Nemesis: Paranormal Angel Romance (Realm of Flame and Shadow Book 2)

by Christina Phillips

  Dhampirs weren’t immortal. They died young. A steady stream of fresh blood was needed to continue the work the vampires preferred not to undertake. Whenever a half-blood was killed in action another was nearing the completion of their training. Why hadn’t she found that suspicious before?

  Because I never wanted to think about it before. The Enclave was her home, and although sometimes it was little more than a gilded cage, it was all she had.

  Maybe the Enclave was simply taking advantage of the dhampirs that came their way. It was easier to accept what she’d been taught all her life, without questioning the facts.

  But she’d opened the box. Looked inside. And there was no turning back now from the doubt gnawing through her heart. She’d avoided the hard questions because she’d always been grateful that the Enclave had saved her.

  Did they really save me?

  Every single victim of vampire rape they had taken in over the last fifty years had been between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three.

  Each young woman had been highly educated and apparently poised on the brink of a demanding career.

  Coincidence? Could be. She wanted to believe it. And if that was all she’d discovered, maybe she would.

  But it wasn’t. There was one last piece of damning evidence she couldn’t make excuses for.

  Because what were the chances that every victim also possessed the rarest blood group on Earth— AB Negative?

  The same blood type as me?

  Chapter 12

  Rowan

  As Rowan left the tube at Waterloo the following morning, a shudder inched along the back of her neck and she glanced sharply over her shoulder. No one suspicious lurked on the platform. She’d taken an insane amount of precautions with her journey today, hopping on trains, buses and the Underground after leaving her car in Kensington, in the hope of completely misleading anyone who might be following her.

  She’d not experienced anything like that odd sensation the night she’d left Estella’s with Azrael, but she had no intention of taking any chances. Not when it came to his safety. He might possess strength that most humans didn’t, but that didn’t mean a thing. Vampires were immortal, and he wasn’t. He wouldn’t stand a chance if a hunter from the Strigoi Echelon decided to eliminate him.

  Or if one of the Enclave decides to assassinate him, either.

  All because he’d been sleeping with her.

  She tried to squash the thought, but it buried deeper in the back of her mind, a poisonous seed of doubt. With one last piercing glance she straightened her shoulders, ignored her bruised ribs she’d damaged during her assignment last night, and powered up the stairs. Only ancient vampires could venture out in full daylight without any adverse side effects and she wasn’t so vain as to think any of that elevated rank would be tailing her.

  She was just being paranoid. But she couldn’t help it. Because the more she saw Azrael, the more she feared he might end up like Steven.

  It was more than enough reason why she should have ended things already. But every time they parted, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not when he gave her a lingering kiss goodbye or held her hand like he never wanted to let her go.

  She couldn’t stand him up, either. Because even when they weren’t together, the memory of his smile warmed her heart.

  Not good enough. She had to let him go. Disappear from his life, for his own safety. And she would.

  Maybe tomorrow. But not today.

  Because today was different. It wasn’t dark. And most importantly, this date was all his doing.

  He’d told her to meet him on the South Bank at nine forty-five. A small smile curved her lips.

  It’s not just about the sex anymore. The accusation pounded in the back of her mind no matter how she tried to ignore it. Well so what if it wasn’t just about the sex anymore? Couldn’t she simply enjoy spending time with him? Enjoy feeling like a normal human being? It wasn’t going to last forever.

  She focused on the iconic cantilevered observation wheel that towered ahead of her, silhouetted against the frosty blue March sky. It was insane to be so excited at the thought of going on it with Azrael.

  “You look edible in daylight.” The seductive whisper against her ear sent tremors of need through her blood and she turned to where he stood by her side, smiling at her. How did he manage to surprise her like that? It wasn’t the first time he’d appeared by her side, seemingly from out of the blue. He had the stealth of a vampire. Except, by virtue of her mixed blood, no vampire could move so swiftly towards her without her knowing about it.

  It was just one of the many things about him that fascinated her.

  “You look pretty tasty yourself.” She licked her lips and moved in closer, so she could breathe in deep his evocative, sexy scent. Probably not a good move, considering where they were and the unlikelihood of slaking her desire anytime soon. But he was just so completely irresistible. She wanted to wrap herself around him and never let him go.

  He laughed and slung his arm around her shoulders. His long winter coat was unbuttoned, and as the wind whipped against them his silk shirt molded his sculpted pecs with tantalizing promise.

  “Stop seducing me in public.” Then he looked down at her, an evil gleam in his gorgeous gold-flecked eyes. “Screw that. I’d very much enjoy you seducing me in public.”

  “Tough luck. You said you were taking me on this date.” She hoped he couldn’t tell how much that thought thrilled her. It was great meeting him for food and sex, but this—this was something else. “I haven’t forgotten you once told me you always keep your promises.”

  His big body shook with silent laughter as they bypassed the shivering queue. “I do keep my promises.” He shot her a glance that was so full of sin the breath caught in her throat. “Never doubt that for a moment.”

