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Authors: Cynthia Eden

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BOOK: Angel Betrayed
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What was she supposed to say to that? “I’m sorry.”
He smiled at her, and the sight wasn’t reassuring. “Don’t be. It’s long past time I ripped Az apart. The world will be a whole lot better once he’s gone.”
“Why?” She shouldn’t ask, but she did anyway. “What’s he done? Why would you turn on your own family?” His words hit too close to home for her.
Turn on your own family.
She’d been there, done that, and had the scars to prove it.
“Az sent me to hell,” he said, voice flat.
She laughed at that, a nervous, rough sound. “Ah, you mean it felt like he did—”
“
No.
The bastard actually sent me to hell.”
All the moisture in her mouth dried away.
Sam stared at her. “What? You don’t think it’s real?” His lips tightened. “News flash. Heaven’s there, so is hell.”
Her heart slammed too fast and too hard into her chest. “With the devil guarding the gates.” She tried to make the words sound flippant.
“Not quite. Not anymore. He’s been out of hell for a while now.” His head tilted toward her. “But you’ll find out the truth soon enough. In the end, we all do.” He held her stare a moment longer, then eased out a slow breath. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we take care of the bastard after you.”
She stared at his dark head.
Tomorrow.
Seline hurried up the stairs and found the empty room on the left. She hurriedly pushed the door closed behind her and even flipped the lock.
The bastard actually sent me to hell.
This job wasn’t turning out like she’d thought. Not at all. But there was no going back now.
Your brother isn’t the only one who wants you dead, Sam.
She strode to the bed and stripped off her clothes.
If he wants you, then he can just get in line.
Because Sammael was a wanted man, and when it came to the killers on his trail—well, she was the one he needed to worry about the most. He’d let her get close, and that was an error that could prove fatal for him.
She climbed into the bed, naked, and closed her eyes. Sooner or later, Sam would have to find a bed for himself. Even an all-powerful bad-ass had to sleep sometime. She’d know when he slept, she’d feel it. And the instant his eyes closed . . .
You’re mine, Sam.
 
“Cole, how much have you turned up on Seline O’Shaw?” Sam held the phone to his ear as he glanced up the curving staircase. No sound came from Seline’s room, and the silence seemed to press onto him.
Sexy. Close.
Dangerous.
“She came to town about six months ago, boss. She went to work at Temptation . . .” Cole’s voice floated easily on the line. The guy wasn’t telling him a single thing he didn’t know. “She’s got an apartment in the Quarter, and her neighbors say she never has any visitors.”
Okay, that stopped him. “No men?” A woman as sexy as her would have lovers, probably lots of them. Men willing to kill for a taste of her.
Or maybe that’s just me.
“Not a single one.”
Odd, but good, because he wasn’t the sharing sort, and that meant he wouldn’t have to kick ass as he cleared territory. Yet . . .
something’s off.
“She said that she’s on the run from John Moorecroft.”
A soft whistle carried over the line as Cole made the connection. “The drug dealer?” Even though he was human, Moorecroft had been able to make some of the
Other
nervous. “What’d she do to piss him off?”
She killed his best friend and turned Moorecroft over to the cops. Set him up and walked away.
If her story was true, Seline didn’t play nice. Fair enough. Neither did he. Nice didn’t usually enter his vocabulary. “Find out, and see if any hits have been put on her.” In this city, a strong demon could make anyone talk. Cole was strong and very good at his job. “Pass the word that I’m the one looking for the information.” The
Other
world was all about exchanging favors, and a lot of people owed him.
I’ll collect from them all.
He always did, sooner or later. “Write this down,” Sam ordered, and he rattled off the license plate number of the black van he’d spotted. “I want to know who owns this van, and I want to know before the sun comes up.”
“Boss, just what the hell is happening?”
His gaze was still on the staircase. “I’m trying to decide if I’ve got a victim in my house.” Victim or . . .
Predator.
“I’ll call you back by dawn.” Cole’s voice was abrupt, and Sam didn’t doubt the demon’s word. Cole was still busting ass as he tried to prove just how useful he could be.
Demons. Always out to prove themselves. When would they get it? It didn’t matter how “good” they pretended to be, they’d always be hated. Always.
Monsters were always feared.
And they were sure as hell not trusted.
Sam ended the call and slowly climbed the stairs. He had another room ready across the hall from Seline’s. The better to keep an eye on her. She wouldn’t move without him hearing. If she decided to pay him a little late-night visit, he’d be ready—whether that visit was for sex or something far less pleasurable and far more sinister.
Don’t trust her.
He knew better than to trust any demon, especially an unknown quantity like her. Maybe he should have just let her die in that alley, but—
Not her.
