Chapter 3
Chapter Three
She 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 the stage in Temptation, and he’d craved her. But he hadn’t just wanted a small taste of Seline. 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. Sam 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. 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 skin.
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 the 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 and found that the taste of her nipple was just as addictive as her mouth. Sweet, like a strawberry. She was so soft. He let his teeth lightly score her.
“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. “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 murmured, 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 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 head lowered and his 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. Things like gunshots and knife slices basically just pissed them off, and the Fallen healed quickly from any wounds. Fallen were too powerful for mortal weapons. But a succubus wouldn’t use a human 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.” He wouldn’t think about those jerks at the moment. “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 threw 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 tightly.
“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 skin.
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 in her chest. “Does it matter that I didn’t have a choice in taking this job?” she asked as he raised her higher and her legs kicked uselessly. Another truth for him. Not that he’d believe her.
“Doesn’t matter at all.” Sam hauled her through the window. Oddly enough, he made sure she didn’t get another cut on her body. 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 breathed. She was 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.
Sooner or later, Sammael would see hell again.
Then he’d be the one screaming.
Sam was naked. And aroused. Seline tried to yank her eyes away from the swollen length of his cock, but when she stared up at his furious features, um—that view wasn’t exactly good.
“Who sent you.” Not a question. A furious demand.
She blinked and tried to look innocent. Right, like she’d ever been able to manage that feat. Thanks to her incubus father, playing innocent had always been a stretch of her acting abilities. “Look, Sam, I don’t know what you?—”
“I know what you are.” He stalked closer. She scrambled to her feet because she wasn’t just going to kneel on the floor and wait for him to kill her. She wasn’t easy pickings. “Your skin is still glowing, your cheeks are flushed, and the room is nearly crackling with your power.” His eyes narrowed to chips of black fire. “Did you really think I wouldn’t know when a succubus was dream-walking with me?”
Well, she’d hoped he wouldn’t know. The others hadn’t. Most guys just thought they were in the middle of one awesome dream. Just a dream that folks didn’t exactly wake up from.
“Seline!”
Her hands clenched. “I’m not a succubus.” Her voice came out strong and clear—a very good thing. She was rather proud of that tone. But her heart still raced hard enough to shake her chest, and her gaze wanted to dip down the broad expanse of his chest.
Focus. Why did she have to possess such a weakness? Fear should be her only concern then, not lingering lust. Again, thanks, Dad. Sometimes, she wondered, did he ever hear her thoughts in hell? Probably not, but it never hurt to send out bad vibes.
“Liar,” Sam tossed out, and the back of his hand skimmed down her cheek. “I suspected the first time I saw you on stage. The humans got weak while you just seemed to shine.”
Shine. Yes, that was one of the effects. When she absorbed enough energy, her skin took on a faint glow. The glow was relative to the amount of power she stored. The more power, the greater that glow.
Sam had been a wonderful source of power. All that sensual energy just waiting for her. Now she was lit up like a human sparkler.
His head leaned toward her, and his lips brushed lightly over hers. Seline refused to back down. Instead, she just stole more of his energy. His mistake. He should really stop underestimating her.
“Did you know,” he began, his mouth hovering over hers, “I can kill you as easily as I kiss you?”
Seline swallowed. And I can kill you with a kiss.
His tongue whispered over her lips. “Succubus.”
Only a half-breed one. That’s why she had to be physically close in order to dream-walk with him. Her lashes lifted, and she gazed into his eyes. Scarily focused eyes that she still found strangely compelling. Then she voiced the suspicion that had fueled her heart as she said, “Angel.” The wings…
“Not anymore. These days, I’m Fallen.”
For an instant, her world seemed to stop as fear froze her blood. Fallen—just like her mother. An angel for a mother and a demon incubus for a father. Oh, yeah, she’d been screwed up from birth, and since her parents had wound up killing each other before she could even walk… Hello, nightmare life .
Seline knocked his hands away. “I didn’t want this job.”
“Oh?” One black brow rose. “So you’re done playing the innocent victim in need of help?”
“I’ve never been innocent.” Time to drop the act. Partially, anyway.
“Neither have I.” His grin was wicked.
Fallen. Damn. She hadn’t counted on that, but now it made sense. No wonder Rogziel had been so determined to get Sam. Who better for her boss to take down than Sam? He’d been hot to send Sam to hell, and now she truly understood why.
His knowing smile soon slipped away. “Moorecroft was just bullshit. A sob story to get close to me.”
“No.” She shook her head. “He truly wants me dead. I did kill his friend, but I promise the bastard deserved what he had coming.”
