by Trina M. Lee
“No tequila for you,” I said, throwing up a mental shield in an attempt to shut out the staggering effect of his power. It didn’t work. There was no blocking out an angel who wanted to be felt. “You know damn well that’s Willow’s drink.”
“Fine. Scotch on the rocks.”
He sat there watching as I grabbed a new glass and scooped ice into it. It unnerved me, as he intended. After splashing some scotch into the glass, I shoved it in front of him, smiling when he jerked back as some leaped over the edge.
“What are you doing here, Falon?” I finished making Jez’s drink, using it as a way to avoid meeting his gaze. I didn’t trust myself.
Because he knew it, he sat there sipping his drink, refusing to say a word until I looked at him. Devious angel. Our eyes locked, mischievous silver on bloodlust blue. My stomach dropped and my loins clenched. And that kind of pissed me off.
“What do you want me to say?” He inquired with a raised brow. “That I came because I have some news that may be of interest to you. Or that I’m here because I felt your siren call, and I simply can’t resist your succubus allure?” He stared at me expectantly, like he genuinely wanted an answer.
Had I sent out a call with my wanton lust for power? Probably. It had happened before. Dammit. “Oh, is that how it is? I call and you come running? Didn’t think you were that type. Whatever your news is, it’d better be good.” Otherwise, the agony of being in such close proximity to him wasn’t worth it. Grabbing Jez’s drink, I exited the bar and headed back to my table.
Falon followed, falling into step beside me, too close for comfort. He took one look at Jez playing on her phone in the booth and said, “Damn. Instant cock block.”
She glanced up with a frown that became a smirk and accepted the drink I handed over. “You know it. Thanks, Lex. What’s tall, silver, and shit for brains doing here?”
Briefly, I considered sliding in on Jez’s side. Knowing how weak that would appear, I slid in across from her, leaving room for Falon next to me. The few inches I managed to put between us did nothing to ease the tension.
“Says he has some kind of news.” I shrugged, playing off how wound up I felt, knowing they’d both see through it. “But I’m pretty sure he really just wants to watch my head explode.”
Sitting so close to Falon, I was able to detect a strain in his energy signature. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one having withdrawal. This could only be bad.
With a mysterious smile, Falon sipped his drink. His hand shook ever so slightly. When he saw that I’d noticed, he promptly put down the glass. “I do have news, and I’m sure you’ll find a creative way to show your gratitude for what I’m about to tell you.” He shifted in his seat so he faced me, which put more distance between us. “Salem has been asking around about Shya. The underworld is starting to talk. It won’t be long until he finds out you succeeded in trapping him.”
“Me?” I questioned. “You were part of that. But I’m guessing you leave that detail out when telling the story?”
Falon snickered and settled back against the comfy booth. “I’d have to be an idiot to ever tell that story.” When Jez scoffed, he wagged a finger at her. “Nobody brags about doing shit like that. Not without getting a target on their back. But there’s no hiding it either. It always comes out. When it does, Salem is going to come here. Consider this your heads up.”
Trepidation shook me. Although Salem had given me no reason to fear him, he had given me every reason to be wary. An angel, a true angel, was not a being to take lightly. His capabilities extended beyond my imagination. This particular angel though had a twin flame. Being bound to a demon queen made him dangerous on a grander scale.
“But Alexa doesn’t have access to Shya,” Jez pointed out, stirring her drink with an umbrella. “Little heavy on the grenadine here, Lex.”
I dragged a finger down my cheek in a sarcastic miming of shedding a tear at her remark. She threw her umbrella at me, and Falon rolled his eyes at the both of us.
“That’s not going to stop Salem from coming here and demanding answers. If he finds out Willow gave Shya to another angel, there’s a chance shit will get ugly. Trust me, things don’t need to get any messier with Willow.” Falon reached for his drink, scowling when I intercepted.
