Born Sinner (Se7en Sinners #1)

by S. L. Jennings

  “Eden! Eden, open this door before I rip it the fuck off the hinges.”

  Oh shit.

  I blink, and look down. My skirt is up to my hips and my fingers are between my legs, completely drenched with my own warm stickiness.

  Oh. Shit.

  Legion bangs again before rattling the doorknob. I quickly fix my clothing and run to the sink to wash my hands.

  “Um, uh, coming!” I stammer, hurriedly getting to the door before he makes good on his promise. That wouldn’t bode well for any of us. I have no clue what the consequences would be for interrupting the party, and I don’t want to find out.

  I take a deep breath before turning the lock and opening the door. Legion stands before me, fists clenched tight at his sides, and glowing silver eyes wild with rage. He takes one look at me and grimaces.

  “Come on,” he growls, grabbing my arm. He pulls me from the bathroom, and from the phantom that just fucked me on the toilet seat.

  “What the hell were you doing in there?”

  Legion yanks me through the hallway, maneuvering through the groups of loiterers mingling and making out against the wall.

  “What?” My brain is still foggy with the remnants of alcohol and orgasm.

  “I said, what the hell were you doing in there? Dammit, Eden, you can’t just run off by yourself. There are about a dozen creatures here that would love to sink their teeth into you.”

  I roll my eyes. “I was fine.”

  “Fine?” He whirls around to face me yet his feet keep moving. We’ve bypassed the ballroom, still in full swing with the sounds of Thirty Seconds to Mars. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re actually on stage performing. “Eden, you are not fine. You left The Watcher’s quarters so quickly I—”

  “You what?” I snap, jerking out of his grasp. I fold my arms over my chest, refusing to take another step with him. “Didn’t have time to wipe the drool off your lip? You really thought I’d stick around to watch you suck face with that sadist? Sorry, but live porn isn’t my thing. I’m sure your friends provided enough moral support though. Geez, L. I expected you to last longer than that. But I guess for someone who hasn’t fucked in a century, you couldn’t hold back.”

  Nostrils flared and mouth curved in a vicious sneer, he takes one menacing step towards me. “What did you say?”

  “It’s ok. It happens to everyone. Even demons, apparently.” I look away dismissively, too emboldened by pink sparkling liquor to have the good sense to be afraid.

  One long stride, one heartbeat, one breath, and he’s so close I can feel the blaze of his fury radiating from his massive frame. Those ancient eyes made of dying stars burns straight into my soul. I force myself to look up into his face, giving him a scowl of my own.

  “You don’t…” His jaw works as if the words refuse to come out, trapped between wrath and frustration. Instead, he snatches my hand back. “Come on.”

  “Where are you taking me?” I shout, trying to keep up on my ridiculously high heels. The floor has finally solidified underneath me; that’s a relief. But it still sways and rocks like a funhouse platform. “Hey, slow down! Not everyone is a supernatural freak like you.”

  “Yeah? Well, maybe you should’ve thought about that before you ran off to play with monsters.” He’s moving unnaturally fast, yet no one seems to notice. Either that, or they don’t care.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one who practically threw me into the lion’s den wearing prime rib panties. You think I want to be here? You think I liked watching you taste Goth Stripper Barbie’s tonsils?”

  He stiffly shakes his head, refusing to give me the satisfaction of a retort. I don’t realize that we’re headed for the exit until we’re already outside.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Home,” he deadpans.

  “But what about…”

  “Finishing up. They’ll be fine.”

  “L, slow down,” I urge as he heads for the line of cars stationed around the drive, bypassing valet. Gravel crunches under my shoes, making it impossible to walk without stumbling. When we reach the Jag, he nearly rips the passenger side door off the hinges before practically throwing me inside.

  “What the hell!” I shriek as he climbs over me to buckle my body in. The heat of him smothers the fight right out of me. I refuse to breathe for fear that I’d inhale his scorching ire and fall victim to his scent. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is exactly, but it’s intoxicating. It reminds me of the beginning of a tumultuous storm, before lightning rips open the sky, quenching fire-blazed earth.

