11 BLOOD LUST
BLOOD LUST
S AY IT AGAIN .”
“I would do anything for you.” Her voice was husky from prolonged cries of pleasure.
His hips flexed in a lazy circle, and the feel of her body gripping him was greater than any promise of Heaven.
“And I would burn down worlds for you,” he replied, tangling his claws in her thick hair and clenching his fingers to demonstrate his control. His arm was covered in black scales—as was the rest of his body.
He remembered the first time she had seen him in his half-demon form. His full demon was little more than a beast, but this form was almost worse.
He’d expected her to shudder or at least carefully disguise her revulsion out of sensitivity to his feelings. Instead, she had risen to her toes, reached up to stroke one of his feathered wings, and whispered, “You are magnificent.”
She had asked him to take her in that form that very night.
Never had he thought his archenemy, the angel who had stalked and threatened him for decades, would become the most precious thing in his universe. Never could he have imagined she would look at him with trust in her eyes as she surrendered her body to his control.
How long had they hunted each other before their bond had formed and he’d realized he’d sooner cut his own arms off than harm her? Decades. A century, perhaps.
But he didn’t regret a moment of their rivalry. It had been the most exhilarating thrill of his life.
“Say it again,” he demanded, needing to hear her words.
“I would cast the innocent into flames to spare you from harm,” she promised, arching her spine as he drove deeper into her.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders, spurring him to push farther still.
Beneath her, her glorious white wings were spread across the pillows, reminding him what she risked by being with him. A gift he would never squander.
“Again.”
“I would do anything for you! I would—” Her voice broke on a cry as he pushed even deeper, and her efforts at speech dissolved with her ecstasy.
“They could take everything from me,” he swore, tightening the hand in her hair until she met his gaze, “but so long as I have you, my little ray of sunshine, I will have lost nothing.”
He released her hair and stroked it back, exposing the slender column of her neck. Her eyes, already hazy with pleasure, darkened further. He drove harder into her. Her body gripped him like a vise, and his head swam with unfathomable rapture.
“Please,” she gasped. “Take all of me, I beg you.”
He dropped his head and sank his fangs into her tender throat, and the rich flavor that filled his mouth transported him to ecstasy …
Sunshine had drifted off only to awaken shortly after for no apparent reason. And try as she might, she couldn’t make herself go back to sleep. Eventually, she gave up.
Taking her polishing rag, she began picking through treasure in the pile, finding pieces she thought the demon they were meeting at the Blood Market might be interested in for their trade.
She figured a sack full of finely polished treasure stood a decent chance of making the mysterious seller more amenable.
The next hour or so passed thusly. She selected a piece, turning it over in her hands to inspect. If she thought it useful, she polished it carefully and set it in the pile. If not, she polished it anyway, and set it back in Raum’s stash.
If he was going to have a hoard of treasure, he might as well take care of it. What good was a pile of gold if it wasn’t at least shiny?
The task was strangely meditative, and she found her thoughts drifting and her mind calming. So she was caught quite by surprise when Raum suddenly lurched upright on the cot.
Her eyes had long since adjusted to the dim firelight, and she could see his chest heave as he stared ahead with wide eyes.
“Raum?”
He didn’t move. She wasn’t sure he’d even heard her.
“Is everything okay?”
His head snapped toward her, and it was the first time she’d seen him make such a birdlike movement in human form. Staring at her didn’t seem to relax him. If anything, his eyes got even wider, and his chest never stopped moving with rapid breaths.
“Is everything all right?” she asked again.
He blinked. Twice. The third time, he squeezed his eyes shut, and his throat moved on a hard swallow. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Just a dream.”
“A nightmare?”
“No. Well … kinda?” He winced, running a hand over his head. “Just a really fucking weird dream.”
Likely it was a nightmare, but he was too proud to admit it. She could sympathize.
For years after her incident, she’d been plagued with terrible dreams, snippets of her suffering mingling with nonsensical, muddled memories.
Eventually they’d faded as her mind healed with time, but she had never forgotten the dread that consumed her every time she contemplated resting, knowing what would haunt her in the darkness.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she dared to ask.
