by Cynthia Eden
She wanted Sam. Had from the first moment she’d seen him. But had he ever really wanted her? Or had her succubus side just pulled him in, an automatic instinct to acquire that strong psychic blast of power that was his core?
“I’m not going to run from Rogziel,” Sam said. “I don’t care how many hounds he has at his beck and call.” His mouth brushed against her cheek.
Seline swallowed and tried not to want him so much. He didn’t trust her. He’d threatened to kill her—
“I’m going hunting, Seline.” His fingers slid under her jaw. The cops were gone. Probably swarming the empty interior of El Diablo. “And I want you by my side.”
Her hands came between them and pressed against his chest. She had so much power boiling inside her, if she wanted she could have tossed him into the air and walked way.
The problem was that she didn’t want to walk away. She’d found something she wanted more than freedom. “I didn’t think you trusted me.”
“I’m an asshole most days.” She felt the hot lick of his tongue on the edge of her ear.
A shiver trembled over her.
“With you . . . something happens to me.”
Great. Still not the declaration she wanted to hear.
“I don’t trust myself when I’m with you,” Sam continued. “I want you too much.”
She needed more than want. There’d been too many other men who wanted her. There had to be more. She pushed him back. Not a toss into the air, just a shove that gave her a few precious inches. “I’m an abomination.” She’d been called that before. Heard Rogziel say it when he hadn’t realized she’d been around.
But now, she knew Rogziel had been right. The powers of a succubus and an angel, all boiling inside of her. “Only punishment angels can control hellhounds.” Even she knew that much. “I’m no angel.” Would never be. The wings and the sweet promise of heaven hadn’t been offered to her.
His fingers were still under her chin. “Do you know how the first demons were made?”
She knew the legend. “From the Fallen.” From the first angels who’d sinned and been cast out of heaven. “They mated with humans and their offspring were cursed.”
He laughed at that. “I’m betting you heard that tale from Rogziel, didn’t you?”
Yes.
“It’s all in how you look at it,” he murmured. “Maybe they weren’t cursed, maybe they were blessed . . . given powers no mortal had ever held before.”
Now it was her turn to give a rough laugh. “That blessing killed many of them.”
“And it turned some of them into kings and queens. They were given the power, and the free will to use it how they saw fit.” He closed the distance between them again.
“You’re telling me I’m blessed?” More sirens. She wanted out of there. That small alley was making her feel claustrophobic. “I’m not buying it.” She pushed away from him and headed toward the darkness that waited for her.
“I’m saying you’re a whole lot stronger than you realized, than Rogziel probably realized. But now that he knows just what you’re capable of, he’s going to come after you with everything that he has at his disposal.”
She knew that. She’d taken Rogziel’s attack dog away from him. The angel would have viewed that as the ultimate insult.
“You can wait for him to come . . .” Sam’s feet tapped on the old stone walkway. “Or you can hunt with me, and we can kick his ass.”
That had been the original plan. The darkness thickened as she advanced down the alley. More bars waited. More drunken laughter. More sex on the breeze that tickled her face.
“When you decide I’ve turned on you again—what then?” Seline asked because she wasn’t just going to forget. Some things could never be forgotten. “I saw your eyes in that truck. You were ready to kill me.”
“If I’d been ready to kill you, you would’ve been dead.” Flat. Brutal. Truth.
Another club beckoned. She slipped inside, leaving him to the shadows. She just needed some space. Seline went to the bar. Motioned with her hand for a drink. She didn’t care what the bartender gave her. She just needed something to take the edge off right then.
The guy on her right immediately sidled closer. The man on the left crowded in against her. Seline looked in the mirror and barely recognized the woman who stared back at her. Blood-red lips. Heavy-lidded eyes. Skin a shade no human’s should be.
Her top had torn in the struggle, and her breasts pushed against the fabric. No wonder the men were closing in.
Built for sin.
