by Cynthia Eden
He leapt toward her. Pushed right through the last weak tendrils of the spell. Rage fueled him. Hot. Fierce. Consuming. “Don’t lie to me!” He locked his hands around her hips and lifted her toward him. He lifted her up and his mouth crashed down on hers.
Fury and lust. A dangerous combination. Especially for someone like him. Because the woman he’d wanted most was right in front of him. He had to touch. Had to taste, had to—
She curled the chain around his neck. He heard the faint snick as it locked. But he didn’t even care. Not right then. Because his mouth was on hers. He was tasting her. And nothing had ever tasted as good. His cock was rock hard. Every muscle in his body strained. He wanted more and more and more of her—
“Told you before…ask before you touch,” she whispered the words against his mouth. “And like I said, angel, I’m not lying.” She shoved out of his arms. “I’ve never bitten an angel before, though I have to confess, you certainly do tempt me.”
He took a step toward her.
And felt his whole body lock down.
What in the hell?
He grabbed for the chain, certain he could rip it away, but as soon as his fingers touched it—
“There we go! Ba-ba-boom!” Lawrence cried out excitedly. “We’ve got him now, Josephine!”
Stone seemed to burst from the chain. Stone that swept up Malik’s neck and down his chest. Hard stone that was encasing his whole body. No, no, this couldn’t be happening.
Josephine’s eyes widened. “Um, what’s happening to him?”
His wings burst out. But the stone—the stone was covering them. Hardening them.
The stone slid down his body. Encased his hips. His legs. His feet. And at the same time, it also rose, going for his head. Covering his jaw. His chin—
“Josephine!” Malik snarled her name.
And then the stone covered his mouth. His nose. His eyes.
His rage deepened. Burned. And a roar of fury built from deep within him. Josephine had lied. She’d imprisoned him.
Josephine…she would pay.
Chapter Three
“Hell, yes! Hells to the yes!” Lawrence crowed. “Did you see that shit? We just took down an angel. An MFing angel! Who is the baddest witch in town? It’s—”
“Valerie Storm,” Josephine answered without taking her eyes off the massive stone figure in front of her. “And if you try to claim her title, she’ll kick your ass.”
He coughed. “Uh, technically, Valerie isn’t in town. So I’ll take the title, thank you very much.” He sashayed around her and knocked on the stone—right on the stone chest of the angel. “Impressive, don’t you think? A stone angel.” He whistled. “How cool is that?”
She was staring into Malik’s eyes. Or, well, the stone that covered his eyes. Only Josephine could have sworn that she saw rage staring back at her. The stone had covered him completely.
“Michelangelo ain’t got nothin’ on me!” Lawrence ran his hand over Malik’s chest. “This is better than freaking David, a million times—”
She caught his hand and jerked it away from Malik. “He isn’t a sculpture. He’s my bounty.” And she didn’t want the handsy witch touching him. “Get your ass back.”
Lawrence pouted. “But it was my binding chain that caught him. I think that makes him mine.”
Looked like she was going to have to kill the witch. Sighing, Josephine gave one final look at the angel. His wings had shot from his back, and those amazing wings were covered in white stone. Malik’s hands were still at his throat, still touching the chain she’d sealed around him when he’d kissed her.
I liked the way he tasted.
No, she would not go there. Not now.
“Do you know how much I can get for him?” Lawrence demanded. “He’s an angel. A captured angel! I can freaking take bids! It will be the auction of the century!”
She crossed her arms over her chest. Kept her body positioned in front of Malik. “You sold me out to the coyotes.”
“Uh…” He backed up a step. “I may have told them that you were in town. A witch has to eat, right? And you know how hungry I can get. I have to eat a lot, what with my low blood sugar and all.”
“You lied to me when I asked you if we were alone in this shithole you call a home.”
He glanced around his apartment, obviously offended. “This is not—”
“Luckily, I know you, Larry. We go way back. So when you lie, your left eye always twitches. A dead giveaway.”