  Azrael

  Rowan’s eyes widened when he led her into their own private capsule. Well, hell. She didn’t think he was going to share their time together with anyone else, did she?

  Apart from the requisite host, and he’d already subliminally manipulated her mind, so she’d recall nothing of what happened for the next half hour. He shot a telepathic probe at the security cameras and they died an ignoble death.

  “Wow.” Rowan sounded awed as the host poured non-alcoholic champagne into elegant flutes. “I didn’t expect this.”

  “I know.” He threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the other side of the capsule. Not once in all the times they’d been together had she suggested they do anything but meet late at night for sex. Not that he was complaining. It was an ideal arrangement. Except he’d wanted to do something different with her today.

  She hadn’t been easy to persuade. Perversely, that had made him more determined than ever to convince her. It was both bizarre and enchanting having to coax a woman to spend time with him.

  “Lucky it’s such a lovely clear day,” she said as she gazed out of the capsule at the River Thames. “The view is amazing.”

  He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and realized he was staring at her profile. But why wouldn’t he? Her profile was a study in ethereal beauty and with that look of suppressed excitement on her face she radiated an irresistible allure. “You’ve never done this before?”

  “Never got around to it.” There was a wistful note in her voice. “We weren’t much for family outings.”

  Her aura of anticipation faded, and he couldn’t work out why her pensive expression tugged at something deep inside. Or why he was digging into her private life. What did it matter? It was her secret career that intrigued him.

  “That makes two of us.” He raised her hand and pressed their fists against his chest. “Family outings were never on our agenda.”

  “Do you have brothers and sisters?” She sounded genuinely interested, as though her previous reluctance to broach anything personal had been left behind, along with the ground.

  That was a loaded question. Although all the archang
els had been created by the one Alpha Goddess, the only strands of genetic material they shared for certain were the manufactured ones she’d used for their incomparable wings.

  He didn’t want to think about her. Although he’d had nothing to do with her since the great devastation, the depth of her betrayal and how utterly he’d believed in her burned his soul, even after all this time.

  “No. We’re more a blended hot pot of numerous parental genetics.”

  It was as close to the truth as he could get. He could hardly tell her his goddess had stolen DNA from all the Alpha Immortals of antiquity to create her bastardized offspring.

  She smiled, as if she found his confession charming. “Your family sounds a lot like mine. Kind of hard to pin down.”

  “My family is the definition of dysfunctional.”

  “I bet my family could put yours in the shade.”

  He laughed, then kissed her knuckles. “That’s something I’d like to see.”

  “Trust me.” She brushed her lips across his knuckles in a sensual reflection of his gesture. “You really don’t.”

  “Do you see much of them?”

  Why was he asking her about her family? He wasn’t interested in her family. But conversely, he wanted her to talk about them. Because then she was sharing a part of herself with him that until now, she had kept under ironclad cover.

  “Yes.” She glanced down at her flute and swirled the pale gold liquid. “Well, it’s like a family business. There’s no getting away from them, really.”

  “Bit like the Mafia?”

  She laughed. “Exactly like the Mafia. There’s no escaping from the Godfather.”

  “Unless you really want to.”

  He’d meant his comment as a joke, but a shadow flickered over her face as if his words hit a raw nerve. His gaze sharpened. He’d assumed she’d been exaggerating about her family but the look on her face suggested she hadn’t. Who the hell were they?

  “It’s not always possible to have everything you want.” Her gaze locked with his. “Sometimes you just have to make the best of what you have.”

  “That sounds ominous. You should introduce me to your family. I’ll sort them out for you.”

  “Tempting.” Her smile was beautiful and tugged at something deep in his chest. “But I’m quite capable of sorting them out myself.”

  “I’m sure you’re more than capable of sorting anything out.” He battened down the illogical urge to demand she tell him her full name, her place of residence and details of this mysterious family of hers. Why did her reluctance to confide in him rub his feathers the wrong way? “But remember, sometimes the bond of blood isn’t everything.”

  “Oh.” She rose onto her toes and her breath fluttered across his lips. “Azrael.” The way she said his name, lingering over every syllable as if they were an indescribably exotic treat, stoked his smoldering lust. “Don’t you know that blood is everything?”

  Chapter 13

  Rowan

  “Only if you want blood ties to be everything.” Azrael inched her backwards, towards the center of the capsule. “Is that what you want?”

  No. Denial vibrated through her, but she kept it locked inside. There was so much she could never tell him and trying to deflect his questions was getting harder.

  Because in her heart she desperately wanted to confide.

  What a disaster that would be. She couldn’t stay with him. She didn’t want to leave him. Never in a million years did she want him to discover the truth about her and yet, despite it all, she yearned to spill her fractured soul.

  The back of her legs came up against the oval bench in the middle of the capsule. Instinctively she gripped his fingers tighter, before she lost her balance and fell onto the bench.

  His arm was around her in an instant. In her peripheral vision she saw the host turn her back on them to look at the view. If only we were alone.

