of night, strange noises kept coming from his room. The butler explained awkwardly, "The young master… is running a fever."

I couldn't help thinking, 'What? He took a shower and caught a fever? So pretty, and yet so fragile?'

…

The weekend rolled around. Austin's parents came to visit. Austin was a pure-blooded, top-tier incubus. As the hope of the entire clan, he was supposed to be eager to produce an heir. But the Austin showed zero urgency.

He asked me to play along, so I did. Sitting on the couch, leaning back against his chest, I picked up a slice of tangerine in front of his parents and brought it to his lips. "Open up, baby."

Austin's expression stayed cool. His thin lips parted slightly as he took it from my fingers. A faint, scorching heat brushed against my skin. His lips were… unusually hot.

After he finished, I noticed his parents had gone completely still. His mother leaned over to his father and whispered, "Did Austin just eat… a tangerine?" His father nodded slowly, his face dead serious. "…Love really does work miracles."

After they left, I looked it up. Turns out, just like vampires with garlic, incubi have certain foods that strike terror into their souls—citrus. Especially tangerines.

That night, Austin developed a fever again.

I felt sick with guilt. "I'm so sorry."

…

Another weekend. After bombing a "Basic Incubus Knowledge" quiz—getting every single question wrong—I shouted in frustration, "I wish all incubi would just disappear!"

To blow off steam, I went to the private home theater to watch a movie.

This one looked perfect: Incubus Extermination Plan.

I was totally into it when the young master walked in. On screen, incubi were being mowed down by human machine guns. Mortified, I patted the seat next to me. "Have a seat, baby." He sat down stiffly, his face blank. "You don't have to call me that when we're alone."

"Oh."

Even more embarrassed now, my hand flailed around and landed on something warm, smooth, and flexible—it felt like suede. I looked down. Huh? What a cute little whip. It even had a peach-colored heart-shaped tip. Without thinking, I ran my fingers over it gently.

The man beside me choked out a strained, ragged gasp. "Iris—let—go!"

I didn't get why he suddenly sounded so angry. "What's wrong?"

When he stood up, I finally realized what I'd been stroking. It was an incubus's tail.

After Austin stormed out, I looked it up online and immediately flushed bright red. Turns out, an incubus's tail is basically the equivalent of a human's—

The next morning, Austin didn't get out of bed. The butler told me he'd been burning up all night again.

…

I knocked on Austin's door. No answer. Worried, I pushed it open.

Austin was curled up on the huge bed. The bare skin of his torso was flushed a deep, feverish red.

Austin's hair was soaked with sweat. His eyes were tightly shut, his brow furrowed with visible strain.

I couldn't help but crouch beside the bed and reach out to touch his feverish forehead.

The moment my hand made contact, the tension in his face seemed to ease. The dark, scale-like patterns that had flushed across his skin began to fade, melting back into his usual cool, pale complexion—somehow both distant and unfairly sensual.

Once recovered, Austin shot me a fierce glare. "What are you doing in my bed?"

Curious, I asked, "Why do you keep getting these fevers?"

"Iris," he snapped, his voice sharp with irritation, "do not enter my room without permission."

I was about to climb off the bed when I suddenly caught his inner thoughts.

'Don't ask me why I keep getting fevers! Why is Iris so cute?!'

I was stunned speechless.

Outwardly, Austin's expression remained icy. But on the inside, he sounded like a whimpering puppy.

'It's bad enough I'm in my sensitive phase while sharing a house with her… and she keeps accidentally triggering my heat! Stop fantasizing. A goddess like her is only here for the money. There's no way she actually likes me! …Hehe, but Iris touched me. Get a grip, Austin! You're only going to get hurt! …Still… her hand smells so good… my sweet, sweet wife…'

I was shocked.

…

I tried to reason with him calmly. "Do you need my help?"

When Austin spoke, his tone was still glacial. "No."

I glanced down at his tail, which was coiled tightly around my thigh. "But your body seems to disagree."

Outwardly, he stayed stubborn. "It's just a biological response. It doesn't mean anything!"

Internally, he was a storm of despair.

'Damn this tail! I'm going to chop you off! Mince you and feed you to the dogs! I've worked so hard to act like I hate her… so why won't my body listen?! Are incubi just destined to be toys for humans?! I will never be a slave! …Waaah, incubi tails are so ugly. Will Iris think I'm disgusting…?'

I was once again, struck speechless. Who said it was disgusting? I actually found it quite adorable.

"Look," I said gently. "Your little tail won't let go of me."

To prove the point, I gave it a soft stroke. "And the heart-shaped tip is perfectly formed. Look how it sways—so lively."

Austin looked composed on the surface, but on the inside, he'd short-circuited.

'Ahhh, who's the real succubus here?! Honey, stop seducing me! …Vision blurring… consciousness fading…'

…

Who would've thought a top-tier incubus could be this pure and easily flustered?

I quickly moved to jump off the bed—forgetting my leg was still tangled in his tail.

With one sharp tug, I tumbled straight into his arms. My lips brushed against his Adam's apple just as his hand landed squarely on my breast.

Austin's heartbeat roared in my ears:

'What a masterful move! Who could resist a beauty throwing herself at them? Wait—why can't I cover it with one hand?!'

I shoved him away hard. "Pervert!"