“Like I deserve death?”
Rogziel thinks so. “Don’t you?” she threw right back. This was her job. Nothing easy, nothing pretty. Just death. Punishment. Someone had to stop the monsters out there, and she was the perfect aberration to do the job.
But this is my last assignment. I’m getting out. Going to vanish. Because she couldn’t wash the blood off her hands any longer. She’d tried to atone for the sins of the past by killing monsters, but their blood stained as dark as anyone else’s.
Sam stepped back, dropping his hand. He exhaled on a rough sigh. “Someone sent you to die.”
Possibly. She held her ground. “You really think you can kill me?”
That wicked grin flashed again, and her breath caught. “I’m Sammael, sweetheart, I can kill anyone. ” He lifted his hand and stared at his fingers. “I’m the angel of death. All it takes is a touch…” He glanced her way. “And I can rip your soul right from your body.”
Angel of death. The room seemed to dim. Unlike most Other, she knew quite a bit about angels. Not so much Fallen, because who would want to fall from paradise? Other than my mother. But she knew the angel lore. There were so many angels in heaven. Thousands of them flying around.
There were punishment angels, messenger angels, guardians, and, the most powerful—the angels of death.
An angel of death could truly kill with a touch. Just a touch. Rogziel had sent her after Sammael, and he’d neglected to tell her that real vital bit of information.
She wet her lips. “Why did you fall?” Most people might not actually believe an angel could fall, but she wasn’t like everyone else. Her mother had fallen because she’d been tempted by an incubus. Erina had been weak, and she’d paid for her crime.
And I’ve been paying, too. Paying her entire life for sins she’d never committed.
“I suppose I got a taste for killing.” His gaze flashed back to that deceptive blue. “So I started to kill whoever the hell I wanted.” His gaze raked her. “Want to guess who is next on my list?”
No, she didn’t want to guess at all. Seline swallowed. The odds of her survival were looking real slim. “Can you—can you at least put on clothes before you kill me?”
He blinked and frowned. “A succubus cares about modesty?”
Her back teeth clenched. “I told you?—”
“Yes, but nearly every word you say is a lie. So why should I believe anything you say?”
Her bare feet pressed into the hardwood floor. Her dripping blood—maybe his?—had already stained the floor. “Because you need me.”
He laughed like that line was hilarious. Jerk.
“You need me,” she snapped out, raising her voice to be heard over his laughter, and then she played her trump card. “If you want to find your brother.”
That stopped his laughter. “Seline.” Her name was a warning. “You don’t want to make me angrier than I am.”
Oh, was that possible? She hadn’t realized. She almost rolled her eyes. “If you want your brother—” Hell, what had been the guy’s name? Azik? Azra? She couldn’t remember for sure because she’d just heard Alex say it once. Better shorten it to be safe. “If you want to see Az, then you’ll back off.” She flashed him what she knew was her own wicked grin. “Or you’ll never get the vengeance you want.”
The lines around his eyes tightened, but Sam made no move to touch her. Good. She didn’t trust his touch.
Seline didn’t lower her guard. She knew better than to relax when a snake was close to striking. “I didn’t come in alone. You were right. Earlier, we were being watched.” The hunter in the van were her backup. “We need to get out of here,” she told him. “If we don’t, then they’ll blow this house up with us inside.” She wasn’t lying. As soon as Rogziel realized she hadn’t been successful, then he’d send out new orders.
Burn, baby, burn. Humans in the city would see the flames from this house as they lit up the night.
Sam waved his hand, and just that easily, he was dressed. Huh. Interesting trick that she’d never been able to manage.
He still didn’t touch her. Sam just stared at her with enough heat in his gaze to singe her flesh. “Take me to Az.”
She nodded, more than ready to deal. But first, “Promise that if I do, you’ll let me walk away.”
He grabbed her arm, and they flew through the window. Flew. More glass shattered around them. Seline clamped her mouth closed, refusing to cry out. Won’t let him hear my fear. Some monsters liked fear too much. Another lesson she’d learned the hard way. She plummeted straight down and choked back a scream. But her body didn’t slam into the unforgiving earth. Sam wrapped his arms around her and when they hit the ground, he cushioned her.
Seline blinked. “Why did you protect me?”
Without answering, he twisted and dragged her to her feet. Then they were running. Not toward his car, but toward the waiting darkness of the swamp.
Smart. If anyone actually was still watching, their eyes would lock on the Jag. Not on the gator-infested swamp. The insects chirped around her, but Seline refused to tense. Hate bugs. Hate snakes. The Fallen will pay for this. Once she figured out how to make him pay.