  She leaned over and put her glass on the edge of the bench before winding her arm around his neck. Sharing her personal life was nothing but a dream, but it wasn’t the only thing she craved.

  “I want you.” She breathed the words against his lips, her gaze locked with his. “I want you inside me, wrapped around me. Saying my name when you come.”

  His breath meshed with hers, and he dropped his glass onto the bench before he began to unbutton her coat.

  “Your wish is my command.” There was laughter in his voice as well as lust and she melted, as she always did when he spoke like that. It was as though he didn’t have a care in the world, that life was one long amusing adventure. It was just another thing she loved about being with him—he could find humor in the most absurd things. And because he did, so could she.

  “I didn’t mean right now.” But she made no move to stop him because of course she had. She didn’t want to wait. But she didn’t want to get arrested, either. “Anyone could see us.” And yet despite her words she began to feverishly tug at his silk shirt.

  He slid his arms around her waist beneath her coat, and the warmth and strength of his hands as he explored the small of her back and curve of her bottom was enough for her to discard any lingering protest.

  “What if they do see us?” His whisper tickled her ear. “Let them watch.” He pulled her around, so he was the one with his legs against the bench. “Before we steam up the glass.”

  She risked glancing through the glass at the neighboring capsule. None of the guests were looking their way. They all appeared intently preoccupied at the far end of their own pod.

  “You have a wicked mind.” She shot another glance at the host, but the woman still appeared completely oblivious to what her guests were about to get up to. A nervous giggle escaped, and she shoved him down onto the bench. “We’ll have to be very quiet.”

  His smile was original sin and tremors of pleasure rippled through her. He pulled her onto his lap, her thighs spread wide. Luckily, she’d worn stockings today instead of her usual leather pants.

  But then she always wore stockings when she met with him. Stockings and suspenders, scandalously seductive corsets and deliciously decadent knickers. They made her feel feminine and desirable and she loved seeing the look in his eyes when she stood before him in her sexy lingerie.

  “Keeping quiet is no problem for me.” His husky whisper caressed her lips like an illicit kiss. “You are another matter entirely.”

  She tugged at his fly as he wrapped her thighs in the folds of his coat. “And still the size of your ego continues to astound me.”

  He laughed. Obviously, he didn’t care whether the host heard him or not.

  “I see no need for false modesty where my ego is concerned.” At least he kept his voice down to an irresistible smoky growl. “Grotesque ribbed condom, inside pocket.”

  “Glad to see you came prepared.” She smothered a giggle at the pained expression on his face.

  She found the packet, ripped it open under cover of his coat, and gently released his glorious cock from his pants. She loved when he went commando. Not least because it made things so much more convenient.

  “Rowan.” He sounded as though he was being strangled. “Much as the look of adoration on your face stokes my insatiable ego, if you want to come as Big Ben chimes then you need to get a move on.”

  “Big Ben chimes?” She snorted and then slapped her free hand across her mouth to contain her mirth. “Big Ben?” she repeated and looked pointedly at his groin.

  Still clutching the ends of his coat as a barrier against the outside world, his fists smashed into her ribs to keep her still. Usually it wouldn’t have bothered her, but her ribs were still tender from the previous night’s messy assignment. But that was her problem and luckily it wasn’t as if Azrael could see the bruising to ask probing questions. She shifted into a more comfortable position and once again couldn’t tear her fascinated gaze from his erection.

  He swore under his breath, in that language he sometimes used in the throes of passion. “Do me a favor.” He
sounded aggrieved. “I’m talking about Big Ben.” He jerked his head to the view behind her. “If you time it right you can scream my name in ecstasy just as it chimes the quarter hour. It’ll drown you out.”

  “Oh, I see.” She had the urge to giggle again. “Got it all planned down to the last detail, haven’t you?”

  “My plans tend to go awry when they concern you.”

  Just as her plans always tumbled into disarray whenever they concerned him. It was nice to know she had that effect on him, as well.

  “Hold still.” She rolled the condom over the head of his cock. Heat radiated from him, as though a furnace glowed beneath the rigid flesh. How would it feel to have sex with him without any barrier? She couldn’t imagine it though. Not really. Because she’d never had unprotected sex before.

  Never wanted to. But with Azrael… it had become a recurring dream.

  An obsession.

  It would never happen.

  He let out an agonized groan. “I swear you do this as a form of medieval punishment.”

  “Sssh.” She darted a glance at the host. Who still appeared entirely preoccupied with the view that she must have seen a thousand times before. Talk about discreet. Was she used to couples misbehaving in midair?

  “Fuck, Rowan,” Azrael growled. “Forget about the host, will you? She can’t hear a thing.” He pulled her closer, and her lace-covered sex cradled his erection. “It’s just you and me here, all right?”

  She panted into his face and lost her senses in his gold-flecked eyes. Had he somehow drugged the woman? Do I even care?

  She wrapped one hand around his neck and hooked her lacy knickers aside with one finger. She was wet and ready for him even though he had barely touched her. But his words, his smoky looks, the very scent of him were all potent aphrodisiacs that her body responded to instinctively.