Chapter 19
K yla didn’t know how to react. That was more than an understatement. After all, what the hell do you do when the monsters from your nightmares come to life right before you? But not only are they the terrifying creatures from beyond the veil, but they’re also menacingly hot and give you shivers where they really shouldn’t.
With her chest heaving, her heart pounding, and her mind racing, Kyla was nothing but a jumble of every emotion going. Highly charged didn’t quite describe it. Everything tingled with energy, everything, and she needed to do something, anything.
“Adam?” she breathed, raking her eyes over his demonic face. Her fuzzy memories from the previous night suddenly shattered, becoming crystal clear. “Oh my,” she said, sucking in a sharp breath. “You guys caused the earthquake...”
The pressure pinning her to the wall released instantly. The monster from the deepest recesses of her dreams bolted back inside its hole in the blink of an eye. And there, just like nothing had ever happened, stood the smoking hot Adam Worthington.
“Name’s Azazel,” he replied. “Pleasure to meet you.”
His green eyes gleamed with joy as a playful smirk unfolded over his pink lips. Kyla couldn’t help but stare at his mouth, his plump silky lips just there, inviting her to touch, to kiss.
Kyla threw herself forwards, grabbing each of his cheeks with her hands and planting her lips on his. A split second of shock stunned him before he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against him. Azazel couldn’t help but groan. The feel of warmth from a woman compared to nothing else on earth, or in Hell.
As their tongues clashed together in a furious battle of passion and dominance, Kyla dropped her hands from his face and started grabbing at his shirt. Desire pooled between her legs, the intense throbbing driving her need for relief.
Azazel pushed her back against the icy wall, trapping her beneath his bulky, solid body. Kyla found the edge of his shirt and slid her hands up underneath it, letting out a moan of pleasure as she felt her way over his washboard abs.
More than satisfied with that, she moved her hands down, desperate to see what he was hiding beneath his layers.
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, turning her mouth away from him. “It’s not got like spikes or anything on it, has it?”
Azazel stared back at her, disbelief running through his eyes. “What? No.” He chuckled. “I’m all but perfectly human, just with a few upgrades.”
Kyla delved deeper inside his jeans, feeling his long, thick length already hard. As she wrapped her hand around his cock, her thumb and fingers barely touching, she licked her lips. “Definitely with an upgrade.”
As she started moving her hand up and down his length, already yearning to feel him inside her, Keith let out a groan, bringing her rather sharply back to the present.
In the mayhem of Azazel bursting in and taking Kyla away from Keith, he had collapsed into a round heap on the stone-cold floor.
“Fuck,” Kyla whispered, taking her hand away from Azazel, the passionate moment gone as if a bucket of ice had been chucked over her. “I’d forgotten about him. Why did you pull me off him?”
“I couldn’t just let you kill him. To take a life is something even the strongest of men struggle with.”
Kyla leaned her head back against the wall, needing some solidity and some grounding of her current reality. The last few minutes had been a whirlwind.
“You’re a...a thing, a monster,” she said. “And you’re worried about me killing someone?”
“A demon would be the correct term,” Azazel replied, rearranging himself in his jeans. “And I’m not worried about him being killed, I’m worried about you being the one to do it.”
Kyla frowned. “But why?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “The first kill is hard for any man. The more you do, the more numb you become to it. But for a woman? It’s different. They’re more emotional.”
Kyla snorted. “I beg your pardon?”
A lopsided grin tugged at his lips. “Females of all species are more emotional than males. I’m afraid it’s the way nature works. As a result, there is a significant impact on a woman when she kills someone as opposed to a man.”
“Wow. You know nothing about me, Azazel. I can handle anything. Especially oxygen thieves like that wanker,” she said, pointing at Keith.
Azazel cocked his head to one side, the grin falling from his face. “Do you really want to kill him?”
“Too right. He’s a menace to society and a threat to all females.”
Azazel held his hand out to her. “Come with me.”
Eyeing up his offer with trepidation, wondering if there was some sort of trick or a contract she’d be unwittingly signing, Kyla finally gave in and took his hand.
Azazel led her over to Keith and bent down, pulling her down with him. “Keep your hand in mine,” he said. “And close your eyes. Focus on what you can feel. Tell me what you can feel.”
Kyla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Thinking about her hand connected with Azazel’s, she concentrated on her sense of touch. After a few seconds, a faint beat, a pulse, thrummed through her skin.
“I can feel a pulse, faint, but it’s there.”
“Good,” Azazel said. “That’s Keith’s pulse. Now, I’m going to ask you this one last time. Do you really want to kill him?”
“He’s a vile piece of shit,” she replied.
“I just need to say, take it from someone who knows all too well the damage such an act can leave in your mind. Think very carefully.”
Kyla opened her eyes and smiled at him. “And take it from someone who knows all too well the damage their kind of acts leave in your mind. Can you imagine a teenage girl trying to defend herself against him? Do you think I want to be the person who could have done something to prevent it, but didn’t? I’ve been through a lot worse than death, trust me. Killing a piece of vermin like him won’t keep me up at night.”
Azazel sighed. “Has he got any family or anything?”
“Not that I know of. No woman worth her salt would marry him. As far as I know he was a runaway in London, landed a job with a brewery, and here he is.”
“So he doesn’t own the pub?”
Kyla shook her head.
“Very well,” Azazel said. “Focus on your hand again.”
Kyla didn’t close her eyes this time. She watched as Azazel placed his index and middle finger on Keith’s chubby neck. Seconds later, the faint pulse she’d felt through her hand stopped, just as Keith’s limbs jerked violently.
“That’s it,” Azazel said, dropping Kyla’s hand and standing up.
Kyla frowned. “What do you mean that’s it?”
“He’s dead.”
“Just like that?”
“Pretty much.”
Kyla fell silent. Her mind was at war. She should be happy Keith was no longer living. His reign of terror had ended. Every woman in the world could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But his death seemed too peaceful for what he deserved. She wanted something more fitting, more suited to her emptying herself of all her rage and giving him back the fear and pain he’d caused to others.
“Are you ok?” Azazel asked, watching her with curiosity.
Kyla nodded. “I need that power.”
“No, you don’t.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I really do. And I think you’ve just volunteered for the job of teaching me.”
Azazel laughed, the deep husk emanating from his chest vibrating right through her. “No, Kyla, I have not. Nice try. Whatever issues you’ve got going on in that pretty little head of yours need dealing with in a human way.”
Thinking over his words for a moment, Kyla nodded and folded her arms over her chest with a broad grin. “You know what? You’re absolutely, one hundred percent right.”