by Larissa Ione
She looked around for the clothes he’d stripped off her, but they were gone, and a blast of heat bloomed in her cheeks at the memory. He’d been intense. Primal. A male drowning in a need he couldn’t satiate without a female.
The moment she’d seen him suffering in emotion he couldn’t contain, all she could think about was making it better, and when the tension inside him had shifted from confusion and violence to sex, she hadn’t hesitated. Not until the moment of truth, when it looked as if intercourse was imminent.
She’d panicked a little, not because she was a virgin, but because somehow joining with him like that would make things real between them, and she wasn’t ready to go there. Not when she was still planning on leaving.
So it was probably a good thing he’d freaked about the virginity thing, but criminy, the reason for his spaz attack had blown her mind. He’d been seduced by the most infamous succubus in history. He’d deflowered the most infamous succubus in history.
Holy shit.
His actions had kicked off pretty much everything that had happened in the human, demon, and angelic worlds up until now. No wonder he’d taken this job. Even without the empathic curse that had driven him here, she’d bet he’d have volunteered anyway, purely out of guilt.
The overload of events and information from today turned her brain foggy, so she gave it a rest while she dressed and ate. The fudge truffle cake turned out to be almost as decadent as the orgasm Azagoth gave her, and she decided she definitely needed another piece later.
A piece of cake...or of Azagoth? Maybe she could have her cake and Azagoth too.
The thought made her blush as she finished eating, and then she went through his books for something to help her get the chronoglass out of here.
For the second time, the thought screamed through her in a blast of remorse.
Truly, Azagoth had been good to her. The big, scary Grim Reaper had done nothing but be nice. Oh, sure, he’d been a jackass at first, but then, she’d been a little hostile too. And to know that he’d been down here so long, unable to feel anything...it broke her heart.
Granted, being unable to feel was probably what kept him sane. Having to deal with evil twenty-four seven would make anyone who was sensitive to emotion crazy.
Several hours later, she’d found nothing helpful, and a small part of her was glad.
As she shoved the last book she’d thumbed through back onto a shelf, Cat poked her head through the doorway, and Lilliana jumped, startled by her own guilt. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Cat said. “Can I bring you anything more to eat or drink?”
“Thank you, no.” She studied the other woman, wondering just how intimate the relationship between them should be. Azagoth had hired her, but Lilliana could really use a friend down here.
Problem was, she didn’t know how to go about it. She’d never had many friends. Time travelers had a tendency to illicit distrust in others. Lilliana’s supervisor claimed it was because, deep down, others knew they wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to change history, and there was nothing angels hated more than reminders that they were so flawed.
Finally, Lilliana just threw it out there. “I was thinking about taking a walk. Would you like to join me?”
Cat grinned, flashing petite fangs that came standard issue for both Unfallen and True Fallen angels. “I’d be happy to.”
“Really?” Lilliana blurted. “Why?”
Flames from the hearth cast an orange light on Cat’s red hair, creating a gentle halo around her head, and for a moment, Lilliana could picture her as a full angel, her green eyes glinting with impish humor.
“I owe you and Azagoth for saving me,” she said simply. “I like it here.”
“You...like it?”
She nodded. “Very much. No one is hunting me, the griminions aren’t bad once you get to know them, and Zhubaal is kind of hot.”
Okie-dokie, then. They walked outside into the ever-present gray blah, and even though the chill in the air didn’t bother her, she rubbed her arms. Everything outside of Azagoth’s manor just looked cold and inhospitable.
“I’ve been exploring the surrounding buildings,” she said to Cat. “They were once occupied, and there’s a lot of stuff that was left behind.”
“Who used to live here?”
“I have no idea,” Lilliana said. “Azagoth has been a little tight-lipped.”
“He’s very odd. But in a good way,” Cat added quickly. She said something else, but Lilliana’s concentration had taken a sudden detour.
