Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Max pulled out the gun and offered it, handle first, to Nicole. She took it, her hold hesitant, but the gun felt solid in her grip. Almost reassuring.
“Silver bullets,” he said, giving a nod. “It works best on wolf shifters, but all them damn animals will have some reaction to it. Fire and they’ll go down.” His lips kicked up a bit. “At least for a little while. Long enough for you to take their heads.”
Her lashes lifted, and she met his stare. “Long enough,” she repeated quietly. The words came out weak because it seemed like her throat might be closing up. Connor could come in at any moment. They didn’t have time to waste. “How much?” Why was she even asking? She had about one hundred bucks shoved in her back pocket. Well, she’d had it shoved there last night. She hadn’t even checked today.
Max ran his tongue over his fangs. “Well, now…”
“We’re not worried about shifters.” Keenan took the gun from her and slammed it back down on the wooden table. “What have you got that will take out a demon?”
Max’s black eyes narrowed. “That would depend on just how strong your demon is.” He shrugged. “If you’re talking low level, maybe a one or two...” He lifted his claws. “These will work well enough.”
Her hands fisted.
“I’m not talking about a level two.” Keenan glanced over his shoulder and his gaze tracked to the door. That thin wooden door wouldn’t keep out anyone for long. Surely not someone like Connor McQueen.
“Then what are you talkin’?” Max demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Powerful.” Keenan looked back at him. “High-level. Strong enough to burn the city to the ground around you.”
“What?” Nicole gasped. The demon who’d come hunting for her had been that strong? No, no way he’d turned tail and ran. The strong didn’t run. Just the weak.
Me.
The faint smile slipped from Max’s face. His eyes measured Keenan. “What are you?”
Nicole stepped closer to him. “I already told you, he’s with me.”
“He’s no pet.”
Pet—the slang for human prey that a vamp drank and fucked. She swallowed. “Yes, he is.” Nicole felt Keenan’s gaze dip to her face.
But Max didn’t seem to be buying her story. A muscle flexed along his jaw. “I want you both out of here. I don’t care how much money you have, you get the fuck out!” He ran a shaking hand through his hair. “I don’t want no level-ten demon comin’ after my ass.”
“But if he did,” Keenan murmured, “how would you fight him?”
Max’s lips parted on a surprised breath.
A soft knock sounded at the door. Soft—such a lie. Nicole moved fast as she spun and put her back against Keenan’s. The better to fight and defend.
So two seconds later, when the lock shattered and the door burst open, she was ready to meet Connor’s black stare.
“Hello, there, love,” he told her, his voice flowing with the faintest of English accents. “Fancy meeting you in a hellhole like this.”
Hard fingers squeezed her shoulder. Keenan. No. He’d whirled around at Connor’s entrance, giving his back to Max. A fatal mistake with a vampire.
Nicole grabbed Keenan’s arm and yanked him out of the way—just as Max came at him, with claws and teeth ready. Max hit her instead, taking her down to the floor. His claws scraped down her arm, but she punched at him and slammed her fist into his jaw. Max’s head snapped back, and she twisted as she managed to roll away from him.
When she leapt back to her feet, she saw that Connor stood in the doorway, fangs glinting. Two other vamps waited behind him. Figured. Connor had always liked an audience.
“You’re bleeding.” Keenan’s too-calm voice came from her right.
She didn’t want to think about her arm. Those claws had stung like a bitch. “I’m fine.” Actually, they were screwed. Connor was blocking the only way out.
Coming there had been a serious mistake.
“You shouldn’t have brought your pet, ” Max sneered as he circled her and Keenan. He wiped away the blood that trickled from his lips, then he licked his bloodstained fingers. “Only vamps dine here. Everyone else is on the menu.”
“Yeah, coming here was a bad idea,” she muttered, trying to put her body in front of Keenan’s. She offered a big, fake smile to the others. “My mistake. Won’t happen again.”
“Nicole.” Connor purred her name. “Of all the vamps, you’re the last one I expected to see tonight.”
“Who is he?” Keenan growled.
Connor’s smile was too knowing. “I’m the one who taught her about the sweet mix of pleasure and pain.”