Our hands touched. Memories exploded into my mind like fireworks. Skin on skin, silver wings against black sheets, the rush of power, the heat of violence. I jerked my hand away, burned by the fire in his touch. A fire I knew well now. A fire I both desired and detested.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded, pretending like that moment hadn’t just happened. “If you know something about Willow, you better spill it.”
Gaze narrowed, Falon reached for the drink again, successful this time when I kept my hands to myself. “I know many things about many people. Including you.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Falon,” I warned, not liking the mild threat in his tone.
“Just want you to remember whom you’re dealing with.” He was so nonchalant, as if he weren’t throwing a not so thinly veiled threat at me. “Sometimes I think you forget.”
The sudden turn this conversation had taken left me staring at him in stunned silence. What did he come here hoping to achieve? Because if it was to piss me off, he’d succeeded.
Jez leaned forward and pointed a long, red fingernail at me, but her eyes were on Falon. “You mean like you’ve clearly forgotten this woman can fuck you into slavery if she wants to. For someone who seems to be on everyone’s shit list, Falon, you might want to choose your threats a little more carefully.”
Falon pretty much laughed in her face. The asshole was strong in him tonight. “Seems like you should be far more concerned with the matter at hand. After all, you did ask Willow to work some dark shit on you. Do you have any idea what you’re messing with?”
“How do you know about that?” Jez snarled.
“It’s my job to know things.” Conceit dripped from Falon’s flippant remark. “It’s what I do.”
Fury lit up Jez’s deep-green orbs. “Oh, is it? I thought your specialty was betrayal.”
Falon merely sipped his drink, pinning her with a stony stare over the rim of the glass before smoothly saying, “When it has to be.”
We were losing focus, and I wanted to know what the hell was up with Willow. I held up a hand to silence Jez before she could throw another alcohol-fueled taunt. I’d learned long ago that letting Falon know how deep under the skin he’d dug only encouraged him.
On impulse, I slapped him with a splash of sensually charged power. With a little direction, it wrapped around Falon like a snake coiling tightly around its prey. Now I had his full attention. “Tell me what’s going on with Willow.” Calm but deadly, I made my demand.
The scorching glare he turned on me was sexy and a little terrifying. Why did I have to love it so damn much?
“So that’s how you want to play?” Falon nodded. “Have it your way.”
He grabbed my hand, forcing his fingers between mine. With a devilish grin that manifested in a baring of teeth, Falon’s ethereal energy hit me with a staggering force.
It coaxed a small squeak of surprise from me. A victim of my own power, that taste of him brought a flood of heat to my groin. Chest heaving and face hot, I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, noting how his gaze followed the subtle, seductive motion.
The vampire side of me saw Falon as my favorite victim. The one I could play with and feel no shame. I did feel shame though. After. Always after. And yet, it gave me a much needed outlet that prevented a lot of senseless death. What a terrible rock and hard place to exist between.
“I’m going to hit the ladies’ room,” Jez announced with a loud clearing of her throat. “Try to be done eye fucking each other by the time I get back. Oh, and do not even think about leaving this booth.”
“Pretty sure the booth isn’t a deal breaker,” Falon murmured when we were alone. “I bet nobody will even notice.”
; I shook my head, but my gaze fixed on his throat. All I could think about was spilling his celestial blood. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“You called to me. I felt it.” He brought my hand to his mouth, brushing his lips across my fingers. “What took you so long?”
I found a certain satisfaction in knowing he’d been waiting for me. And yet it also brought a sense of foreboding. “Maybe you’re just not scratching my itch anymore.” It wasn’t the best fib I’d ever told. Even as I said it, I watched his mouth move over my skin with growing anticipation.
His low chuckle enticed my dark side, calling it out to play. “Liar.”
It took more effort than it should have to pull my hand from his. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to like it. You… You’re not… I just can’t.”
