“Yes.” It was dhampir history, but she had learned of it before meeting Octavia. Because an archangel had been involved in the slaughter of a thousand dhampirs, and anything that had occurred on Earth that involved an archangel was faithfully documented in the Watchers’ archives.
“A few days ago, I met the archangel responsible.”
“Oh my gods.” She didn’t even know what to say to that. “Are you okay?”
Octavia flapped her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Of course. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the evil monster I was expecting.” She sighed. “They never are, are they?”
Bella was more than sure that they were. “I hope he’s being brought to justice.”
Not that she was going to hold her breath. While demon kind had been defamed for countless generations by clueless humans, archangels had never been brought to justice for anything they’d done.
That doesn’t mean they never will.
She hoped she was there to witness it.
“I believe he redeemed himself.” There was a dry note in Octavia’s voice.
“Where does he make his lair? On Earth?”
“I’ve no idea. Off planet, I think.”
Of course he did. Archangels rarely walked the Earth anymore. They had usurped the demons from their rightful place, corrupted historical truths as victors always did, and then hadn’t even stayed afterwards to nurture the planet.
She desperately wanted more information. If Octavia had met one archangel, had she met any others? She’d never mentioned having done so before, but she could’ve been sparing Bella’s feelings. Octavia was well aware she had a low opinion of archangels.
She swallowed down the barrage of questions. It didn’t matter how her soul burned for answers. She was skating perilously close to the line as it was. The function of the Watchers was to find those unaware they possessed a demonic bloodline and bring them into the fold.
The Watchers allowed no breach of their security, and if even the hint of a whisper escaped of their existence, there would be dire consequences. Bella understood the reasoning. Secrecy was vital. She could only imagine how humans would react if they ever discovered they shared Earth with the descendants of demons.
Among others.
It only took about half an hour before Octavia pulled up on the drive of Bella’s semi-detached house in Richmond upon Thames. A warm glow engulfed her at the sight of the substantial Edwardian building. It had taken her years to renovate, and she still wasn’t finished, but that was okay. She had plenty of time, and no intention of moving from the first real home she’d ever had.
She’d done enough midnight flits and living on the edges of society before she’d learned who—what—she truly was.
There was no need to live in the shadows anymore. She could hide in plain sight, and no one would ever guess her secret. It wasn’t the life she’d dreamed of, but it was better than the one she’d had. And right now, that had to be enough.
* * *
It was ten that night before she teleported to a dark side road in Soho, not far from her flagship nightclub, Inanna. Her staff assumed she always got a taxi to work, which was fine by her since it saved a lot of questions.
A satisfyingly long queue snaked along the pavement outside the club, a converted three-story Georgian building that had been in danger of demolition before she’d bought it. Ornate iron railings prevented patrons from falling to the below ground level, where the cellar windows allowed an elusive glimpse of the state-of-the-art kitchen.
She bypassed the queue and smiled a greeting at the security guards on duty before entering the club. The Friday night guest DJ was one of the hottest celebrities around and going by the wild appreciation of the clientele had already earned his exorbitant fee.
“Welcome back.” Yvette, her efficient, human, manager, who also possessed a handy psychic gift, came over to her and they made their way to the bar. “And well done.”
“It needs a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it.”
Yvette ordered a bottle of champagne and tossed her a grin. “All your acquisitions need a lot of work. It’s like you enjoy punishing yourself.”
More like a reward, for all the times she’d lived in hovels and slept in the gutter. She suppressed the shudder that crawled over her flesh. Even after all this time, the terror she’d lived through still lurked in the dark corners of her mind.
Savagely, she shoved the past back where it belonged. She refused to think of it or give the memories any power. That part of her life was over, and never again would she be at the mercy of an uncaring Fate.
Except for once a year, on the anniversary of the day she’d been rejected by her own mother and flung onto the streets to survive. She needed a whole lot more than ironclad willpower, then. Because without the blissful numbing effects of alcohol, the memories always found a way to slither through her barriers.
“Any problems I need to deal with?” She knew there wasn’t. Yvette was brilliant, and if anything had cropped up that needed her attention, her manager would’ve phoned. She topped up her glass with champagne.
“Not a problem as such.” The cautious note in Yvette’s voice was so unlike her that Bella forgot about her drink and frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Some guy I’ve never seen before turned up here the night you left. He’s been back several times. There’s just something about him I can’t put my finger on.”
“Does he cause any trouble?”
“No. He just watches everything. He was here last night, too. The weirdest thing is, no one seems to pay any attention to him.”
“That’s not so weird. He’s probably giving off a psychic vibe that only you can tap into. That’s why you keep noticing him.”
Yvette tapped the stem of her glass with her finger. “Maybe,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t explain why everyone is virtually ignoring him.”
She laughed. “Is he that hot?”
Obviously, he wasn’t. Otherwise he wouldn’t be ignored. People didn’t come to Inanna if they wanted to remain inconspicuous. They came for a good time, and her nightclubs were a magnet for the wealthy, the famous, and the beautiful.