She would not go there.
“We killed together.” Connor’s voice dripped with the memories. “Then I drank from her, and?—”
And Keenan was on him. Holy shit, she hadn’t even seen the guy move! Keenan had his hand wrapped around Connor’s throat and Connor’s minions were staring with wide eyes because—damn—he’d moved fast.
“Nicole doesn’t kill.” Keenan’s dark, rumbling voice filled the room.
Connor’s claws slashed down Keenan’s arms. “Yes, mate...she does. Not that she...had much...choice...”
Max tried to run at Keenan’s back. Again. This time, Nicole just grabbed the gun he’d been fool enough to leave out, and she shot him.
Max howled and fell to the floor. Silver might not kill their kind, but any bullet—especially one fired at close range and right into a man’s spine—would hurt like hell.
The gunshot had every eye turning to her. She readjusted her aim as she pointed at the minions. “Step toward him, and you’ll be digging out silver.”
They didn’t move.
“You’re defending me?” Keenan’s brows rose. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, well,” neither did I, “you saved my ass, so I figure now it’s my turn.”
He nodded. “But I didn’t need your help.”
Ungrateful much?
Keenan stared into Connor’s eyes. “Do you want to die?”
Connor jerked free. He’d always been strong. “Bastard, I am dead. And so are you. Nikki doesn’t have the balls to shoot me, not after what we went through. So I’ll cut you up, I’ll drain you and then?—”
Nicole shot Connor right in the chest. He stumbled back, then fell, screaming her name.
“It’s because of what we went through,” she corrected, aware that her fingers were shaking, “that I can shoot you.” Because she knew just how vicious Connor could be. Shoot or die. She didn’t want to die.
“Bitch!” Connor shoved a hand against his chest, and his fingers were immediately stained with blood.
Shouts echoed from the bar. Of course, the other vampires had heard the gunshots. With their enhanced hearing, there had been no way for them to miss the shots. Even humans wouldn’t miss the sounds of gunfire. Getting out of that place would be a nightmare.
Keenan stepped back.
“There’s got to be another way out of here,” Nicole said, her gaze scanning the room and her hands still trembling. Didn’t kill him. She’d just slowed Connor down. He’d recover the moment he got his fangs into one of his bimbos’ throats.
Not a human. Not dead. She tried to take a deep breath.
The minions had slipped away. They’d probably be back with reinforcements. “Maybe another door?—”
“No, shit, no, leave me alone!”
Her head snapped to the left. Keenan was crouched next to Max, and the angel had a knife in his hand. Where had Keenan gotten that? And he’d just sliced the vamp.
“It’s blood loss, right?” Keenan asked in that same quiet, calm voice he’d used when he told her that she was bleeding. A really creepy voice. “That’ll kill a vamp every time.” He lifted the knife to Max’s throat. “You could bleed to death slowly or else I could just take your head.” The blade cut into Max’s skin.
“ No! ”
Nicole didn’t move. “Uh, Keenan?”
“You never answered my question, Max.”
The shouts from outside grew louder. More vamps were creeping toward the door. She glanced down at the weapon she still held. How many more bullets were in the gun? How many vamps could she hold back?
“Tell me what you’ve got that will take out a level-ten demon.”
That was what Keenan still wanted to know? Her gaze whipped back up. “Tell him,” she snapped, her heart racing. Oh, they needed to get out of there. Fast.
Another vamp tried to come through the doorway. Nicole fired. Missed him.
Laughter teased her ears.
“You’re just...” Connor rasped. “Making them...hungrier.” His red hand pressed to his chest once more. He offered his twisted grin to her. “Missed my...heart.”
Because she’d planned to. Once, he’d helped her to push away the misery and hate that had nearly consumed her. “I owed you.” Was there a price for pleasure? “I don’t anymore. You come at me or at Keenan and I’ll—” What? Could she really kill him?
Connor’s gaze held hers. “You never had the killer instinct, did you?”
“What will take out the demons?” Keenan demanded.
“N-nothin’...”
The blade dug deeper. More blood flowed. Nicole’s hand was sweating around the gun. “Weapons like this one…” She lifted her gun. “They aren’t supposed to work against the stronger demons.”