He rubbed his eye. “I have a watery eye. It’s a medical condition—”
“It’s a freaking, winking pirate eye that gives away your lies.” Her shoulder pressed into the stone. He felt…warm. “Despite all of your very obvious crap, I was still willing to work with you. But then—bam, another lie.”
“I—”
“You said you didn’t have a binding chain. You said you’d need time to make it.”
He swallowed. “I…forgot I had a binding chain here. And really—I mean, it wasn’t even for angels. So I wasn’t sure it would work on him. For an angel’s binding chain, I’m supposed to get the tears of a vamp, the hair of a Fey, the fire of a demon—”
She stiffened. “Back up. That chain wasn’t for an angel?”
“You think that shit is easy to find?” Lawrence raked a hand through his hair. “You’re talking about three of the hardest paranormal items to come by these days. So, no, I didn’t exactly have them handy, but that chain is strong enough to hold a dragon shifter, so I figured it would work on—”
Crack.
She didn’t even turn around. Josephine knew exactly why she’d just heard that particular sound. “You have six hours,” she snapped at Lawrence. “Go get those ingredients. Get me a chain that works, or I will make your life a living hell.”
He nodded, frantic, and then—
He tried to rush out of the apartment.
“Not so fast.” She snagged him. Sank her teeth into his throat. Felt the rush that came from the magic in his blood. Vamps sure did enjoy witch blood. Always gave them a little bit of a high.
“Ahhh!”
But what she didn’t enjoy? Lawrence’s high-pitched scream.
She let him go. Most vamps wouldn’t have done that. One taste of powerful, witch blood, and they would have gorged on it until the vic was a hollow shell.
Lawrence knew that truth. She could see it in his eyes. She also saw his total terror. Fear—of her. “I can find you now. Anyplace you go. And my bite has a few special benefits.” She smiled at him. “I can control you. Make you come to me.” Her bite could make him do all kinds of things. “When the six hours is up, you’ll be standing in front of me. You’ll either be giving me what I need—”
Crack.
Dammit, dammit, dammit.
Josephine sighed. “Or I’ll be draining you, witch. The choice is yours. So get your ass moving.”
He slapped a hand to his bleeding throat and rushed from the apartment.
She didn’t exactly have high hopes that he’d find her ingredients. But, well, bright side, at least she’d get a tasty snack out of the mess.
Crack.
Now Josephine turned to face her angel. The stone was cracking, breaking apart. She knew her angel would be free soon. Maybe she could still make this work. He wasn’t out of the stone yet. If she could just contact Luke fast enough, the day might just be saved.
“Luke!” Josephine shouted. Hopefully, he’d been tailing her. Perhaps he was close enough to catch her yell without her having to do a full-on summoning. “Got your angel. He’s, um, bottled up. So do your transport mojo and get him out of—”
The stone shattered. Went flying. Josephine lifted her hands and covered her face so the chunks wouldn’t hit her.
Then…
Silence. The thick, heavy kind of silence. The ominous kind.
Her hands were still up, so she couldn’t see the angel. Slowly, she lowered them, rolling her shoulders as she did to remove a f
ew chunks of stone from her body.
His eyes were locked on her. Bright, bright blue eyes. “Are you hurt?”
Oh, wait. Was he asking if the flying stone had hurt her? That was somewhat sweet. Nice angel. “I’m good.”
But Malik shook his head. “No, my Josephine, you are not.”
His wings stretched behind him. Giant, gorgeous, black wings.
Her chin notched up. The chain was gone from his neck. His glare told her that she had one very pissed off angel on her hands. He stalked toward her. She held her ground. His hands reached out, as if he’d touch her—
But his jaw clenched. His hands fisted. He didn’t touch her.
“Understand me well, my Josephine…”
What was up with the possessive my thing? And she really wanted to get back to the bomb he’d dropped earlier—the part about watching her for so long. Stalker much?
