by Lara Adrian
“I’ll give you full credit for your arrogance,” she mocked, spreading her wings as the mirage of snakes continued to crawl over her body. She needed to keep him distracted until he’d stepped into her trap. “Your intelligence, however, is obviously deficient.”
His low chuckle wrapped around her like a silken caress, making her nipples bead with a sharp-edged longing.
Damn. It’d been so long since she’d been touched in anything but anger.
Too long.
“Trust me, I’m not lacking in anything.”
Muriel felt the soft stroke of fingers down the slope of her shoulder.
Incubi magic, of course.
It had to be. She would know if the demon were that close to her.
Still, that didn’t halt the searing lick of anticipation that spread through her body.
“Then why are you hiding from me?” she rasped.
“I’ve told you,” the aggravating male murmured. “I want answers.”
“Answers to what?”
“Why have you created a gateway into the fortress?”
Her mouth went dry as she continued to back toward the distant wall.
That was a question she had no intention of answering.
Instead she feigned confusion. “What fortress?”
Without warning a pulse of heat sizzled through the air as the Incubus abruptly stepped from the shadows.
“You want to play games, sweetheart?”
Muriel hissed, reeling beneath the impact of his beauty.
He was quite simply…magnificent.
Not the ethereal loveliness of male angels. Or the rough aggression of humans.
He was pure male temptation. A walking, talking invitation to sex.
Against her will, Muriel found her gaze lingering on the glossy darkness of his hair and the lean, finely sculpted features, before lowering to the slender, muscled body that made her fingers twitch with the urge to explore every hard inch.
Her heart raced as her gaze returned to his face, instantly ensnared by his golden eyes.
Oh heavens, those eyes…
They shimmered with the promise of pleasure beyond her wildest dreams.
She unconsciously halted her retreat, grimly focused on the effort not to melt at his feet in a puddle of aching need.
“I’m no man’s sweetheart,” she forced herself to mutter. A reminder to herself of the danger of Incubi.
Females often became addicted to the demons.
And as much as it aggravated her, it was increasingly obvious she was not immune to this particular male.
“Not yet,” he murmured, a smile playing around his lips as if he was aware of her helpless response to his sensual beauty. “Tell me about the gateway.”
She sucked in a deep, steadying breath. “I didn’t create it.”
“Then who did?”
“The Sovereign,” she admitted. Why lie? It wasn’t as if the Incubus was ever getting out of this prison.
He frowned, as if caught off guard by her revelation. “Why would he want access to the Oubliette?”
She arched a brow. “He’s your king. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
The golden eyes flared with heat. As if he wasn’t pleased to be reminded he owed his allegiance to the Sovereign.
Hmmm…
Was there dissent among the Incubi?
“Because he seems to have disappeared.”
She shrugged. “Not my problem.”
“What does he do when he’s here?”
“I don’t know.”
He stepped forward with a liquid grace, his expression tight with frustration.
“This is your territory. How can you not know?”
“I was told he was to be given access to the lower dungeons, but it was made clear that I wasn’t to interfere in his business.”
His eyes narrowed. “Told by whom?”
The question managed to jolt Muriel out of her strange sense of enchantment. Damn, what was wrong with her?
Her skin was still raw and her muscles aching from her days in the abyss.
Did she truly want to risk another round of torture?
“Do you have a death wish?” she demanded, resuming her slow, backward journey across the cavern.
As she hoped, he followed her retreat, grimacing as if he sensed that she had no intention of revealing who gave her orders.
The dimensions between worlds were supposed to be neutral. The demons wouldn’t be pleased to discover the angels had regained enough sway over the Obsidian Throne to claim these lands as their own.
“You wouldn’t be the first person to ask me that question,” he admitted in dry tones. “What’s in the lower dungeons?”
“Fire. Brimstone.” Another step backward. And another. “The usual.”
“Anything else?”
“Caves.”
“Are any of them occupied?”
Feeling her wings touch the chilled stone of the wall behind her, Muriel turned to the side so she could angle herself through the narrow opening.
“I can’t keep track of every prisoner.”
She forced herself to meet his hypnotic honey gaze as she silently willed him to join her in the small cavern.
There was a long pause, as if the Incubus was well aware he was being led into a trap. Then, with a speed that made her gasp, he was through the doorway and standing so close she could feel the heat of his body sear through her thin linen shift.
“Lie,” he breathed, his fingers wrapping around her throat, an intense concentration etched on his beautiful face.
Dear heavens. Could he see through her layers of illusion?
No. Of course he couldn’t.
It was impossible.
She licked her dry lips. “There are no prisoners that have been given into my tender care.”
His thumb brushed the underside of her jaw, lingering on the frantic beat of her pulse.
“Is the Sovereign here now?”
She shivered at his gentle touch. If he’d tried to hurt her, she could have fought him.
But she had no defense against tenderness.
“Are you intending to kill him?” she demanded.