A weathered dock waited up ahead. A small motorboat was tethered close by. Sam jumped in the boat and glanced back at her.
The wooden dock trembled beneath her feet. “You didn’t give me your promise,” she reminded him stubbornly as her hands clenched into fists.
“What do you actually think a promise from me is worth?” He started the motor with a quick yank that flexed his muscles. The black water lapped at the boat.
“You don’t trust me,” she said, voice soft. “And I can’t risk trusting you.” But she wanted to. Her life was hell, and she was on a kill mission that she didn’t want. If Sam could just get her out of this mess, maybe she’d have an actual chance at survival. At a new life.
He’s strong enough. He can give me freedom.
Or she could take him out and earn her own freedom. Provided, of course, that Sam didn’t kill her first.
He turned slowly and fixed his intent stare on her. “Who sent you after me?”
“Does it matter? I’m sure that I’m not the first assassin put on your trail.”
“Not the first,” he agreed as the motor hummed and water spit out behind the boat. “But you’re the only one I let live.” His body was a big, strong shadow. His voice seemed to make the water shudder.
“I wasn’t going to kill you tonight.” She felt obliged to point that fact out. Not that she expected it to earn her any points.
“Because you couldn’t.”
No, he didn’t realize how strong she really was. She’d held back with him because she needed him.
But for a few moments there, she’d been afraid her grand plan had blown up in her face. Your ass is mine.
“I’ll take you to your brother,” Seline offered, “but you have to promise to help me once you have him.” Couldn’t the Fallen see the benefit to her offer? She’d thought to seduce her way into getting his aid. Put the guy under, get him hooked on her—and then she’d been sure he’d do anything for her.
Even kill.
But it looked like Plan A wasn’t working so well. Time for the back-up plan.
Sam moved again in that blur that he seemed to do so well and snagged her wrist. “Still making deals? Don’t you know better than to bargain with the devil?”
Her laughter was bitter and weak. “I do. The bargain with him is what got me into this mess.” She let her glamour fall away, and she knew that her eyes would be as black as the water that surrounded them. “I want to be free, and you—you’re the only one who can help me.” Now that she knew what he was, Seline was even more certain that Sam was her ticket to freedom.
Freedom just had a hefty price tag these days.
“Another desperate appeal for my help?” he mocked.
She considered slugging him. Right. Like a hit would hurt Sam. She’d probably break her hand, and he wouldn’t even flinch. “A deal this time. You help me to walk away, and I let you live.” He should jump at this chance.
But Sam shook his head. “No dice, sweetheart. You take me to my brother.” He tugged her into the boat. “You get me to him or you?—”
Seline kissed him. She pressed her lips tightly against his and crushed her body to Sam’s. The kiss was hot, deep, wild, and when their tongues met, lust exploded inside her.
And inside him because she could feel Sam’s need blooming in the air. Getting deeper, stronger. Hotter. Wilder.
Seline took that need, absorbing it greedily even as she rubbed her body against his. Oh, but Sam had power. So much wonderful, tempting power.
Power that is mine now.
Taking that power, absorbing it—the energy gave her the boost she needed. She didn’t have to be inside a dream in order to take control from him. She could beat Sam right here in reality.
But she let the kiss linger. Just a moment longer. One minute. Two. Sam knew how to kiss, and his body promised such raw pleasure.
Next time.
She planted her hands against his chest. Should have seen this coming, Sam. Seline shoved him back just as she’d done in the dream-walk. Only this time, her throw packed one hell of a lot more punch.
He landed in the water with a splash. Gator bait. She grabbed the throttle and rammed it home. The boat lurched forward.
Sam would chase her. She knew it. Shaking him wouldn’t be an easy task.
Of course, she didn’t actually want to shake him. She just wanted to bring him in closer to base.
Whether Sam liked it or not, they were going to be partners. He could hate her, he could distrust her, but in the end, he’d need her. Just as she needed him.
Seline swiped a hand over her mouth. I can still taste him. Sam’s taste was incredible. Better than that fancy wine she’d grown to crave.
“Seline!” His roar sent birds and insects scattering into the air.
She smiled. Sam was turning out to be exactly what she’d expected. Killing him would have been a crying shame. Some monsters needed to be put down, true, but others...
Others just needed to be let out of their cages so they could attack the real bastards out there. Watch out, Rogziel. This time, you’re my target.
The angel would never know what hit him.
Time for him to be punished.