“Nothing made by man.” This came from Connor. His eyes had slipped closed. He’d lost a lot of blood, but she knew he’d gulp more down at the first opportunity. The man loved his blood.
He was right, though. The stories said that no weapons made by man could kill those all-powerful level tens.
If one came after you, then you were pretty much screwed.
But why would a level ten want her?
You’re the key.
To a very broken lock.
“If you can’t help me,” Keenan gritted out, “then you’re no good to me.” Blood poured down the bright edge of the knife.
What was he doing? He shouldn’t kill. He was an?—
“Angel!” Max’s choked gasp froze them all.
Keenan leaned in close. “What about angels?”
“Angel’s...Dust ...”
The knife lifted a bit. The blood still flowed.
“Heard...” Max licked his lips. “Heard talk there was a voodoo priestess in LA—she mixed angel’s feathers with some herbs—m-made the Dust.” He was talking fast now. “It’s poison to demons. Even the badasses. Some think you…you might can use angel blood, too, to make it…but you need a whole fucking lot of it.” A rusty, rough laugh. “Pretty much the whole damn angel. Easier to use feathers.”
“You don’t have any of that Angel’s Dust here?” Keenan wanted to know.
“No.” A rough laugh. “Like I said, either takes feathers or it takes a lot of their blood...to make it. And I ain’t seen no fuckin’ angels to kill.”
The knife trembled over Max’s throat. She knew just how badly Keenan wanted to do some killing of his own.
She hurried to him and brushed her left hand over his arm. “We need to get out of here.”
Keenan nodded and rose, his body stone hard.
Nicole looked at the door. Vamps stood there. Smiling, waiting. They’d have to fight their way out. Pity she wasn’t a very good fighter.
“You shouldn’t turn on your kind,” the blond woman in front of the pack said, her teeth stained red. “Not very loyal.”
Nicole forced a shrug. “Guess I’m just not the loyal type?—”
Fire exploded. A red-hot ball of flames flew right at the woman and the other waiting vamps. They screamed and ran, fighting each other in their fury to escape from the fire.
A fire that had come from nowhere.
No, not nowhere. Keenan’s hand was up and his fingers pointed right at the fire. Wisps of smoke surrounded his hand. The smoke curled over him and seemed to hold him tight.
Because the fire had come from him.
Damn.
Demons could control fire. Apparently, angels could, too.
Nicole managed to shut her mouth. Then she shook her head. “You should have mentioned that little talent sooner.” She could have saved some bullets. Actually, she would save some. Silver would definitely come in handy for her at some point.
The vamps were running, really hauling butt now. Nicole tucked the weapon into the back waistband of her jeans.
Keenan glanced at his smoking fingers. “Didn’t realize I had the talent.”
She pushed him toward the door. “Keep that hand up. You might have to burn us a way out of here.”
But, no, the vamps had scattered. The humans were still there, and they stared with dazed eyes and bloody bodies.
Nicole’s jaw locked. Why do they choose to be prey?
“Come on,” Keenan urged, and his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She flinched at the contact because his touch was so hot. Not hot enough to burn, but...
She swallowed and her gaze met his. “Keenan?”
He’d already looked away. “I should burn this place to the ground.”
“They won’t leave,” she said, waving her hand toward the humans. “They’re too far gone. You burn it, and they’ll die.”
He stalked toward the door. She glanced back, that blood tempting her.
Until she met those vacant stares. Lost. Helpless. Desperate.
Me.
The motorcycle was still parked outside. A miracle in this neighborhood. She secured the gun in the saddlebags, and they climbed onto the bike. He revved the engine, then they streaked forward. She held on tight, as tightly as she could, and drank in the heat that flowed off his body the way she’d normally drink in blood.
A shudder shook him. A long, hard shudder. Her hold tightened on him even more. “Keenan?”
The motorcycle sped faster as it ate up the pavement. She glanced back. No sign of vamps.
He snaked to the left. To the right. Then he turned down an alley, and the motorcycle snarled to a stop. He jumped off the bike at once and stormed away from her.