  He’s in the driver’s seat and peeling out of the driveway before I can shake the feel of his hard body against mine.

  “Seriously, dude, what is your problem?” I ask after several minutes of silence. It’s pitch dark out, and he’s racing around winding curves faster than I can see them.

  “My problem?” he snorts. “You’re my problem, Eden. Where the hell were you?”

  “I told you. I didn’t want to stick around for the main event, so I left.” Bitterness drips from every word. Bitterness and…hurt. “Guess you aren’t as noble as you wanted me to think.”

  “What are you talking about? You think I…” He shakes his head. “Never mind.”

  “What, Legion?” I angle my body around as much as I can in the confined space. “You don’t want me to see you for what you are? I guess it’s ok to unearth all my dirty, little secrets, and humiliate me, but you get a pass. I can be seen as a dirty, immoral bitch, but you…you get to maintain your pristine image. I get it.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Am I?” My voice comes out weaker than I intend. But with alcohol rousing my stupid human emotions, I can’t just let it go. “Back at the apartment, you acted as if touching me repulsed you. You couldn’t get away fast enough. But with Irin, or whatever her name is…” I suck in a flustered breath. “Look, if that’s what you like, fine. But don’t lie about it.”

  He looks straight ahead, that jaw ticking with irritation. “I wasn’t lying, Eden. Nothing happened.”

  “That didn’t look like nothing. But keep telling yourself that. Maybe it’ll become true.”

  We don’t speak another word as we drive back into the city. The sleek Jaguar rides like a dream, but I can’t even enjoy it. I can’t shake the image of him touching her, kissing her. As if he truly wanted her. And then the bathroom…none of it makes sense. But I felt them. I still feel them. My skin sizzles with the ghost of their hands, their tongues. Deep in my belly, my muscles clench as if he’s still inside me, thrusting…pulsing…

  “We’re here,” Legion says, pulling off the main road into a side street, practically hidden from the public. He takes a sharp turn and enters what looks to be a narrow, old garage that can’t possibly be large enough for us to fit. The garage stretches into an underground tunnel, and we drive another mile before I see bright floodlights. We’re under the Se7en’s building.

  “When will the others be back?” I ask, as we pull into a space.

  “Soon.” He still doesn’t look at me. A few days, maybe even hours, ago, I would have done anything to escape his vicious stare. But now…

  I feel weak. And insecure. And still so damn aroused.

  He exits the car and heads to the elevator without waiting for me. I follow after like a pitiful lost puppy, my body sagging with sudden exhaustion. Every step I take, something stirs inside me, sliding around like honey in my core. I stifle a gasp as I enter the elevator and stand beside him. He doesn’t acknowledge my presence but I swear, I feel his knuckles whisper against mine.

  The apartment seems cold when we enter. Eerily so. Without the presence of the Se7en and their stifling body heat, I can almost see my breath mist in front of me. I hurriedly make my way to the back bedroom—Legion’s bedroom—for a shower and warm clothes. Just being here with him, after all that’s happened tonight, I’ve never felt so naked.

  “What are you doing
?” he asks, as I rifle through my box of clothing.

  “Getting out of these ridiculous clothes,” I bite out. I snatch up a pair of sweats and a long sleeve thermal and spin around, nearly colliding with his chest. When I try to step around him, he blocks my path.

  “Eden.” His voice is raw, stripped of its usual gruffness.

  “Let me pass,” I demand, again trying to get around him.

  With surprisingly gentle fingers, he pulls the bundle of cotton from my grasp. “Wait. I need to explain something to you.”

  “Explain what? What else do I possibly need to know? You heard The Watcher: I’m evil. And you knew that, didn’t you? You knew that it was me all along, not some satanic influence pulling the strings. Not even your precious Adriel. You didn’t have to take me tonight and let some freak humiliate and taunt me with my petty, human defects. You knew.”

  “Yes.”