Disgust overtook his smile. He let me put space between us, going so far as to shove back to the edge of the booth seat. “Think you’re better than me, Hound? Because you’re not. You’re just like me. A creature of light gone dark. But at least I own what I am. And for the record, you’re not the only one who leaves our encounters filled with self-loathing and a bad taste in the mouth.”
“Then why the hell do you do it?” I countered, taking the bait even though I knew better.
Falon scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You know why. Same reason you do. You pretend it’s about power, but it’s always been about escape. The shitty thing about escaping reality is that you have to come back. Ergo the disgust.” He shrugged and flipped a hand dismissively, like he’d accepted from the start what I had yet to even acknowledge.
I managed to see beyond the insult to the point he made. Grudgingly. “Wait, just what exactly are you escaping? If I recall correctly, you told me that you’d make me forget what it’s like to feel if I could make you remember.” That statement had lingered in my memory, feeding my curiosity about Falon’s past.
His knuckles rapped against the table, and his lips twisted as he considered his response. “I was being dramatic. The heat of the moment and all that. When you’ve existed as long as I have, passion wanes. For everything. You reignited a long dead fire. Not even Lilah could do that, although she’s no succubus.”
I didn’t rush to accept or acknowledge that backhanded compliment. “You were being dramatic? Now who’s lying?” I doubted I’d get the answers I wanted, but I pushed for them anyway. “Does this have something to do with Winter?”
“Do not say that name.” Falon’s tone could cut glass. “I’ve seen and done enough shit in my time to know that any escape from the void, even the one that happens to be found between your legs, is better than spending eternity cold and numb. Or in your case, insane.”
Falon sought to escape the lack of feeling. The void. How curious. I wouldn’t get a damn thing more out of him, his mystery only growing.
“So, to avoid insanity, the tradeoff is shame and disgust,” I pondered this, staring off toward the dance floor and those currently escaping reality within the walls of my nightclub. “I’m not sure it’s worth it. If I embrace madness, the shame and disgust cease to exist.” Was I playing devil’s advocate? Was he?
“Do they though?” Falon challenged, following my gaze across the room. “Or do they merely follow you there, haunting you still while the madness robs you of your sacred duty as the Protector of Mankind?”
My gaze snapped back to him. Where I expected to find some kind of wicked delight on his stupidly perfect face, I instead found sincerity. Aghast, my temper flared. “Are you seriously implying that my so called destiny relies on my ability to stay sane by unleashing the crazy all over your cock? Because that, Falon, is just one prime example of why I detest you so much. Only you could twist my calling into something so demented.”
“And only you could miss the point like the pretty little idiot you are,” he snapped. “Your destiny is to self destruct with your twin flame at your side. That’s how it ends for twins. Always. In the time you have left before that happens, you need to fulfill your calling and be the Hound. If a little escapism helps you do that, then so be it.”
So my destiny and my calling were two entirely different things? Somehow that brought me a sense of relief followed by a deeper understanding. Regardless, he’d pissed me off. “You’re a savage,” I muttered, sickened by the conversation. I didn’t need Falon to remind me of how it ended for twin flames. I’d seen it.
Falon threw back the last of his scotch before shoving the glass aside. “And you deserve to itch for a while. Enjoy your crazy.” He started to slide out of the booth.
I grabbed his arm. Through wolf fangs I growled, “Tell me what you know about Willow.”
“Yes,” a familiar voice cut through the music and noise. “Let’s hear what you have to say, Falon.”
Having appeared beside our table at just the right time to indicate perhaps he’d been here a while stood Willow. And he looked pissed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I felt Falon stiffen, eyeing Willow warily. Had Falon not sensed Willow lurking? He didn’t compare to Willow on a power level. Being fallen, he was nothing compared to the brooding demon glowering at him.
Because Falon refused to show fear to anyone, even Salem who could probably turn him inside out for all eternity, he regarded Willow with smug self-importance. “Does it make it easier for you if I’m the one who tells your charge how far you’ve fallen?” Falon asked. To emphasize his fearlessness in the face of such darkness, he pressed closer to me on the booth seat. Apparently taking a beating from Willow had done nothing to absolve Falon of his enormous ego.