“I will not be returning upstairs,” Malik told her, each word falling with the heavy impact of a hammer. “I have business in this realm.”
“What kind of business?”
He smiled. A half-smile. A sexy as sin smile. And why did she have such a weakness for the crazy ones?
“The kind of business that involves killing.”
“What an odd coincidence.” Her tongue slid over her upper lip. “That’s my business, too.”
His eyes were on her mouth. His nostrils flared. And his face hardened even more. Uh, oh. He’d gone from looking pissed to appearing absolutely homicidal. Not the typical look for an angel. His wings rose even more behind him. They seemed to burst right through his fancy—now somewhat dusty—suit.
“You drank from someone else?” he demanded. “While I was in stone?”
He could tell that? Well, it would seem angels had very sharp senses. Perhaps as sharp as shifters. Good to know. “I needed a way to find the witch later. Now I’ve got a lock on him.” She rolled back her shoulders. “I also knew you were about to burst free, so I figured I could use a boost in this fight.”
“I will not fight you.”
No, he…hadn’t fought her. Not yet. In fact, he seemed oddly determined to make sure she didn’t get hurt. And that brought her back around to the whole watching bit. “You haven’t been watching me.”
He turned around. His wings were so close she almost touched them. Almost.
He was walking out of the apartment.
Seriously? He thought he could just stroll out? “Why are you making me do this the hard way?”
The way that involved pain for him.
“I’m not on a kill mission.” There. She’d shared. Wasn’t that like a gesture of good will or something?
He looked back at her. His wings fluttered a bit.
“This is purely a retrieval mission,” Josephine added. Maybe he’d relax at that news.
But Malik shook his head. “Not once in two hundred years have you done a retrieval mission.” His gaze fell to her left wrist.
Instinctively, she turned her wrist inward, hiding her tally mark.
“All of your missions have been kills. You take the lives, you use your tricks on your prey, and you never fail.” He pointed at her. “You will fail this time. I know your tricks.”
Knowing her tricks hadn’t stopped his angel ass from getting chained just a few moments before. Granted, the whole chain thing hadn’t lasted but…
“You say you don’t lie, but you do.”
Okay, sure, she lied when necessary. She’d actually been trying not to lie too much to him. Because, um, angel. Lying to an angel seemed wrong on some sort of basic level.
“I’ve seen you have men eating out of the palm of your hand.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“I’ve seen you play the damsel in distress to get close to foolish prey.”
Okay, maybe she’d done that once or twice. It was her least favorite technique.
“I’ve seen you slaughter in a duel. I’ve seen you take out shifters in an ambush.”
“You were watching.” Her heart was suddenly racing far too fast. “Why? Why in the hell would an angel be watching me?” Is someone a fan?
“Because, my Josephine, I’m your guardian.”
And with that, the angel flew away. He flew right out of Lawrence’s open apartment door and shot into the sky.
Her eyes narrowed. He’d done it again. Flown away, a definite unfair tactic when the angel knew she didn’t have wings. And what was up with his bullshit about being her guardian? Vamps didn’t get guardian angels. Especially vamps like her.
Her breath huffed out. She glanced around Lawrence’s place, wondering if there were some trinkets or potions that might help her out. She wasn’t above stealing a few things from good old Lawrence, especially since the guy had sold her out to the coyotes. Sure, she and Lawrence—Larry—had known each other for years, but the witch would sell out his own mom if the price was right, so Josephine wasn’t particularly surprised that he’d turned on her.
Wind whooshed into the little room, surging inside from the door that Lawrence and Malik had left open. Her hair blew around her, and she got ready to fight the new threat that had just come her way—
“I don’t see an angel.” Luke glowered at her. “You scream my name, I rush to your side like the good friend that I am, and there is no angel.” He shook his index finger at her, like a teacher reprimanding a naughty kindergarten student. “Haven’t you heard the story about the little boy who cried wolf?”