“Keenan?” Nicole sat on the bike, uncertain as she watched him. “What’s wrong?”
He jerked at his shirt and ripped the material from collar to waist. A long, jagged tear that revealed his chest. “ So hot. ”
She cleared her throat. When you conjured fire, it stood to reason you might get a bit warm. But, wait, he was sweating. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes kept flickering from blue to black.
Not good.
Her gaze swept the alley. “We’re not safe here.” Understatement of the century. She didn’t see anyone, but thanks to her vamp-enhanced hearing, Nicole could hear the slight shuffle of footsteps. Someone hunted here.
Of course, these days, someone hunted everywhere.
“So damn hot. ”
She jumped off the motorcycle and went to him. One touch and, oh yes, he was hot. Burning as if he had a fever. “You really haven’t ever conjured fire before?” She didn’t know how this whole creating fire thing worked.
He jerked his head in a no.
“Great. Okay.” She pulled him a little closer and let her gaze dart down the alley once more. “I saw a little motel a few turns back.” One of those no-tell motels that charged by the hour. “We’ll hide out there, dunk you under a cold shower, and you’ll be fine in no time.” Maybe. He’d be fine or he’d start burning everything around him.
Uh, oh. Right then, she was the closest thing to him.
That blue/black gaze bored into her. “You need to get away from me.”
Because he’d obviously had the same thought. If he couldn’t pull this power back, she’d be feeling the burn up close and personal. Like witches, vamps burned too fast.
Despite the rumors out there, vamps actually weren’t that hard to kill. An old-fashioned stake and a beheading worked. Bleeding out—yeah, that would give you a dead vamp, too. Or you could always let the flames take a vamp straight to hell. Trade one fire for another.
She swallowed. “You need me.” Because Keenan seemed to be having trouble standing. He hadn’t left her when she was at her breaking point, and she wouldn’t leave him.
Unless the fire got too close.
Nicole pulled him back toward the motorcycle. She climbed on first. “Just put your arms around me. Hold on, for a little while.”
He eased down behind her. The bike dipped beneath his weight. Then his hands came up and curled around her stomach. His heat lanced right through her T-shirt. But it wasn’t painful. Not even close.
Pleasure.
It took her two tries to start the bike. They almost fell once, and then she got the motorcycle to a weaving acceleration. They didn’t go fast. It wasn’t a smooth ride, but she managed to drive them back to the motel.
A fifty on the counter got them room number seven. Lucky seven. She pushed him inside, flipped the lock, and then started to strip him.
The angel studied the chaos at the feeding room. Humans—so pale and listless. Ready for death. Good. Death was ready for them.
One touch, and a soul was his. Ready for the afterlife and any judgment that would come.
So many souls. So easy to take.
But, no, death didn’t get to pick and choose. Death took only the ones on the list.
So he walked past the vamp with the bloody chest, the one that seemed to actually see him. He took the humans who were marked and let the others escape.
The taint of the Fallen hung in the air, mixing with the scent of ash that clung to the floor. To the walls.
The Fallen was discovering his power. A dangerous thing for those around Keenan. He’d be out of control with the initial rush of power.
The first taste was always the most tempting—and therefore the most dangerous. Keenan would want more, need more.
Demons weren’t the only ones who became addicted too quickly.
His gaze searched the room. Take another.
They all had their addictions.
He was strong enough to fight his. The Fallen wasn’t.
More death would come.
Her hands were on him. Soft, cool hands that stroked—and ripped away his clothes.
“Nicole.” Keenan’s tongue felt thick and swollen in his mouth, but, right then, his whole body felt that way. Courtesy of the fire and her stripping hands.
She tossed his shirt onto the floor. “Kick out of your shoes,” she ordered.
He nearly fell, but he managed to get the shoes off.
Then her hands went for the waist of his jeans. The heat inside flared hotter. The air around them crackled with sparks.
She froze. He saw the pulse racing at the base of her throat. “You in control?” Nicole whispered.
Barely. He nodded.
Her hands brushed against his abdomen. Keenan sucked in a sharp breath. The fire seemed to burn his entire body from the inside out, but the need—that was centered in his throbbing cock. Her fingers were so close, and he wanted her hand on his cock.