  My expression crumples with hurt. I rip out the censor in my top and throw it at his chest. He lets it tumble to the floor. “Then why?”

  He gazes down at me, abandoning his usual scowl. “Because if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. And even if you did, you’d let it eat you alive.” He takes a step forward. “I can help you. All those urges that push you towards immorality, I can help you overcome them.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” I say, trying to sidestep him. “We can’t all be born again like you. And maybe…maybe I don’t want to.”

  Legion shakes his head. “You don’t mean that.”

  “How do you know? Look at you,” I trill, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “You’ve probably spent centuries alone and pissed off, wound tighter than a knot. You walk around here like the world is going to implode at any moment. Do you ever have any fun? Hell, do you even know what fun is?”

  “Eden…”

  “I saw you, Legion. I saw how you responded to that…to that woman. How you ran your hands all over her body as if the feel of her skin was made of silk. I saw how you reacted when you tasted her lips. You wanted more. And if we weren’t all sitting there, you would have taken more.” That slow-moving sensation begins to rouse again at the memory of Legion’s fierce passion. I hated watching it. But only because I hated wanting it that much more.

  His eyes widen with shock and he steps back, letting me pass. I’ve struck a nerve. And considering he’s not denying it, I know that everything I’m saying is true. And that…that fact stings.

  “If I’d known you only wanted to use me as an excuse to get what you wanted, I wouldn’t have gone. You could have done your sordid little deed without using me as bait.”

  I snatch my clothes away from him and brush by him with a huff. Before I can pass, he grabs my elbow with enough pressure to force me to pause.

  “Eden, wait.” I don’t fight out of his grip, but I also don’t turn around. “I didn’t want to kiss Irin. I didn’t want anything to do with that egotistical, self-serving shrew.”

  “Could have fooled me.”

  “The Watcher thrives on information that can be seen as weakness. And she’s in the business of trading such information to those who wish to use it against me when it serves her purpose.”

  “And what does this have to do with me?”

  He pulls me to him, causing me to stumble back into the hard warmth of his chest. I inhale sharply at the contact, wishing I could stay, but knowing I can’t. Still, he holds me there, his front pressed to my back, his fingers searing my skin with his grasp.

  “Eden, if The Watcher knew who I really wanted to kiss, who I really was imagining as I gripped her ass through that flimsy little skirt; who I wanted it to be as I pressed her hardened nipples to my chest while I brushed my tongue against hers—she would not have hesitated to sell that secret to the highest bidder.”

  I shift on my feet nervously, causing me to rub up against his stiffening groin. I bite down on a gasp. “And who were you imagining?”

  He doesn’t pull away. Even as he thickens in his slacks, nudging the top of my backside, he doesn’t pull away. He wants me to feel him. And God…he feels so fucking good.

  “I think you know, Eden.”

  My breath escapes in heady pants as I fight the urge to crush against him even more. He feels hotter…stronger. As if his entire frame is thrumming with unrelenting power. He could break me in two as if I were no more than a delicate twig. And I would let him. Right now, I would let him do whatever he wanted.

  “Legion…” I breathe, never loving the sound of his name on my lips more than in this moment. It scared me the first time he said it, rumbling the ground under my feet. But now…it’s sensual, seductive. I want to whisper it as he kisses my neck. I want to scream it as he pushes inside me.

  I feel him dip his head down to brush my hair with his lips. His abs flex with tension, causing those hard ripples to mold to my back. Like the very tip of a feathered caress, the backs of his fingers stroke my arm from elbow to shoulder, causing me to shudder.

  The sound of a heavy steel door closing shatters the moment into a thousand pieces, and just like that, I’m swathed in the brittle chill of Legion’s quick retreat. My chest heaves frantically as I try to regain my wits and I turn around to face him.

  “They’re home,” he rumbles, his voice as thick as the obvious bulge in his pants. He looks down at me, a frown dimpling his forehead.

  “Yeah,” is all I can get out.

  “We should…” His glassy gaze darts to the opened bedroom door.