Her fangs burned in her mouth.
“You really don’t want to become…” Luke’s sensual lips twisted a bit. “The vamp who cried angel.”
She kicked a few of the broken chunks of stone near her feet. “If your slow ass had arrived sooner, you’d have the angel. He was here. He was contained.”
Luke glanced around the room. “I don’t think contained is the right word. Looks like some kind of explosion went off in this place.”
“I had a witch turn him to stone. Or, hell, maybe he was sealed in stone.” That was how it had looked. “But Malik managed to bust out.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Where is the angel now?”
She marched toward him. “In Vegas.”
“He was already in Vegas before I sent you to collect him.” A hard huff of breath. “Josephine, are you failing at this mission?”
Now that was just insulting. And a little bit embarrassingly true. The angel had gotten away from her not once, but twice. That crap would not happen again. “He has an advantage.” Her fingers fluttered in the air. “You know, he can fly? Not like I can soar to the sky after him.”
Luke just stared at her.
“And you’ve been holding back on me.” Her glower was just as strong as his. “Malik said he was my guardian. Talk about BS. Just how crazy is this guy that—”
“Malik has an obsession. That obsession drove him to fall. He is incredibly dangerous and must be stopped. If you aren’t the woman for the job, then I have others who can handle—”
“I will take care of Malik.” And she had noticed how Luke hadn’t responded to the guardian jab. He’d switched topics on her. Gone straight to Malik’s obsession. “Only the next time I have him ready for you, how about you arrive a little faster?”
Luke gave a mocking laugh. “I do have other issues that I’m dealing with. You know, the little matter of, oh, say, millions of paranormals I have to keep in check?”
Her head cocked. “You were close. Close enough to hear me scream your name.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just making sure you’d arrived safely. Sometimes, the transport doesn’t go so well. I had this one incident where a werewolf’s insides wound up on his outside and—”
“What?”
“No matter. You’re here. You’re whole. All is well.” He dug into his pocket. Fished something out. Tossed it to her.
She caught it, fisting her fingers around a warm chunk of—
“When you hold that, just call my
name. Wherever I am, I’ll feel you. And I’ll come running.” He winked at her. “It’s one hell of a lot faster than a typical summoning.”
She opened her hand and stared at what looked like amber. “You didn’t think it would have been better to give me this before I left on the hunt?”
He just shrugged. “I forgot,” Luke answered blandly. “One of the reasons I followed after you. That, and, of course, to make sure that your insides weren’t—”
“I get it.” She pocketed the amber.
“All right.” Luke straightened his broad shoulders. “This was fun, though an utter waste of my night. The next time I’m summoned, I’d better see a bound angel at your feet.”
Wind rushed into the room again.
Not so fast, buddy. “I’m his weakness.”
The wind stilled. Luke’s lips thinned. “I’m not sure I—”
“He’s had the opportunity to hurt me. He didn’t. Malik protected me from coyotes. He stares at me like I’m some kind of freaking feast for him.” She was putting the pieces together. “This obsession that made him fall—”
Luke’s laughter cut her off. “Oh, what, Jo, you think it’s you?”
“Was he watching me? Was he my guardian?”
Now Luke’s brow furrowed. “Why would a vamp have a guardian?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” She moved closer to him. She’d never been afraid of Luke. Why be afraid when you had very little to lose? “Why would an angel say that I’d bitten one of his kind?”
She saw the flash of surprise on his face.
But it was gone almost instantly.
“You know angels aren’t on the menu.” Luke cleared his throat. “You, of all vamps, should understand—”
“I do.” She didn’t need any reminders. Her memory was just fine. “Why does he think I bit another angel?”
“I don’t know.” Luke’s voice was flat and hard, and she almost believed him. “I’m still new to the world of the freaking good paranormals. My brother was running things for a long time, and turns out, Leo was keeping secrets from me.”