No, he wanted his cock in her.
She pushed down his jeans. Her tongue swiped over her lips as her gaze dipped. “We, ah...” She stepped back, turned, and hurried toward the bathroom. “We need to get you cooled down.”
He stood there, hands clenching, naked. Hungry, hot, wanting her.
The roar of water filled the room.
“Keenan?”
He kicked out of the jeans that had locked around his ankles. He put one foot in front of the other and forced his body to walk into that bathroom. She stood next to the shower, and water pumped down in a hard stream.
“It’s ice cold. It should help you.” Her voice was husky, sexy, and her gaze fell to his cock.
Need.
He wasn’t supposed to need her. He’d never wanted another. Never craved. Never wanted to take.
But he wanted to take her more than he wanted another breath.
He stepped into the shower. Like icy needles, the water pelted his body. But the heat didn’t fade. The lust didn’t ease away. And he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Water poured over his shoulders, slid down his chest, and he found his hand lifting toward her.
Her own eyes had begun to slowly darken and fade to black. In that stare, he saw the same raw need and lust he felt.
“Nicole.” Forbidden. This wasn’t the way for angels.
But he wasn’t an angel anymore. If he’d already paid the price for his lust, then shouldn’t he take the pleasure that waited for him?
She stepped closer to the shower. Water sprayed on her and dampened her T-shirt. Then her hands lifted. Not to reach for him, but to yank off that T-shirt.
The heat consumed him. Burning hot, so hot from within, and he ached.
His gaze raked her. Sweet skin. Silky. Smooth. The plain black bra hugged her curving breasts...
In mere moments, the bra hit the floor. So did her boots, her socks, her jeans, and the soft cotton panties.
Steam began to rise in the ice-cold shower—the steam rose from his body.
“You have to cool down,” she murmured.
The sight of her naked body wasn’t going to cool him off. Right then, he didn’t think anything could.
Flat stomach, flaring hips. Legs that were long. Sensual.
She stepped into the shower. Her nipples—dark pink—pebbled at the lash of cold water.
Take. Taste.
He wanted her so badly, but when he looked down, he realized that he’d clenched his hands. The better not to touch.
She shivered at the cold even as she came closer. Her breasts brushed against his chest.
His eyes closed. The touch was agony. A sensual hell.
More.
He wanted her nipples in his mouth. He’d seen humans fuck. Once, he’d thought it looked messy. Hot.
Now he wanted that—the shove of bodies, the pant of breath, and the tight clasp of her sex.
He wanted it all.
“You’re not cooling down,” she said, voice husky, and her hands rose to clasp his shoulders.
Keenan laughed. A rough bark of sound. “When you touch me, there’s no way I can’t burn.”
She rose onto her toes. “Maybe—maybe that’s what you need to do. Just let the fire out.”
Her lips were so close he could taste the sweetness of the kiss that would be. “And if it scorches you?”
Nicole shook her head. Her dark locks were already soaked. “It won’t.” The icy water had her trembling, but she still leaned in ever closer to him. “ It won’t. ” Her voice sounded certain, but there was so much she didn’t know.
Her lips—cold from the kiss of water—touched his. Her mouth was open, her lips soft, and her tongue pushed into his mouth.
He was lost. But then, with her, he always had been.
His hands were rough with need as he held her tight. He wanted every inch of her body against his. His tongue met hers and tasted. His mouth opened wider because he needed more of her. Wanted everything.
Her hand slid between their bodies. Slick. Certain. Her fingers skated over his nipples, and a growl vibrated in his throat. She pushed between them, sliding her hand down, down.
When she touched his cock, his body jerked.
“Easy,” she whispered as she pulled back and lifted her gaze to meet his. The water wasn’t as cold now. He’d made it hot. Couldn’t control it.
No control.
Her fingers wrapped around his cock, curving over the base of his erection, and she began to pump. Long, slow pumps as her lips skimmed down his neck.
Bite. He wanted her mouth on him as her hands squeezed his dick. Because her touch— burning hell —nothing had ever been so good. The pressure was just right, her fingers tight, and now, moving faster, faster .