“Cat.” She gripped the other female’s shoulder, shutting her up. “Do you see that?”
Cat followed Lilliana’s gaze to a patch of ground near the fountain in the center of the courtyard. “That’s weird. Why would that one bit of land be—”
“Green,” Lilliana whispered. “It’s grass.”
As they stood there, bright green blades of grass popped up, expanding outward, swallowing up the blackened earth as it went. When the grass reached a scraggly, leafless gray bush, color began to push up the thick, dead stems, and at the very tips of the branches, little pink buds popped out.
“What’s going on?”
“Emotion,” Lilliana breathed. “It makes sense. Azagoth said it himself. I am Sheoul-gra.” He’d said he’d been corrupted by evil, his emotions stripped away. And now, with his emotions starting to open up, his realm was reflecting that. Holy shit. “Where is he? I have to show him this.”
Cat cringed. “He gave me a message for you. I forgot. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.”
“It’s okay.” As she spoke, Lilliana couldn’t take her eyes off of the transformation taking place in front of her. “What’s the message?”
“He said he had to go to the Inner Sanctum. He didn’t know when he’d be back.”
Lilliana finally looked over at Cat. “Did he say why?”
“All I know is that a seriously yummy guy with a blue Mohawk came to visit, and they left together.”
“Ah. That would be Hades.” Too bad she hadn’t been there to meet him. She was curious about the fallen angel who Azagoth had appointed as his Soul Keeper.
“The Hades?” Cat asked. “Wow. He’s like a rock star. Does he come up from the Sanctum often?”
“I have no idea.” Lilliana started walking, giving the new green patches a wide berth. Stepping on the fresh new life struck her as a jerk thing to do.
“Do you think Azagoth would let me see the Inner Sanctum?”
Lilliana jerked in surprise. “Why would you want to? By all accounts, it’s a cesspool of suffering.”
“I want to be reminded of why I want to earn my way back into Heaven.”
Lilliana nearly tripped over her own feet. Overdosing on evil seemed like an extreme way to keep yourself on the straight and narrow path, but she supposed it was better than the alternative.
They wandered through the buildings Lilliana hadn’t gotten to the other day. She’d planned to search for something to help with the chronoglass, but she was so curious about everything that searching for something specific took a backseat to simply exploring. They found classrooms complete with history books—human, demon, and angel. They found indoor and outdoor training and sports facilities. They even found what appeared to have been gardens. What was this place?
“This is such a waste,” Cat said sadly. “These buildings were meant to be filled.”
Yes, but with who? Or what?
Eventually, they made their way back to the main building, but Azagoth hadn’t yet returned. Lilliana helped Cat cook dinner, and while they ate, Cat insisted that they watch a movie called Magic Mike. There hadn’t been any magic, but dayum...Lilliana would never look at a male stripper the same way again.
As the credits rolled, Cat gathered their dinner plates. “I think I’m going to see if Zhubaal wants some company,” she said with a sly smile that all but announced her lusty intent. “And maybe if you’re lucky, Azagoth will be back soon.”
Strange
ly, Lilliana hoped so. Not because the movie had pushed every one of her horny buttons, but because she was actually starting to like the guy.
He’s an asshole father.
Okay, there was that. But what if he wasn’t entirely to blame for whatever had gone down with Methicore? Now that she had a little distance, she could see a bit more clearly, and the guy had definitely struck her as a bit of an ass. But what could he have done to deserve the things his father had said to him?
Her own father’s harsh words clanged in her ears as she showered and put on her nightgown and robe. Had she tried too hard to build a relationship with him? Had she not tried hard enough?
Frustrated by the questions she asked herself way too often, she shoved a pile of clean, folded clothes inside the wardrobe. The box holding the necklace Azagoth had given her tumbled out, and the shiny silver chain skittered across the floor.