He’d seen enough women on the ground, with blood spreading like wings beneath them. When he’d heard her scream, the rage had burst inside of him, and he’d been at Seline’s side before he even realized what he was doing.
He’d taken the knife for her. Bled for her. What would she do for him? He’d find out.
Sam hesitated near her door. He could hear no sounds from inside her room. She hadn’t balked at being brought into the middle of nowhere, but then, if her story was true, she was hiding from a killer. Maybe being tucked away in the middle of a swamp was just where she wanted to be.
Maybe not.
His fingers curled around the doorknob. He twisted lightly.
Locked.
Sam almost smiled. Like a locked door would keep him out. If he wanted in her bed, nothing would keep him away.
But though he
did
want Seline, now wasn’t the time for fucking. Screwing a demon with unknown powers would be a great way for him to get killed. No, better wait until he knew more.
Just a few hours until dawn
. He went into his room, stripped, and hit the bed. Maybe he’d get lucky and catch two hours of sleep. Maybe three. Then a new day would start, and the hunting would begin—hunting for the man after Seline and—more important—for his brother.
Because Sam knew Az was close. After centuries, Az had finally gotten his lily-white ass kicked out of heaven.
How does it feel to fall?
Payback was going to be hell. He’d make sure of that.
Sam closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to shove the past away. For once, he’d like to dream of something other than death and fire. Was that so much to ask? Just one time.
His breath eased out. As he drifted into sleep, the fire came.
As always, it burned, searing his wings away and charring his flesh as he fell from the sky.
 
With her eyes still closed, Seline smiled as she felt Sam drift into sleep.
Time to take a walk into his dreams
. Unlike others of her kind, proximity mattered to her. The closer her prey, the easier it was for her to slip into his dreams.
Her heartbeat slowed. Her being centered completely on him.
Sam.
Then, slowly, he came into focus in her mind.
Sweat dotted his skin—naked, strong flesh—and he twisted against the dark covers on his bed. Faint lines appeared between his brows and a growl broke from his lips.
It looked like he was in pain. Poor killer.
Not having a nice dream, huh, Sam?
“I can make the pain stop,” she whispered.
His eyes opened. Flames danced around her for a moment. She could actually feel the heat on her flesh. Her kind always had such powerful, incredibly vivid dreams. This time, the dream wasn’t really hers. Not really his, either.
Ours.
Yet she had the ultimate power here. The things she saw now, the things they did—they would all be from her command.
She climbed onto his bed. The mattress dipped beneath her, and everything
felt
real. Because in a dream-walk, it was real to the spirit.
“Seline?” Sam’s voice came out as a deep, sexy rumble. “What the hell—”
She put her finger against his lips. “It’s just a dream.” Perhaps saying the lie would make what was to come easier. She forced a smile as she leaned closer to him. The rich scent of man and the harsher scent of fire filled her nose. “Nothing can hurt you when you dream.”
“Bullshit.”
Then he did something a man had never done before in a dream-walk. He ripped control away from her. He grabbed her arms and rolled fast, so that in a second’s time, she was beneath him and trapped beneath his powerful body.
Seline’s heart nearly stopped. No,
no.
“Dreams can kill you,” Sam muttered. He stared down at her with eyes that were far too aware. “But this is a much better way to go than the fire.” Sam crushed his lips to hers.
C
HAPTER
T
HREE
 
S
he felt real. Far too real for a dream. Seline’s body was soft and sensuous beneath his, and the fire was gone. No, the burn was
within
him now, burning from the inside as the lust flared higher.
Want her.
Sam was used to taking what he wanted. One look at Seline’s body on that stage in Temptation, and he’d craved. But he hadn’t just wanted a small taste of her. He wasn’t into sampling. Sam was into taking.
Claiming.
If his asshole killer of a brother hadn’t been roaming the streets, Seline would have already been his. He tore his lips from Seline’s and pressed his mouth to the delicate column of her throat. She shivered.
“I can be yours now.” Her voice whispered to him, and shock had his body stiffening. She’d heard his thoughts. Heard and—
Too real.
His fingers tightened on her flesh. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her thighs shifted beneath his legs, and the scent of jasmine surrounded him.
There should be no jasmine now. Just ash. Smoke.
He only dreamed of fire and death. Not sex and pleasure and silken flesh.
But her fingers were sliding around his shoulders and skimming down his back. He knew she’d feel the scars soon. The thick, long scars crossed his shoulder blades. When he’d fallen, his wings had burned off, and he’d been left with only the jagged reminder of what he’d once been.