“It’s okay,” she said, her voice stronger, and she pushed him back so that his shoulders hit the tile. “You won’t hurt me.” Her lips curved in a wan smile. “I’m stronger than I look.”
So am I. He was strong, but still, with her, close to breaking.
His breath came harder, and his heart thudded against his chest. Her tongue licked his throat. A hot lick that had his need spiking. Then she began to slip down his body. Steam rose off her, and her lips feathered down his chest. Down his abdomen.
His muscles locked and when her lips closed over his cock…
The pleasure erupted inside of him. One lick of her tongue, just one, and Keenan lost control. Lost everything.
His vision dimmed to red. A distant roar filled his ears. The pleasure mixed with the fire in his body, burning, sweeping away his past, sweeping him into the maelstrom of need and hunger and...
Yes.
Pleasure.
So much pleasure.
She licked him again. Trailed her fingers over his cock and looked up at him.
He knew then he wouldn’t get enough. That lash of wild pleasure—it had only been the beginning and he needed, had to get more.
Everything.
No wonder humans lied and killed for sex. No wonder .
He caught her under her arms, lifted her up high, and barely felt her weight.
“Keenan, we should?—”
He kissed her, thrusting his tongue deep and loving the soft moan that trembled in her throat. His arms moved to cradle her, and, keeping his mouth crushed to hers, he carried her from the bathroom.
The heat that had seemed to burn his body from the inside out had channeled and focused now—and the focus was on her. Easing her down carefully, he put her on the bed. His gaze swept her body, noting every curve. Every small freckle. Every inch of perfect skin. Her legs shifted on the bed, parting, and he swallowed. “I want...”
Her right hand eased down her stomach. Dipped toward her parted legs.
The roar was back, filling his ears. No, not a roar this time. His heartbeat. Pounding so fast.
“I want you,” Nicole confessed, and with that, nothing would have kept him from her.
He leaned over her and his right knee pushed down on the sagging mattress. He didn’t touch her, was almost afraid to. After having her haunt his dreams— just like this —he didn’t want to risk reaching out and having her vanish.
But this wasn’t a dream. Or a nightmare. This was real. He could just glimpse the edge of her fangs and her eyes were still pitch-black.
Not quite like his fantasies.
But she was still Nicole.
His fingers trailed down her arm. He’d always loved her skin. He bent and his breath blew lightly over her nipple.
She arched toward him. “ Keenan! ”
That was how a woman should say his name. With need and lust and hunger.
Not fear.
His tongue snaked out and licked her nipple. Sampled it and he found that he loved the taste. His mouth opened wider and he closed his lips over her. Sucking. Tasting.
More.
His teeth scored her flesh. Perhaps there was a reason why vamps liked to bite so much. The biting was pleasurable.
Her legs shifted as her breath came faster. He liked that.
His fingers found her other breast and lightly caressed her nipple. But then he had to taste it, too. Her breasts were sweet, the tight nipples like ripe strawberries—a new temptation he’d discovered.
The world was meant to tempt.
The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils. She wants me. This wasn’t a game. No trick. Nicole wanted him just as much as he wanted her. His head lifted. He stared into her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” she told him, her voice pure sin. “I won’t bite you. I’m in control.”
He wasn’t. And as for biting… “I will.” Then he began to lick his way down her stomach as he explored every inch of her. He couldn’t touch her enough. Couldn’t taste her enough. And, yes, he had to bite. Had to nip because he liked the way she gasped his name when she felt the edge of his teeth. Not enough pressure to hurt, not for her, just enough to make the need mount.
He pushed her legs apart more and settled between them. His heart was heavy in his chest, his muscles tense and his cock was so aroused and swollen he felt like he’d explode at any minute.
His fingers shook when he touched her. She gasped, and he looked up, his gaze shooting to her face. But no pain was there, only pleasure.
He touched her again, letting his finger stroke her, learning the hidden curves and finding the sweet spots that made her moan and arch.
He leaned in even closer because there was more he needed to know.
How does she taste?