Picking it up, she admired the delicate little key pendant and finely-wrought clasp. He’d given it to her with an order to wear it, but she hadn’t, and he hadn’t nagged her about it or gotten angry. But then, with his emotional void, she supposed he wouldn’t have thrown a fit about it. Still, it had seemed important to him.
And it really was pretty...
She fastened it around her neck, and the cold silver warmed instantly on her skin.
As she climbed into bed, it didn’t escape her notice that Azagoth’s body did the same thing.
Chapter Thirteen
Azagoth hadn’t come home last night.
Inexplicably irritated, because yeah, why wouldn’t someone be upset about getting an uninterrupted night’s sleep, Lilliana skipped breakfast and stormed into his office, expecting to find him there.
Nothing. The fire roared in the hearth and his computer was humming softly, but the soul tunnel was closed and Azagoth was nowhere to be found.
Even more annoyed now, she went to the library, but he wasn’t there, either. Fine, she thought as she stared at the chronoglass. She should use it. Go someplace without Azagoth, just as he’d done.
But even as she thought it, she knew she wouldn’t do it. In all her years of existence, she’d never seen such unfettered joy in anyone, and she’d certainly never given it. Being able to give someone a gift like that made her feel good. Really good.
The door burst open and over six and a half feet of dangerously handsome male strode into the library. Black military-style pants and a black turtleneck made Azagoth seem even larger, sleeker, and deadlier, but then, he’d never come across as anything less than one hundred percent lethal grace. Raw power radiated from him like heat from one of Sheoul’s lava lakes.
His eyes smoldered as he took in her jeans and pink tank top, and she felt the blood rush to her face at the memory of the last time he’d looked at her like that.
It was yesterday, when he’d made her come, right here where she was standing.
“Morning.”
“Yes,” she grumbled. “It is.”
He cocked a dark eyebrow. “Something wrong? Is Cat not working out? I can find someone else—”
“No!” she said quickly, and then dialed it back a little. “No. I like Cat.”
“Then what’s bothering you?”
She hesitated. At what point in their relationship should she start questioning his whereabouts? Her relationship with Hutriel had never reached that point. He’d blown his lid the first time she’d asked him why he was late for their dinner date, and after that, she’d only asked to piss him off. Which it did. Every single time.
“Lilliana?” he asked softly. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Feeling a bit like a fishwife, she blurted, “Where have you been?”
“Didn’t Cat tell you? I went to the Inner Sanctum with Hades.”
“She told me,” Lilliana assured him. He’d mentioned not being one for second chances, and she definitely didn’t want to get Cat fired. “But I didn’t expect you to be gone all night. Why did it take so long?”
His expression turned grave. “I had business to take care of.”
“That’s it? Just...business?”
“I’m the Grim Reaper, Lilli. I have business with demons sometimes.”
Lilli. He’d called her that yesterday too, when she’d had her hand curled around his erection, her palm stroking the stiff length as he moaned in ecstasy.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “Oh, damn...Lilli...”
No one had ever given her a nickname. Warmth suffused her, but she let herself linger on the name only for a moment before getting back to the subject at hand.
“What in the world can dead demons do for you?” she asked.
“Newly acquired demons have information I want and need. It’s how I make bargains and find new souls to take. Trust me, you don’t want details.”
No doubt he was right. Still... “If I did want details, would you tell me?”
“Yes.” He gave her a look that chilled her to the bone, and she knew for sure she didn’t want to know the particulars of what he did with the souls. “But please don’t ask.”
You got it, buddy.
She wasn’t sure where to go from there, but Azagoth seemed to have no such problem. He strode over to her, hauled her against him, and laid a kiss on her that had her melting into him like softened butter.
“I missed you,” he whispered huskily against her lips. “All I could think about was getting back to you and finishing what we started here in the library. You made me feel, Lilli. For the first time in...fuck, I don’t know, I felt something other than the cold.”
Oh, yes, she felt it too, in the bulge nudging at her center. Instantly, her breasts grew heavy and a warm rush of wetness blossomed between her legs.