I was cursing his thoughts, but Austin misunderstood.

He straightened up, expression stern. "Iris, drop the clumsy tricks."

I was confused. "What?"

"I said I won't touch you, and I meant it. Stop wasting your effort. Get out."

Furious, I scrambled off the bed, slammed the door behind me, and stormed out without looking back.

'Stubborn, self-righteous jerk. Go explode on your own,' I fumed.

…

I didn't know how Austin finally dealt with it, but at least he made it to breakfast.

Over the table, I couldn't help asking, "If your heat cycle is this painful… why not just get neutered?"

Austin was in the middle of cutting into a completely raw steak. The moment he heard me, his knife shrieked against the plate. He looked up, his face dark. "Iris… what's your level of education?"

I didn't realize this sharp-tongued bastard was mocking me, so I answered honestly, "I couldn't afford tuition. I only made it halfway through freshman year before taking leave."

"Which university?"

I told him.

Austin's mind experienced a magnitude-ten earthquake.

'Axie University?! Iris is my alumna?! With that background, she still got into Axie University? Then what does that make me? I barely scraped in with endless private tutors!

So he put on his elitist act again. "High society values academic credentials. You haven't studied enough."

My heart sank. He wouldn't… be thinking of returning me, would he?

In the end, Austin said he would sponsor my education.

"Don't overthink it. It's for the family's reputation."

I was ecstatic. I never imagined he'd actually pay for me to go back to school!

What I didn't expect even more was his deeper motive.

'Iris should study more. If one day, she gains her freedom, and leaves me, she'll still have the means to stand on her own.'

I was stunned.

My heart softened.

He looked like such a jerk on the outside, but he was… actually a really good person.

…

On my first day back at Axie University, Austin drove me there.

He looked aloof and untouchable, but inside, he was a nonstop monologue.

'Life is so suffering. Eight a.m. classes are murder for an incubus. Who the hell loves school? It feels like being dropped off at prison. Why are my eyes always brimming with tears? Because I am deeply dozy.'

He kept it up the whole drive until we finally pulled up to campus.

He parked and ordered, "Get out."

"Oh."

"I'll pick you up after your last class."

"Okay. Thanks."

Staring straight ahead, he added, "At school, pretend you don't know me."

My heart sank a little. I thought he was still ashamed of me.

Then I caught his thoughts.

'Humans would probably think being adopted by an incubus is embarrassing. If her classmates find out, she might get looked down on. I want Iris to have a normal university experience… to live freely and equally on campus.'

I was genuinely touched. "…Okay."

As I climbed out, he shoved a black card into my hand. "Spend whatever you want. Don't let anyone think I'm cheap."

I teared up on the spot. "Thank you, baby!"

Austin was crying, too—on the inside.

'Waaah, she called me baby already?! This bad woman! You really do only love my money!'

…

I'd been worried about how to explain my sudden return to school.

Turns out, everyone already "knew."

My old roommates were the most relentless:

"Iris, you're a legend! You actually bagged the unapproachable Austin Colton?"

"He's a top-tier incubus! The Colton family's sole heir!"

"That face is drop-dead gorgeous, and his body is so hot. You're eating that well?!"

"So? An adult incubus's first time… it's gotta be intense, right? I heard it can last a full day."

"No wonder you took a leave. A top-tier incubus's stamina isn't something a human can just handle."

"You two look so good together. Do us a favor and film something, will you?"

My face burned red. "Shove off!"

…

After school, the moment I got in the car, I told Austin everything.

He didn't react much. "And what did you say?"

I answered honestly. "I told them you're my boyfriend. Is that okay?"

Austin's leg jerked.

He slammed the accelerator. The sports car nearly launched us into the landscaping.

I thought he was furious.

Instead, his mind was a fireworks show.

'Ahhh, Iris gave me a title! She doesn't even care that I'm an incubus! I'm a lucky, lucky bastard!'

His mouth, however, stayed sharp. "Hmph. Smooth move."

I was stunned speechless.

…

The weekend arrived, and Austin had a golf outing scheduled with several family elders—a gathering designed to bolster support among the older generation and introduce him to key connections.

Though he had just turned eighteen, Austin carried himself with a composure that seemed beyond his years: confident, articulate, poised in every movement. He moved easily among the elite, blending into their world with a charisma that was impossible to ignore—nothing like the flustered, private version of him I knew.

Under the bright sun, stretched across emerald-green fairways, he played a few strong rounds. Then, without warning, he excused himself from the elders and motioned for me to follow him to the clubhouse lounge.

Once we were alone, the polished mask finally slipped. His long fingers shook visibly as he pulled a small syringe from his pocket.

I reached out and pressed my hand over his. "That's a heat inhibitor, isn't it? I've heard how hard those are on your body."

"That's my problem." He tried to push me away.

I snatched the syringe and tucked it behind my back.

His brow tightened. "Don't play games with this."

He moved to retrieve it, arms reaching around me. I took the opening and slipped fully into his embrace.

Through the thin, breathable fabric of his shirt, I could feel the tense heat of his body. "Austin," I said softly, "just hold me."

He went still. "What?"

"Holding me helps, doesn't it? So why use the injection?"

Without waiting, I wrapped my arms around his muscular waist and pressed my face against the hard plane of his chest.