Her breath hissed out when Seline touched the scars and . . . pleasure knifed through him, a pleasure so intense it was almost pain. An angel’s wings were the most sensitive part of his body, and even the ghostly remnants of his wings felt her touch.
More.
His head lifted. Her taste was in his mouth—sweet sin—and he wanted so much more. Seline’s lips were even darker, even redder, from the crush of his lips on hers.
And her skin looked almost luminous, as if it were glowing. Had he really thought that she wasn’t classically beautiful before? The woman was fucking perfect. So gorgeous that staring at her nearly hurt.
Her lips curved a bit. “You won’t have bad dreams tonight. You’ll know only pleasure.”
His cock was full and aching. Her legs were spread, and paradise waited just inches away. She was wet and arching her hips toward him.
Pleasure.
When he’d first fallen, he’d gotten drunk on pleasure. Angels didn’t feel as a rule, but once he’d hit earth, the sensations had overwhelmed him, and he’d gone more than a little mad on them. Pleasure and pain were his favorite sensations. They made him react the most, and they made him feel alive.
When he’d spent centuries only feeling death.
Besides, he’d learned he was very good at doling out pain, and when he wanted, he knew just how to give pleasure to his lovers.
When I want . . .
His hands rose between their bodies as he levered his chest up. Her breasts were amazing to see. Full and plump with tight pink nipples. Sam bent his head and licked one nipple. Seline moaned softly as her fingers curled around his scars.
Sam’s cock jerked as the rush of pleasure pounded through him.
She arched her back and pressed her breast more fully against his mouth. He sucked her flesh and found that the taste of her nipples was just as addictive as her mouth. Sweet, like strawberries. She was so soft. He let his teeth lightly score her flesh.
“Sam . . .”
Her whisper filled his ears.
For an instant, his eyes closed. The temptation was right there. He could take her, take his pleasure, and damn the world.
But...
He caught her hands and pulled them from his body even as he forced his mouth from her breast. Then he caged her hands against the mattress, pinning her with an unbreakable grip on each wrist.
She stared up at him with dazed eyes. “Don’t you want me?”
Hell, yes, but he knew a trap when he felt one, and even sexy bait wasn’t going to push him over the edge. Well,
maybe
not over, just pretty close.
“I want you,” she told him. Her eyes promised so much pleasure.
He held tight to his control even as his instincts demanded that he thrust hard and deep inside her flesh. “For five hundred years, I’ve dreamed of hell.” The gritted admission came from deep within him.
Seline’s lips parted. Sexy fuck-me lips. His hips pressed a bit closer to her.
Take her.
“But tonight . . . tonight I dream of you?” he asked. Bullshit. Did he look like a fool?
She blinked as if confused, but her skin kept that luminous glow. A glow that a human or even a low-level demon should never have.
He brought his lips close to her ear and again felt the light tremble that raked her body. “I can’t kill you in a dream,” he whispered, the words soft and tender like a lover’s even as the rage in him began to burn hell-hot.
She stiffened beneath him. Ah, so she realized this little scene wasn’t going according to plan.
“But . . .” Sam continued, letting his tongue just touch the tip of her ear, “I’m guessing you can kill me here, right, sweetheart?”
He heard the catch of her breath and had his answer. Sam’s lips pressed lightly against her neck, then harder as he sucked the skin. He’d mark her, if only in their dream.
When she pressed closer to him and didn’t try to slip away, he knew Seline was in danger of losing her own control—something that happened a lot with her kind.
“A succubus.” He’d suspected from the way she captivated every man in Temptation. He rose above her but kept her chained with his hands. The control and the caging were just an illusion. In a dream, a succubus would be the one with the real power. He was just along for the ride. “Here to seduce me and kill me, Seline?”
No mortal weapon could kill a Fallen. They were too powerful. But a succubus wouldn’t use a weapon to kill. She’d simply use seduction until she drained her prey dry.
Sam shook his head, a little regretful. The ride would have been incredible, no doubt. “Won’t work.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking—”
“Your game probably worked on a dozen other fools”—and he wouldn’t think about those jerks right then—“but I’m stronger.” Though screwing her just might have been worth the risk. He smiled and knew it wasn’t a pretty sight. “You’ve just made one dangerous mistake. And as soon as I wake up”—because she couldn’t keep him trapped in the dream world forever—“your ass really will be mine.” In the real world,
he
was the one with the power, and she was prey.
She stared into his eyes and let her mask drop. No longer was she the terrified woman he’d seen in the club earlier that night. Instead, she was sex personified, a temptation so seductive his whole body tightened with lust, and the confidence streaming from her eyes had his control cracking.
Then she smiled. “Promises, promises, Sammael . . .” She thrust him back with a strength he hadn’t anticipated. He flew through the air and slammed into the wall, his body shuddering.