“Azagoth?” she murmured, as he kissed a hot path from her mouth to her ear. “Have you been outside?”
“No.” He nibbled her earlobe and her knees nearly gave out. “Why?”
He didn’t know about the new growth out there, the signs of hope that were sprouting out of the black ash of his realm. But it wasn’t enough to tell him...she wanted to show him.
“No reason.” She moaned as he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. “Maybe we could take a walk?”
Pulling back, he looked down at her. “A walk? Here?” He jerked his head toward the chronoglass. “How about somewhere more interesting. Where to today?”
She hadn’t actually thought about it. The last two journeys had been designed to thoroughly annoy him, but he’d been ecstatic. She no longer wanted to fool around like that. He deserved better.
“Maybe you should suggest a time and place,” she offered. “Surely there’s someplace you want to go.”
With tenderness that shocked her even though he’d been nothing but gentle with her, he grazed a knuckle over her cheek. “I’ve been locked inside my realm for thousands of years. Anywhere you take me is going to be amazing.”
She snorted. “Oh, I doubt that. London during the Black Death was a drag.” Taking his hand, she guided him to the mirror. “Where do you want to go?”
“A beach,” he said without hesitation. “On the Oregon coast. I’ve always wanted to see the tide pools.” He squeezed her hand. “No, wait. Let’s do that tomorrow. I feel like going somewhere tropical.”
Ooh, tropical. She’d been a tropical waters girl since she’d tasted her first coconut. “I know just the place.” An image appeared on the mirror’s surface, blue waters and golden sand beckoning. Clinging tightly to Azagoth’s hand, she stepped into the chronoglass and out into a sultry breeze.
Azagoth inhaled, and his entire body relaxed, as if the sun and air had drained every last drop of tension from him. “Where are we?”
“It’s a private resort in the Caribbean.” She gestured to the cliffs around them. “And this is a private alcove.” Overhead, birds sailed on the currents, and in the distance, fish jumped out of the waves and made splashes as they hit the crystal water.
“It’s perfect,” Azagoth s
aid. “If mortals come here, will they see us?”
“Nope. We’re invisible to them. In reality, we are just as much here as they are, and we can manipulate objects. But when we do something that changes the world around them, their reality warps to fit our needs.”
He kicked off his boots and sighed as his bare feet dug into the sand. “That makes no sense.”
Time travel was complicated, with thousands of natural and mystical laws to fit every situation. It had taken her hundreds of years to learn just a fraction of them. She’d have to break her explanation down to the most basic level.
“Okay, let’s say I take the last French fry off some guy’s plate at Denny’s. He either won’t remember that there was a French fry there, or he’ll believe he ate it. That’s the angelic warp in action. Or maybe I steal someone’s car. The angelic warp will wipe any witness memories away, and the owner of the car will report it stolen. But as long as I’m inside the vehicle, the angelic warp will keep it visible yet...unnoticeable...until I get out of the car. But that’s exactly why we’re supposed to be observers only, and we get in a lot of trouble if we mess with humans. The Powers That Be don’t like human memories to be messed with unless absolutely necessary.” Which was hilarious, given that The Powers That Be had no problem with messing with the memories of angels.
“Can humans ever see you?”
Her gut dove to her feet. “Yes. When you break out of the shrowd. That’s why it’s forbidden to the extreme.”
“How does Heaven find out when it happens?”
“The second you break out, alarm bells shriek in the Time Travel Department. Approximately sixty seconds later, a team of angels will flash to the location of the breakout, and if the offending angel is still there, they either kill the responsible party or arrest them. Depends on the circumstances. Obviously, this doesn’t happen very often.”
He bent to pick up a shell, and she unabashedly ogled his backside. “How many times has it happened since you’ve been time traveling? I mean, besides you.”
“What?” Damn, he had a fine ass. “Oh, right...just once.” Except she was the once.