“You tell me.” There was a dry note in Yvette’s voice, and she raised her eyebrows and gave a little nod across the club. Intrigued, Bella slowly pivoted to face the crowd. Would she even see who Yvette was talking about?
Her heart slammed against her ribs as her gaze riveted on a giant of a man across the crowded floor. Patrons had pulled away from him, leaving him in a shadow filled sphere, but she didn’t need a spotlight to appreciate his presence.
He was magnificent. The word jangled in her head, but there was no other way to describe him. Why wasn’t everyone in the club gazing at him in awestruck wonder? His thick hair was twisted into tight braids and had been pulled into a band at the back of his head, and his black eyes glinted as he swept the clubbers with a casual glance.
And caught her staring at him.
Prickles of awareness danced over her skin, her chest contracted, and liquid fire tangled low in her gut. She clutched the champagne flute as though her life depended on it and with a sense of inexplicable inevitability, watched him prowl across the floor.
Holy godsdamn fuck. He was coming her way. This was insane. She never let her emotions rule her head and she wasn’t starting now. Was lust an emotion? Her brain was too scrambled to care. It had been way too long since that particular inconvenience had attacked her, but she sure as hell didn’t remember ever experiencing anything as visceral as this.
She swallowed her drink in one long gulp, but the alcohol only increased the fluttering sensation that had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach. The cacophony of music and humanity faded, and all she could hear was the elevated thud of her heart, echoing around her head and pulsing through her blood.
Breathe. The harsh command from what remained of her good sense reminded her to suck in some oxygen, but it wasn’t enough to clea
r her head. Random shafts of light glinted on black and gold jewelry in the man’s earlobes and through his nose, and another streak of primitive need turned her reflexes inside out.
He came to a halt an arm’s length in front of her. At five foot ten she’d never considered herself short, but he towered over her, leashed power radiating from him like a nuclear reactor in meltdown. And instead of getting the hell out of there, which was the logical course of action, she had the alarming urge to smooth her palm over his black stubble beard.
Don’t. You. Dare.
From behind her, Yvette cleared her throat. Or maybe she stifled a laugh. Bella couldn’t drag her fascinated gaze from the stranger to check and was only faintly aware when Yvette patted her shoulder and disappeared into the crowd.
The stranger gave a slow, infinitely sexy smile, that was so full of wicked invitation that the air evaporated from her lungs.
It was ridiculous. She didn’t do speechless, or instant attraction, or any of that annoying human stuff that messed with her perfectly planned life. She didn’t even do sex anymore. Not that she ever had, much, but that was beside the point.
She knew what she wanted and where she was going and being distracted by the most gorgeous specimen of mortality that had ever walked the Earth had no place in her game plan.
And then he spoke, his voice low and gravely, like sin incarnate, and her resolve melted like snow before the sun. “Can I get you a drink?”
Chapter 2
Nate
Nate swallowed the groan at his appalling attempt to flirt. Seriously. That was the best he could come up with? His only excuse was this woman had damn well robbed him of the power of critical thinking.
He hadn’t come here tonight to interact with anyone. Definitely hadn’t planned on an enjoyable hook up. But from the second he’d become aware of her from across the other side of the club, she was like a siren’s call.
She was tall for a human and looked in her late twenties, and her long blonde hair, pulled back from her face into a ponytail, and big blue eyes gave her an aura of fragility. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t been with a mortal in millennia because they were too easily breakable.
“Why not?” Her voice was cool, and he had no fucking idea what she was talking about. Her delectable lips curved into a smile and his cock thickened with appreciation. “On second thoughts, I’ve a bottle of champagne. I don’t mind sharing.”
He leaned his arm on the bar next to her. The humans on his other side moved further along, a side-effect of his glamour. Which didn’t appear to have affected the blonde at all. As the bartender brought him another flute, he briefly scanned her aura.
An unmistakable glimmer of psychic ability swirled, which had to be the reason why she appeared to see straight through his low-level glamour. Although that ability was common with more advanced civilizations, it didn’t happen often on Earth. He’d only scanned her out of habit. Sometimes his suspicious nature was a bastard, not that it mattered. It wasn’t like she was going to call him on it.
The bartender filled their flutes and Nate handed one to her. Her fingers grazed his as she accepted it, and her touch was electrifying.
“Cheers.” Her voice was husky as they clinked glasses and he gazed, fascinated, as she took a long, slow, swallow of the golden liquid. He couldn’t remember the last time a human had so ensnared him. Hell, he couldn’t remember ever being this enthralled, period.
It was intoxicating. He grinned at her and downed half the champagne in one go. So far, he’d not discovered any sign of Dagan. One night off to pursue this delectable female wouldn’t derail his plans.
“I’m Nate.” He held out his hand, purely for the pleasure of feeling her touch once more and was intrigued when she didn’t immediately take it.
A heartbeat passed. And then another. It was like time slowed down, became suspended within this moment, and if he wasn’t so caught up in the mesmeric blue swirls of her eyes, he would’ve laughed at the absurdity of his thought.
And then she smiled and the vision damn near sucked the air from his lungs.
“Hello, Nate.” She accepted his overture, even if she didn’t give him her name. Her hand was delicate, fragile. Just as he expected. Except there was also an underlying hint of steely strength that totally belied her appearance.