Growling, he straightened and charged for the bed. Sam’s hands reached out for her—
But Seline vanished.
He blinked and found himself in bed and tangled in the covers. The scent of jasmine hung in the air, and his cock pulsed with arousal.
A grin tilted his lips as he tossed the covers aside.
That ass is mine.
 
Oh, hell.
Seline’s eyelids flew open, and she jumped from the bed. She had her clothes on in less than two seconds. As she lunged for the window, she sent a line of fire skirting toward the closed door. Not that the fire would keep Sam out for long.
“Seline!”
His shout erupted from the hallway.
The freaking window wouldn’t open. Her sweaty hands couldn’t lift the thing up. Screw it. Seline smashed out with her right fist and shattered the glass. Blood dripped from her fingers, but she didn’t even hesitate as she climbed out onto the ledge.
Fire crackled behind her, but she still heard the crash of the door as the wood splintered.
Then the fire stopped crackling. Or rather, someone a lot stronger than she was stopped the fire. Seline didn’t look back. She kept her eyes on the ground—
just a second-story fall, even if I break a leg, I’ll heal—
and then she dropped.
She just didn’t drop fast enough. A hard, strong hand caught her right wrist, and her shoulder wrenched as she was gripped tight.
“Going somewhere?” Sam asked, his voice a mocking drawl in the dark.
It was so not her night. Seline tried to send a burst of fire up at him. Controlling fire had never been her strong suit, but she could usually make it burn to life easily enough.
As the fire neared him, it just sputtered away in light plumes of smoke. The bastard laughed as the smoke drifted by him.
Laughed.
Then he started lifting her back up. The broken windowpane bit into his arm, and blood streaked down his flesh.
She tried to yank away from him—she would have preferred a few shattered bones to what was coming—but Sam’s grip was unbreakable. Her heart thudded into her chest. “Does it matter . . .” she asked as he raised her higher and her legs kicked uselessly . . . “that I didn’t have a choice in taking this job?” Another truth for him. Not that he’d believe her.
“Doesn’t matter at all.” Sam hauled her through the window. Oddly enough, the guy made sure she didn’t get another cut on her flesh. Probably saving all the blood and gore for his own personal delivery.
Oh, damn.
Then he dropped her onto the floor. When she shoved the hair back from her eyes, Seline glared up at him. His eyes weren’t blue any longer. They were demon black. Behind him, she saw the shadowy image of wide wings that shouldn’t be there.
I felt his scars.
Demons didn’t have wings, yet he had a demon’s eyes.
“What are you?” she whispered.
Down to five choices . . . and right then her top choice was not good at all.
He smiled.
 
“Fuck.” Alex lowered his binoculars and turned to the man beside him. “Did you just see that shit?”
The other hunter, face pale and eyes wide, nodded.
Sammael had caught Seline mid-drop and dragged her back inside the second-story window.
“He’s going to kill her,” Alex said, huffing out a breath. They’d parked far enough away that Sammael wouldn’t see them, but close enough so that they could keep tabs on Seline.
“Probably,” the guy next to him grunted.
Seline had been their best hope of eliminating Sammael. When bullets and knives didn’t work, you had to be real freaking creative about taking out the trash.
Rogziel wasn’t gonna like this. The boss had been so sure that Seline could handle this job.
“Do we go in after her?” the other hunter asked.
Alex lifted his binoculars one more time. All he could see was broken glass and the dark interior of the house. He didn’t hear any screams, not yet anyway. He’d figured Seline for the screaming type.
Maybe Seline would be able to work some of her magic.
Maybe not.
He couldn’t say that he particularly cared either way.
One less demon in the world.
“No, she’s on her own.” He nodded toward the driver. “Now get us the hell out of here before Sammael comes looking for us.” Because Seline would talk. She’d beg for her life. For mercy. Everyone always did.
Even the strong broke under the right pressure, and Alex knew that in spite of Seline’s demon powers, she wasn’t particularly strong. Using sex . . . how much weaker could you get?
Besides, he’d bet that Sammael knew all about applying the right pressure and pain.
I hope it’s quick, Seline.
Because while Alex hadn’t liked what Seline was, he hadn’t hated her, either. She’d tried to fight her instincts, and she’d done her duty on the jobs they’d worked together.
The van pulled away and left the faded antebellum house behind in the thick swamp.
Alex knew he’d never see Seline O’Shaw again. Another assassin would be sent after Sammael. Maybe this one would have better luck than the last three. Sammael was just a tough bastard to kill.
But everyone dies sometime.
BOOK: Angel Betrayed
5.77Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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