  “Yeah.”

  I watch him close his eyes for just a moment before he takes his scent and his fire and strides to the hallway. I’m so cold that I’m not sure that he ever really held it flush against me.

  After a shower that does nothing to wash away the remembrance of his molten touch, I pad out to the common area to find everyone stationed around the dining room table, all still in their dark finery, all waiting for me expectantly. I look down at my heather gray sweats, purple thermal and rainbow socks. I couldn’t be more out of place than I already was.

  “Now that we’re all here, we can begin,” Legion announces, without looking at me. I take my seat to his right. “Phenex?”

  The golden-eyed demon nods once at me then addresses the table. “Irin informed us that the only way we could potentially glimpse Lucifer’s plan for Eden is to enlist the aid of a witch. But not just any witch. We would need a powerful one—one whose magic was not born of this world.”

  A witch? What the… Seriously, is anything I believed a week ago true? I know none of this should surprise me, but shit. What else is out there that humans have no clue about?

  “So what you mean is, we’re fucked,” Cain groans from the other side of the table. Great. So all of this was for nothing.

  “Well, yes, and no,” Toyol chimes in. “The good news is, the wards around the building were cast with blood magic from a warlock I’ve had dealings with in the past.”

  “Can you contact him?” Legion questions, intertwining his fingers in front of his chin.

  “That’s the bad news.” Toyol heaves a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging a fraction. “He’s dead.”

  “Great,” Andras mutters. “So what now? I just spent the entire evening occupying Irin’s favorite pets.”

  “Not like you were complaining,” Lilith jibes, earning a crude gesture from her roommate. She retorts with a flash of a finger. “At least you didn’t have to watch her get off on a kiss. I swear, L, she’s so hard up for you it’s embarrassing.”

  “That’s enough,” Legion scolds, redirecting his attention to Toyol. “Are there any others you know that can do it?”

  Toyol twists his lips in contemplation. “Well…not exactly.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning he has a brother, but I’m not sure if he will help us. The warlock I knew was more mainstream and was known to…dabble in things that their kind deem offensive. Working with demons being one of those things.”

  Legion taps a finger on his chin, his
brow furrowed in thought. “Can you give it a shot?”

  “I can try,” Toyol nods. “But I can’t be certain he’ll go for it. And there may be a price to pay.”

  “All magic has its price,” Legion agrees.

  “I’ll reach out to my source,” Toyol says, pulling out his cell phone. He begins to tap the keys so rapidly that his thumbs are a blur. He doesn’t even look at the screen. “He’s not a warlock anymore, but he’s family. If anyone has an in, it’s him.”

  “Good,” Legion nods before looking to Cain. “Any activity tonight?”

  The scarred demon shakes his head. “None. The sister is safe. We checked before we came here. I don’t even think Big Bad’s goons realize that she’s gone.”

  My heart stutters in my chest. Blood roars in my ears, making my choked words sound distant and distorted. “What? My sister is…gone?”

  “We moved her,” Legion answers, without so much as turning in my direction.

  “Where?” I question, the word sounding more like a demand.

  “Lincoln Square.”

  “L bought her old building,” Lilith explains, taking my hand in hers. She gives me an encouraging smile to diffuse the horror screaming on my face. “He paid off the all the residents, informing them the complex would be gutted for toxic mold and that they had to leave immediately. But she was also told that part of the package included a new apartment in a nicer neighborhood, complete with a doorman and security.”

  I turn back to Legion who finally meets my gaze, those silver eyes shimmering against the moonlight.

  “You did that? For Sister?” I whisper through the lump in my throat.

  “No, Eden,” he replies, shaking his head. “I did that for you.”

  He doesn’t look at me again while they continue their meeting, going over the information The Watcher provided them about the angel venom supplier. I don’t even hear their words. Legion took care of my sister, the only family I have left in this cruel, lonely world. Not because I asked him to, or even expected this absurd kindness in exchange for my compliance. He just did it…for me.