The guy on the right, an American frat boy who’d wandered into the wrong bar, ran his fingers down her arm. “Hola, sexy señorita, where have you been all my—”
Sam’s image appeared behind her in the mirror. He grabbed the kid’s fingers and squeezed. “Want me to break them?” he asked, his voice bland, but she caught the fury flaring in his eyes.
“Shit! Shit, man, no! Ow!”
“Then don’t touch her again.” Sam shoved the college boy away. He glanced at the other man. “Get the hell out of here.”
Both men scrambled for the exit. Seline took her drink and downed it in one gulp. It burned her throat, and she wanted more.
“You can’t be out now, Seline.” Sam positioned his body too close to hers.
She motioned for another drink. Daughter of a demon. Daughter of an angel. Made for sin. She stared at her image. “And why not?”
“Because your powers are cranked too high.” He swore, then turned his head to the right. “Back off, assholes, she’s with me.”
Two more men turned away.
His hand fisted on the bar top. “You’re pulling them in, and you don’t even realize it.”
No, she realized it. There was just nothing she could do to stop the pull.
“I’ve slept with three men in my life.” Her confession seemed too loud even in the noisy bar. “This isn’t what I wanted to be.” But maybe there had never been a choice. Seduce. Kill.
Had Rogziel been right about her? If he could see her now...
He’d laugh, then he’d kill her.
The long, twisting house in the woods had served many purposes over the years. Weapons storage. Hideaway. Lover’s retreat.
Tonight, it was a prison.
Rogziel stared down at the Fallen who knelt in the middle of the holding spell. He’d learned over the years that even witches could have their uses, and he’d certainly made sure to use the witch Mateo as much as he could.
Some spells could bind any being, even a Fallen. Not forever, of course. But he didn’t need forever. He just needed a few hours. “Ready to talk, Tomas?”
Tomas’s dark head lifted. He smiled. “Go fuck yourself, ’Ziel. I don’t answer to you.”
A growl rumbled from the shadows behind Rogziel. This time, he’d made sure to summon the hound that belonged to him. Using Erina’s hound had seemed like such a fitting vengeance before. But obviously, that plan had been a mistake.
He would make no more. “I’m not here to kill you.”
His words had Tomas blinking. Dry blood coated the right side of the Fallen’s face. “No? You just hunt me down, sic that hound on me, and let it nearly rip my face off . . . but you’re not planning to kill me. Of course not. How stupid of me to think that was the end goal.”
Slowly, Rogziel stalked around the containment circle. “I know why you fell.”
Tomas pushed to his feet, and pain flashed on his face. Those broken bones hadn’t healed yet. “Kiss my ass. You aren’t going to judge me. Save it for the humans—”
“How about I save it for your human?”
Rogziel’s heart raced a bit faster when he saw the fear flash on Tomas’s face. Hit. Rogziel cocked his head as he studied the Fallen. “She was the cause of your fall. She tempted, you succumbed. If anyone needs punishment, then she should be the one to pay.”
“Leave Sierra alone! You stay the hell away from her.” Tomas lunged forward and slammed into th
e side of the invisible wall that held him. His nose broke and blood splattered.
So much blood. Not dark. Bright red. Rogziel smiled. “You wanted her, you fell to fuck her. But . . . she’s not with you now.”
Tomas’s hands clenched into fists. “What do you want?”
Rogziel frowned and moved closer. “Why is that?” He really wanted to know. “You burn for her, but you let her go? Or maybe—maybe she didn’t want you.” Now that would be a nice twist. “Once she found out what you were, did she run away?” Humans were always so afraid of the things they didn’t understand, and they didn’t understand most things.
“What do you want?”
“So emotional.” Rogziel shook his head. “But that’s what happens when you fall. You feel too much.”
“And you think you don’t feel?” Tomas fired right back, but he was careful not to get too close to the white powder that formed a circle around his feet. “I can see it on your face—you like hurting people. You’ve gone bad. You’re fucked in the head.”
His heart was pounding too hard. “I serve. I do my job. I punish.” His lips twisted in disgust. “I have my wings. They didn’t burn away because I disobeyed.”