“On the contrary. I wish to assure myself he’s alive and well.”
“Lie,” she retorted, throwing his word back in his face.
Whatever his interest in the Sovereign, it had nothing to do with concern for his welfare.
The honey eyes darkened at her taunt, the air prickling with a dangerous hunger.
Was he thinking about sex or food?
Not that there was any difference between the two for an Incubus.
“I have questions only he can answer,” he husked, his fingers drifting down to touch the sensitive joint where her wing met her shoulder blade. “And I have waited too long for answers.”
The pleasure combusted through her with shocking force, wrenching a gasp from her throat.
“Stop that,” she breathed.
Seemingly impervious to the mirage of snakes that were now slithering from her body onto the supple leather of his jacket, the Incubus traced the graceful slope of her wing.
“There’s something going on.” The warm smell of cinnamon filled the air. “Surely you can feel it.”
Unable to halt her flare of panic, Muriel knocked aside his hand.
“I feel nothing,” she hissed, wrapping her arms around her waist.
The golden eyes narrowed. “There’s a vacuum.”
“What sort of vacuum?” she snapped.
“Power.”
A strange chill of premonition pierced Muriel’s heart.
She would chop off her tongue before she would admit that he was right, but deep inside she’d suspected that there was a storm brewing.
The precarious balance between demons and angels had started to tilt.
Unless a leader emerged who could enforce the peace, war would be inevitable.
The mere thought made her stomach twist with drea
d.
“I suppose you intend to be the one to end up on top?” she instead taunted.
A dangerous smile curved the Incubus’s lips as he allowed his sexual energy to pulse against her, the delicious sensations nearly making her orgasm on the spot.
“With you, Mistress, I’ll top or bottom. Whatever makes you happy.”
She felt drenched in the heat and scent of him.
She hissed in frustration, attempting to deny the piercing need that lashed through her.
Dammit. She’d been alone for so long.
So very long.
But she wasn’t an idiot.
There was no way she was going to put herself at risk to satisfy her passion with a male who used sex as a weapon.
“There’s only one way you can make me happy, Incubus.”
The golden eyes smoldered with invitation. “Tell me.”
She released the power that had come with her gig as Warden, shuddering in revulsion as she was transported back to the outer cavern. Without giving the intruder the opportunity to react to her abrupt disappearing act, Muriel slammed shut the thick iron door, trapping him in the cramped space.
“Seeing you locked in a cell,” she breathed.
The Incubus slowly turned, his smile never fading as he studied her through the narrow window cut into the door.
“Bravo.” He folded his arms over his chest, his expression amused. “But do you truly think you can keep me your prisoner, sweet angel?”
CHAPTER THREE
Jian strolled forward so he could peer out the window cut into the door.
Any other time he would have felt annoyed at being lured into the cell. Not that he couldn’t get out. He could sense a number of servants roaming through the lower tunnels. With a burst of his power he could lure any or all of them to this cavern to unlock the door. Still, it was a waste of time and energy.
But Jian wasn’t annoyed.
Instead he was fascinated.
It’d been centuries since the angels freely walked in the world, but there was no mistaking that beneath the Mistress of the Oubliette’s hideous illusion was a female of such ethereal beauty she couldn’t possibly be anything but a celestial being.
She was glorious.
Her hair was a tumble of curls the precise color of sterling silver. Her small face was heart-shaped, with delicately carved features that were dominated by a pair of deep indigo eyes.
Her body was a slender masterpiece barely hidden beneath a plain linen dress that was backless to give room for the exquisite wings that were a pure, snowy white.
And her scent…
Jian sucked in a deep, savoring breath.
She smelled of the ivory and gold orchids that bloomed in his private gardens.
Rare, exotic…delicately flawless.
It enticed him like a bee to honey.
He wanted to taste her from the top of her silvery hair to the tips of her rosy toes that were left bare despite the jagged rocks throughout the prison. He wanted to spread her across his bed and watch her ivory skin flush with the heat of passion.
A dangerous reaction. He was an Incubus. He used sex for food, for pleasure, and quite often as a weapon. Which meant he fully understood the power of desire.
This female was the first creature capable of clouding his mind with need.
Was it any wonder he was so captivated?
A wry smile curved his lips as she peered through the opening, her expression defiant despite the wariness he could sense humming through her.
“How did you know I’m an angel?”
“One of my many talents is seeing through illusions.” He unleashed a small thread of power, wrapping a tendril of sexual heat around her. “Release me and I’ll share my other talents.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, shuddering in reaction before she narrowed her gaze and countered with her own magic.
“I have a few talents of my own,” she assured him, her expression hard as the sensation of a thousand knives plunged into his body.
Jian hissed, but he managed to stay upright as he sent out another burst of energy.
“I prefer pleasure to pain, sweetheart.”
She jerked backwards, her eyes dilating with an arousal she couldn’t control.