“ No ,” he said with uncharacteristic emphasis. “Nope. No. I’m good.” He swung his legs around and stood so suddenly, she tensed. “You ready to go?”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
“I—” She looked at her treasure pile and realized that if it got any bigger, they wouldn’t be able to carry it. “Yes, I suppose I am. I compiled some items I think might make good offerings for our amulets.”
“Great.” He seemed unusually on edge and appeared to be avoiding her gaze.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Fine. Let’s get going.”
Taking him at his word, she climbed to her feet, gathered her treasure in the rough piece of canvas she’d found, and then pulled on the rope she’d weaved through holes at the edges, pleased when the whole thing tightened like a sack.
She’d also found a pair of fine leather gloves, embroidered with delicate gold threads, and she pocketed those too. They would be useful for hiding her angelic skin.
Hefting the considerable weight of the treasure sack, she went outside to wait for Raum, snagging their cloaks off the chair back as she passed. When he followed her out a moment later, he was shirtless.
She blinked, unable to stop her gaze from roaming his bare skin.
He caught her look and scowled. “I don’t want to tear my clothes if I need my wings.”
She offered a bland smile as if his explanation was unnecessary and she hadn’t been staring. “Is it dusk?” she asked just to change the subject. “The sky seems darker.” Instead of ruby red, it was more of a burgundy, like the dried blood reinscribed on the door for the ward.
“Yeah. It’ll be night in an hour or so.”
Setting down the sack of treasure, she donned her cloak and then held Raum’s out to him. He put it on, leaving the hood down. Pulling her braid over one shoulder, she lifted her own hood, donned her new hand coverings, and secured the fastenings at the neck.
“Nice gloves,” he said, and she realized he’d been watching her the entire time.
For some reason, her heart skipped a beat. “I found them in the treasure pile.”
She studied him. He was still watching her. She lightly cleared her throat, indicating her readiness to leave. He didn’t move, except to run a thumb over his lower lip.
She didn’t think he was aware of the action, but her gaze fixed on it, and she suddenly found herself admiring the fullness of his mouth and the contrast of his bright eyes against his dark skin and—
“I have to shift to demon form again,” he said, shooting her a look. What sort of look, she couldn’t say. He was very hard to read.
Was he hesitating? But why? He was an immortal, ancient demon, and this form wasn’t new to him. In fact, it would be understandable if he felt more comfortable in it than his human one.
Was it because of her then? Because he … cared what she thought of him?
“I enjoyed our first flight,” she said quickly, offering an encouraging smile. “Your demon form is very impressive, and it’s relaxing to be in the sky without using my own wings.”
His face morphed into a scowl.
Inwardly, she winced. Perhaps she’d read him wrong, and he was only hesitant because he despised touching the woman who had threatened to murder his family.
Unfortunately, that was more likely.
He turned away then, and a moment later, the enormous demon bird stood before her. His great beak turned in her direction, and he fixed her with that piercing golden stare, made even more intense by his drastic increase in size.
He was intimidating. Looming and covered in silky black feathers, with claws that could sever limbs with a single swipe.
He held out one of those deadly feet to her. Hefting the sack of gold, she bent awkwardly so he was able to wrap his talons around her torso. Tucking her against his body, he hopped with the other leg, spread his four enormous wings, and took to the darkening sky.
He didn’t secure her with his second foot even once they were in flight, and she wondered why. Still, she felt safe in his hold, and she found herself enjoying the sensation of his downy feathers at her back. She wished she could feel them against her skin.
He rose so high, the landscape turned into tiny specks below. Wind rushing in her ears, she craned her neck to see his face, watching his head swivel as he kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. He was hauntingly majestic, and she longed to tell him so.
As she dangled from his talons, she felt a strange ache well in her chest.
You’re a fool, Sunshine.
She needed to banish such sentiments from her mind for good. Not only was Raum her enemy, but she was soon to be reinstated as a Principality, a leader of all the Third Sphere angels. Romantic delusions about a demon , of all things, were not in the job description.
She was so tangled in her tumultuous thoughts that she was caught by surprise when Raum banked sharply and executed a neat dive. Frowning, she peered ahead, unsure of his target destination until she noticed a fire burning in a small clearing.