“It’s not always about disobeying,” Tomas muttered, and then he smiled. Rogziel didn’t like that bloody smile. So close to death, Tomas shouldn’t be smiling.
He should be begging.
“How long has it been . . .” Tomas asked, raising one brow, “since you were upstairs?”
Rogziel’s eyes narrowed. “I travel between heaven and earth. Earth and hell. I have the power to—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tomas cut in, rolling his eyes. “I’ve heard the spiel before.”
Tomas would die. Soon. Once he was no longer useful.
“Bet you can’t remember the last time you were upstairs, can you?” Tomas pressed. “You know why? ’Cause you’re fucked in the head. You think humans are the only ones who go bad? Angels do, too. I heard about the Fallen who’ve died. I know it was you. And I know you liked killing them.”
The thunder of his heartbeat filled his ears. Rogziel became aware of the sweat slowly trickling down his back. “I have my wings. I am favored.”
“The hell you are. Try to go back upstairs.” Now Tomas laughed. “Bet you’ll find out they changed the locks on you. You aren’t favored by anyone, and when Sammael gets a hold of you . . . you’ll be burning.”
For an instant, Rogziel’s vision went red. His body trembled with the effort to hold back. He wanted to lunge forward and tear Tomas apart.
This one dared to judge him? For centuries, he’d punished the wicked. He’d seen the worst humanity had to offer. He’d punished.
And he would continue to punish. He didn’t need assignments anymore. He could smell the wicked. See the sin.
He turned away from Tomas. “I will give Sierra your regards.” When I let her feel the wrath that is her punishment.
“No!”
Just that quickly, the arrogance and fury were gone from Tomas’s voice. But Rogziel didn’t look back. Tomas needed a lesson.
Changed the locks . . .
A blood lesson.
“Leave her alone! Dammit, just stop, Rogziel!”
But Rogziel had planned this moment. He opened the door to the connecting room and found his prey waiting. Her hands were bound to the chair behind her. A blindfold covered her eyes. Duct tape smothered her screams.
She’d been working on a site in Mexico. An archaeologist, digging into the past.
No wonder Tomas had been in the area. Some sins always drew you in.
He cut through the binds on her wrists, and he knew the blade sliced her flesh when tears leaked from her eyes. He hauled her up, not caring when she immediately shoved back her blindfold.
What did it matter if she saw his face? She wouldn’t be escaping alive.
He dragged her into the room with Tomas. Tomas—still yelling. But when he saw Sierra, he froze and his cries died on his lips.
“Now, I think you may be understanding your situation better,” Rogziel said. His humans had brought Sierra to him. Always so eager to please. He’d make sure they were rewarded one day.
In the end, everyone always got the reward they deserved.
Rogziel yanked off the duct tape from the human’s mouth. “Recognize him?” He asked her.
Sierra stared at Tomas. Her brow furrowed and her lips quivered. Then, slowly, almost sadly, she shook her head.
Rogziel laughed—deep, bellowing laughter that shook his chest. “You fell . . . you traded your powers . . . and she doesn’t even know who you are?”
“Let her go!”
Sierra trembled in his grasp. Her red hair brushed against Rogziel’s fingertips. “I’m going to punish her. She made an angel fall.”
“You’re crazy, buddy!” Sierra twisted against him, but Rogziel wasn’t about to let her go. “Crazy! You can’t do this! I’m—”
“What do you want?” Tomas asked, voice muted and his eyes on Sierra.
It was the question Tomas had asked twice before, but this time, Rogziel knew Tomas was really saying, I’ll do what you want.
“I want Sammael.” He was the problem. He was the one deserving hell. Sammael had destroyed Seline. He’d flaunted his transgressions for centuries. Sammael was the one who would be punished.
First.
“He thinks you’re . . . friends,” Rogziel told him. Foolish of Sammael. “He came to save you.”
Tomas’s head moved in a jerk that was agreement.
“Now you’re going to make sure that I kill him.” He ran his fingers down Sierra’s throat. “Or you’ll watch me hurt her. An eye for an eye . . .”