Nice.
With reluctance, he released her, and didn’t miss the way she flexed her fingers, as though his touch still lingered on her skin. If so, it made two of them. He smothered the incredulous laugh that threatened to escape by finishing off the rest of his champagne.
Human alcohol had no effect on him, but it gave him a few seconds to mock his unprecedented reaction to this alluring mortal. Didn’t matter, though. His brain could mock him all it liked. He’d not wanted a female in his arms as much as he wanted Isabella in…
Well, fuck. Forever?
“I haven’t seen you here before.” He picked up the bottle of champagne and topped up her glass.
“Do you come here often?”
As he filled up his own glass, he silently marveled at how she’d countered his implied question with a direct one of her own. It wasn’t a usual mortal trait when confronted by an archangel. Not even from humans who possessed psychic ability.
Not that he was complaining.
“Only recently. I’m staying in the area, so just checking out the nightlife.”
Yeah, well, it was better than the truth. Humans couldn’t handle the truth.
“Ah.” She inclined her head, as though he’d confirmed something she already knew. Curiosity spiked. Had she been in the club before and seen him, and he simply hadn’t noticed her?
Seemed unlikely, considering he hadn’t picked up anything of interest in the hordes of clubbers he’d scanned during the last couple of weeks. No way had he missed seeing Isabella.
As she took a dainty sip of her drink, he ran a leisurely gaze over her. She was stunning in crimson boots that matched her sweater, and her black jeans showed off her gorgeous legs to perfection.
But her outfit was in stark contrast to everyone else, who looked right at home in one of the trendiest clubs in London, with their designer label, red-carpet worthy clothing. To complete her understated air of laid-back sophistication, her only jewelry was a silver, eight-pointed star, suspended from a silver chain.
The star of Inanna.
Maybe she worked here? Even though none of the other staff he’d encountered wore such a necklace, a lion, the emblem of the goddess, was carved into the stonework above the entrance, and embroidered on the collar of the employees’ smart uniform.
He leaned in closer, and a subtle hint of her perfume wove a seductive trail through him. A smoky, woodsy, scent, with a tantalizing undertone of vanilla, that conjured up mythical groves in ancient forests.
There was something faintly familiar about her and suspicion stirred, but in his gut he knew he was right.
“You’re Isabella Beauchamp.” It wasn’t a question. He’d researched the owner of the string of Inanna nightclubs, but the sparse, weirdly grainy photos he’d uncovered of the undoubted human didn’t do her justice.
Fuck that, she was barely recognizable as the same person. According to what he’d discovered, she was a virtual recluse with no social media footprint—although her clubs had very active accounts. About ten years ago she’d inherited a small fortune from an obscure relative and had begun her nightclub empire.
He’d intended tracking her down, so he could eliminate her from his investigation, but he hadn’t expected this wild attraction. Not that it made any difference. If anything, it could help with his investigation of who held the real power behind the clubs. Sometimes, business and pleasure could be mixed without losing sight of objectives.
“I am.” If she was surprised by his comment, she didn’t show it. “Why? Have you been looking for me?”
He couldn’t help himself. “Only all my life.”
She laughed, and the faint air of aloo
fness that had clung to her dissolved. “And now you’ve found me, what do you propose?”
“How about we get out of here?”
Bella
What the bloody hell are you doing?
Flirting, that’s what. Bella squashed her flare of caution, which usually served her well, because she was in no danger from this guy. She wasn’t on an undercover mission to assess the suitability of a potential new recruit, where there was always the possibility of an enemy lurking in the shadows.
He was merely a—
Fuck. Ice skated over her arms. She hadn’t even scanned his aura. Hastily, she corrected that error and relief tumbled through her. He was just a regular human, with an indecipherable thread of immortal blood in his ancient heritage. It was amazing how many oblivious humans had traces of various immortal blood in their veins. But it was often so diluted that the only advantage was they’d inherited the capability to access psychic abilities.
He’s been stalking your club for the last two weeks.
Just because Yvette had seen him in the club a few times, didn’t make him a stalker.
He knows who you are. Okay, that was a little concerning, but only because she had a distrustful nature. It wasn’t as though her ownership of Inanna was a secret. It was in the public records.
Honestly, why was she trying to find excuses to get away from this guy? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d found someone so irresistible. Didn’t she deserve a little fun, every now and then?
It wouldn’t kill her.
Maybe not. But she wasn’t in the habit of having fun, when it involved hooking up.
Illicit thrills chased through her blood at the imagery of hooking up with Nate. A one-night stand.
Incredible sex.
But it was more than that. His presence filled her mind, more potent than the finest champagne she’d ever tasted, engulfing the toxic memories. Drowning them until they were barely a shimmer on a far horizon.
She cleared her throat and refused to succumb to the overwhelming desire to wrap herself around him and to hell with the consequences. She had an ethical code to uphold. She didn’t allow staff to be intimate with their clientele. Not on the premises, at any rate, and if she couldn’t stick to the rules, how could she expect anyone else to?
Salvation: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel Page 2