“Keenan.” Her nails dug into shoulders. “I need?—”
“I need to taste you.” He’d never thought to have her like this. Fantasies were one thing. Reality another. But now that he had her, spread beneath him, open, ready, he wasn’t going to back away.
One taste.
Would one be enough?
His lips skimmed over her sex. His tongue licked.
Not even close to enough.
A hungry growl burst from his lips as his hands clamped down tighter on her legs. He opened her more, tasting, licking, savoring every inch of her hot core.
Her moans were in his ears, her claws digging into his shoulders, and her hips pushing closer to him. He heard her call his name. He heard the broken rasp of her breaths, but he wasn’t done.
Her body tensed, and he looked up just in time to see the blind pleasure flow across her face—and he pressed his mouth harder to her and savored the taste of her release as she came.
Then he slowly climbed back up her body. Her breath heaved, and her hands reached for him. He kissed her. Keenan drove his tongue into her mouth and let that wild hunger build and build.
He wanted to plunge into her body. To take and take and let the release rip through him.
Forbidden.
Like he gave a damn about the rules anymore. Those rules were for angels, and he didn’t have a chance of ever flying again, not with his wings burned off.
Take.
He couldn’t fly, but he could have her. He would have her.
Then the scent reached him. The light, almost sweet scent of flowers in the air.
The scent that always came when an angel was near.
He tore his mouth from hers and spun around. His hand automatically went to the thin sheet, and he yanked it over her body. “Get out of here!” Keenan thundered.
“What?” Nicole demanded. “After what we just—you want me to leave? ”
He grabbed her wrist and chained her to him. “Not you.” His gaze swept the room. His nose followed that scent. His eyes narrowed as he focused his stare on the far corner. “You into watching now?” A dark taunt directed at the one waiting.
“Uh, Keenan?” Worry had entered Nicole’s voice. “No one else is here.”
“He’s here.” Keenan rose from the bed and didn’t bother to cover his body. Angels weren’t supposed to care about nudity. And he didn’t care about his—just hers. “Unless he’s here to kill me, then he needs to drag his winged ass out of here.” He felt the wind whisper against his face. Angel power. “Can’t you smell him?” Keenan asked her because a vamp’s enhanced senses should at least be able to pick up that light scent. Most humans—those who stopped to pay attention—caught the telltale fragrance.
The sheets rustled. “I... yes. ”
Keenan glanced back at her.
Her gaze was wide, her lips open. “I know that smell. In the alley, when that vampire attacked me...” She jumped from the bed and clutched the sheet tightly to her. “I smelled it then.” Now it was her turn to sweep the room with her gaze. “There was so much blood, I couldn’t figure out why I just...smelled flowers.”
Because an angel had been near.
“Is he the one who was there?” The worry was gone from her voice. Only fury remained. “This jerk in here now—is he the one who stood there and watched while that vamp attacked me?”
Another whisper of wind blew on his face. Then the floral scent began to fade as the angel vanished. What had been the purpose of that visit?
A threat?
Keenan didn’t take so well to those angelic threats anymore.
“He’s leaving,” Nicole realized. She grabbed Keenan’s arm. “I can tell. The scent is almost gone.” She turned, and her gaze tracked all around the room. “Why can’t I see him?”
“Because you’re not dead.” He exhaled slowly. Time for more truth. “You can only see an angel when you’re dying—in those last few seconds before death.”
Her lips curved down. “Haven’t you heard? I am dead.”
“No, you’re un dead. There’s a difference.” She’d died only for a few seconds. Not long enough for her soul to leave. Just long enough for her body to change when the virus got inside her.
That was what vampirism really was. A virus. One that—if it wasn’t monitored—could be passed along until the whole human race died out. Died out or transformed.
He rolled his shoulders and forced himself to meet her eyes. “He’s gone.”
“He?” Her brows rose. “Could you see him?” Nicole pressed.
No lies . “I saw enough.”
“Was he the one that was there that night?” Her delicate jaw locked. “Was he the bastard that just stood there while the vamp tried to kill me?”
“No.” One of the things about angels—fallen angels or those still in grace—they could never lie. He exhaled. “That bastard…well, that would have been me. I was the one there the night you were attacked by the vampire. The angel who watched? It was me.”