“Get your hands off her!”
“Give me Sammael, and you can have your human.”
Sierra stared at him with wide eyes. “You have the wrong woman! Just let me go, okay? Please, let me—”
More laughter tumbled from Rogziel. Tomas was willing to trade his life for a woman who didn’t even know him. Priceless.
“You fell for nothing,” he told Tomas, and disgust thickened his words. Heaven, for this?
“No,” Tomas said with certainty. “I fell for everything.” His eyes blazed at Rogziel. “Get me out of this witch’s prison, and I’ll give you Sammael. I vow it.”
If another man looked at Seline like she was some kind of dessert, Sam was going to erupt. He crowded closer to Seline. “We need to get out of here.” She smelled like an aphrodisiac. Silken woman. Sensual heat.
No wonder the guys in the joint were foaming at the mouth.
He grabbed her wrist. “Correction, we’re getting out of here, now.”
She turned her bedroom eyes on him. Sexy, but . . . sad. Because her stare looked a bit lost. The power pumping through her was obvious, but Seline appeared scared.
He wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’ll take care of you.”
A sad laugh slipped from her lips. “You almost killed me.”
The woman wasn’t going to let him forget that. He waved his hand and pushed the others back, clearing a path to the door. “I damn well didn’t almost kill you. I had to get the hound off my neck.” Literally. “Braking the truck so hard was my only option.”
“But you said . . .”
He’d said a lot of dumbass things. He didn’t always know what to say to her or what to do with her. “I thought you’d lied to me. That you’d set me up from the beginning.” So he’d gone a little crazy. But he’d never touched her and thought of death.
With Seline, it was always about life. She made him feel more alive than anything or anyone else could.
He led her outside. Three motorcycles were waiting by the curb. So thoughtful of some folks. He jumped on the newest one, had it hot-wired in three seconds, and he told Seline, “Hold on.”
They had a meeting at dawn. He was done running. The game was changing, but first . . .
First he needed Seline.
Pedro’s pl
ace was an inn, of sorts, on the edge of town. Not for humans. They rarely wandered that far off the beaten path. But, over the years, Pedro’s had been a safe house of sorts for paranormals. Since Pedro had split town a few weeks ago, Sam knew the place would be perfect for crashing.
They didn’t speak as they drove through town. Sam was too conscious of Seline’s body pressing against his. Her scent surrounded him and, every breath he took, Sam swore he tasted her.
The old inn came into sight soon enough. He braked and made sure to hide the bike under some bushes.
“Is this place safe?” Seline’s voice was like a stroke right over his groin. He wanted to tell her again, pull it back. But he knew now that she couldn’t. Too much power, burning her from the inside out.
“Safe enough.” The two-story building was dark, and Sam sensed no Other presence there.
Not yet. Keenan and his vampire would be arriving soon. It was about an hour until dawn.
He caught her hand, but this time, he threaded his fingers through hers. Sam felt her hesitation. “Trust me,” he told her, and really wanted her to do just that.
She stared at him with a gaze that was slowly breaking a heart he hadn’t even realize he had, not until he’d met her.
Sam took her inside and up the stairs. He wondered if Seline even noticed the old weapons that lined the walls—weapons that could come in handy later. Pedro had been a collector, of sorts.
He didn’t mention the weapons. Right then, he only wanted to focus on her. The bedroom on the right had a bed nestled inside. The sheets looked clean. Not perfect. Not good enough for her, but it would have to do.
Seline burned too hot, and he had to help her.
He took her clothes off slowly, skimming his fingers down her body. Perfect breasts. So full and sweet, with dark pink nipples. Her stomach curved gently, her legs stretched for freaking ever, and the soft flesh between her thighs made him burn.
She reached for him, but he caught her hands. “Not this time.” This time, he had to show her something different.
Seline’s brows furrowed. “I thought—”
“I can do more than take.” And she was more than an addiction. He didn’t understand what was happening between them yet, not fully, but she was more and he’d prove that to her.