Jian’s smile widened. She was a pureblooded angel, not a Nephilim. Which meant she should have a small amount of resistance to his seduction.
Her reaction wasn’t all magic.
At least a portion of it was raw and primal and completely natural.
Just like his.
“Stop,” she breathed.
“Make me.”
She gave a sharp shake of her head, wrapping her arms around her waist as she allowed her power to fade.
“Tell me why you’re here.”
He grimaced. Not just in relief as the pain faded, but at the timely reminder of why he was there. As much as he wanted to lose himself in his scorching reaction to this angel, he had to discover if his people were in danger.
“I told you.” His pressed his hands against the iron door. “I’m looking for the Sovereign.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of petitioners who want to see him,” she pointed out. “Most would have waited for him to return to the fortress, not followed him through the gates of the Oubliette.”
“I think he’s betrayed the Incubi.”
She stilled, her expression unreadable. “Why?”
“Take me to the lower dungeons and we’ll discover what he’s hiding.”
There was a long pause. Then, with an obvious effort, she gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
“I have no interest in your world.”
“Yet another lie,” he countered smoothly. He hadn’t missed her ease with the current vocabulary. “You’ve obviously studied our culture.”
Her lips tightened in annoyance at his perception. “So what? Human television helps to pass the time.”
He chuckled. “Let me guess. Hmm. The Real Housewives? Storage Wars? No wait…The Playboy Channel?”
A revealing blush touched her cheeks. “None of your business,” she snapped.
“Ah, my naughty angel, you’re pure temptation. Once I’ve completed my current job I intend to devote myself to fulfilling every one of your fantasies.”
“There are no fantasies, Incubus. And your job has come to an end.” She met his gaze squarely. “I have no stake in who sits upon the Obsidian Throne.”
True. Still, he sensed that she was more interested in the Sovereign and what he was doing in her dungeons than she wanted to admit.
“But they’ve intruded into your realm. Can you be certain that this doesn’t affect you?”
She bit her bottom lip, clearly forgetting that he could see through her illusion to witness her revealing gesture of unease.
“Why should I trust you?” she abruptly demanded. “For all I know you were sent to lead me into a trap.”
It was a legitimate question. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to convince her he could be trusted.
Instead he abruptly lashed out with his power, filling the air with his magic.
Tiny pulses of sexual compulsion swirled through the cavern and spread through the tunnels, urging the captives to escape from the cells and rush to his side.
“I could force this entire prison into revolt, but I prefer not to,” he said softly.
“Don’t,” she rasped, a layer of sweat dampening her face as she battled to control the swelling desperation of the prisoners who were struggling to break out of their cells. At the same time she slammed him with the sensation of flames searing the flesh from his bones.
His entire body clenched with agony, his hands pressed against the door as his knees threatened to collapse.
Shit. She looked so damned fragile it was easy to forget she was an angel with immense power.
“Truce,” he ground out, barely suppressing his groan of relief when the waves of pain began to recede.
“I—” Whatever s
he was about to say was abruptly cut short as she glanced over her shoulder. “Someone’s coming.”
Jian muttered a low curse as he caught the familiar scent of a Nephilim.
“Blade,” he growled.
She sent him a narrow-eyed glare. “Your partner?”
“She was guarding the entrance. I knocked her out to get in here.” Jian shook his head in disgust. “I should have killed the bitch.”
“A convenient story.”
He went rigid as an unexpected surge of fear shot through him. This female might be an angel, but she was clearly bound by her role as Warden.
What if the Blade had a weapon capable of hurting her?
Or worse…
“I can give you proof,” he offered, his voice laced with compulsion.
She shivered, but her expression remained wary. “How?”
“Release me and—”
“No.”
“Dammit.” He grimly leashed his strange unease. The female clearly resented any attempt to try and tell her what to do. A true pain in the ass, considering Jian had no experience in having to actually use a logical argument when it came to a woman. He was an Incubus, for fuck’s sake. “Can you shroud me?”
More wariness. “Why?”
He sucked in a slow breath.
Patience, Jian. Patience.
“If you won’t allow me to question the Nephilim, then you’ll have to do it.”
Her lips twisted. “Or I could kill you both.”
“And deprive yourself of the pleasure of torturing me?”
She paused before giving a wave of her hand, no doubt hiding the door behind a layer of illusion.
“There is that,” she muttered. “Keep your mouth shut.”
“Your wish is my command, pretty angel,” he whispered softly.
~ ~ ~
Muriel squared her shoulders as she turned to move toward the center of the cavern.
The Incubus unsettled her. Not just because he could stir sensations that were better left unstirred. Although that was bad enough.
But he made her confront the questions that had been lurking in the back of her mind.
Why had the Conclave agreed to allow the Sovereign to enter the Oubliette without her permission as the Warden? Why the lack of outrage that there was an open gateway into the world of mortals and demons? Why the refusal to hear her petition to return to her family?