That wasn’t a game I wanted to play. Falon had his reasons for wanting to needle Willow, but he was on his own.
I pushed away from him, sliding around the U-shaped booth to Jez’s empty side. “Where’ve you been, Willow?” I tried to draw his attention from Falon to me. It worked. Barely. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I think Falon was just about to tell you.” Willow’s eerily beautiful gold-flecked red eyes met mine just long enough for me to see the demon inside. The gentle soul I knew and loved lay buried beneath the absolute darkness. It seemed to be this way more often than not these days, yet I knew he still existed in there, somewhere.
I patted the seat beside me. “Why don’t you tell me? Come. Sit.”
He remained standing stoically beside the table. “No. I want to hear Falon tell it. Seeing as it’s his job to know things. Let’s hear what he thinks he knows.”
Yikes. Willow had been lurking long enough to hear pretty much our entire conversation. I didn’t like that. It gave me a sick feeling. This just wasn’t him.
I shot Falon a death glare, a silent warning to tread carefully. He walked on fragile ground. It wouldn’t take much to set Willow off. Especially since he seemed to want a reason to lose it on the fallen angel.
Falon relaxed in his seat, spinning his empty glass with a finger. His lips curved in the slightest hint of a smile. “What I know, Willow, is that you’ve been busy. I didn’t think human sacrifice was quite your style. I’m impressed.”
There were no words to describe the gut-wrenching shock. I refused to believe it. I just couldn’t. Except that Willow’s accepting expression revealed it to be true. That stunned me into silence.
“It’s the nature of the beast.” Willow cracked his fingers, one at a time. “I am a demon, after all.”
Thanks to me.
“Right.” Falon nodded, staring unflinching into Willow’s glittering red gaze. “Which, as you obviously heard, is exactly the reminder I’d given Alexa.”
Nothing could have hurt me the way it hurt me to listen to Willow flippantly speak of the nature of demonhood. It shouldn’t have been this way. The guilt crushed my chest. How would I ever atone for how far Willow had fallen?
Bitter laughter fell like acid rain from Willow’s lips, scorching the atmosphere. “So you think she needs you to protect her from me? You, the one who repeatedly takes advantage of her.”
I swallowed a few times. My throat felt dry. Unease gripped me, causing me to squirm in my seat.
Falon slid a sidelong glance my way. “You have no idea how wrong you are, Willow. There’s no taking advantage of this woman, and she certainly doesn’t want or need my protection. But frankly, our relationship is none of your damn business.”
Being paid a compliment by Falon was a rarity. When it occurred, I liked to savor it, often throwing it back in his face. All I could do now was stare wide eyed at Willow. The air around him rippled, like heat on a hot summer day. Pressure filled my head, as his aura pulsed with the murky darkness of an oil spill.
“Alexa.” Red eyes pierced me, nailing me to the spot where I sat. “Do you want me to get rid of him? I can make him go away. You’ll never have to listen to his manipulative shit again.”
My gaze darted to Falon who watched me with cool detachment, his face an emotionless mask. “No.” It came out more forceful than intended, with a little panic as well. “No, Willow, I don’t want you to get involved. I can handle it.”
Falon’s arched brow asked the question he didn’t speak. Why wouldn’t I take an opportunity to be rid of him? He’d been little more than a pain in my ass since the night we met. Still, he had come through for me by giving me Lilah’s key and sending Shya back to the other side so I could destroy that key. And though I knew he had his own reasons for doing those things, I believed he could be a reliable ally, when it suited his needs. Falon was a snarky asshole, but he’d never been the foe that Shya had been.
Yet my reasons for rejecting Willow’s offer went far beyond Falon’s potential as an ally. The taste of his blood lingered in my memory. The rush of angelic power flooding my senses. The raw desire that left me enraptured and sated. I wasn’t proud of myself.