12 DEN OF INIQUITY #3
She dropped it again onto the pile and cocked a hip, studying Raum. Then her gaze flicked to Sunshine standing silently at his side, and one sculpted black eyebrow arched. “Your partner is awfully quiet.”
Just as Raum was racking his brain for something to put her off going any further down that line of questioning, Sunshine spoke. “He’s not my partner. He’s my employee. He does the talking on my behalf.”
He blinked. His pride balked a little at her lie, but mostly he was just impressed at her quick thinking.
“Is that so?” Naiamah chortled as if this was all highly entertaining. Then she shrugged like she’d didn’t care either way. “I accept your payment.”
He exhaled in profound relief.
“But.”
His relief evaporated.
“I’m going to need something else from you as well.”
He ground his teeth. “What?”
She returned to her throne, revealing that the back of her dress contained only one long strip of leather down her spine barely wide enough to conceal her ass.
He vaguely wondered if all the straps dug into her skin when she was sitting down, but the way she lounged gave no indication of discomfort.
Rather, she looked like she was sinking into a hot bath.
“I want you to kiss her.”
Raum blinked. Looked around. His eyes landed on Sunshine, cloak pulled so far over her face it was obscured completely. Surely Naiamah didn’t mean …
“Yes, her.”
He turned back to the throne to stare in shock.
“I’m a succubus, sweetheart. I feed off sexual energy. And right now, your lust for her is so strong, it’s making my head spin.”
Raum curled his hands into fists, claws digging into his palms. Fucking great. This was just what he needed. A dose of humiliation on top of the rest of this shit-heap night.
“And her lust for you …” Naiamah made a kissing sound at her pinched thumb and forefinger. “So delicious and sweet. So … pure .”
He glanced sharply at the cloaked figure beside him. Sunshine had lust for him? No, Naiamah was lying. Angels didn’t experience lust, and certainly not for demons.
But why would she lie? What did she stand to gain from it?
The Queen of Hell’s eyes flashed. “I can get you two amulets to sneak past Murmur’s boundary wards. Once activated, the spells have a lifespan of three hours, so keep that in mind. They will activate as soon as they’re set against bare skin, so keep them wrapped until you’re ready to use them.
“I’ll also throw in, as a bonus for your cooperation, not telling Murmur that you’re coming to sneak into his territory.
That one’s free.” She flashed a wicked grin.
“All you have to do is leave behind that nice baggie of treasure … and kiss her so I can watch. You want each other, and I want to see it.”
They didn’t have a choice, did they? Sunshine had told him that getting the book was the most important thing to her, and if that meant kissing a demon, he was pretty sure she’d do it.
Plus, Naiamah had accurately guessed that they were targeting Murmur. If they didn’t give her what she wanted, he wouldn’t put it past her to tell Murmur just to spite them.
Raum turned to his silent companion, hating the way his blood heated with anticipation. Hating the way a part of him secretly rejoiced at getting to experience something he’d wanted more of since their interaction at the nightclub.
The worst part was, it didn’t matter if she wanted him back, because he still wanted her. Whether or not Naiamah was lying about Sunshine’s lust, she sure as hell hadn’t lied about his.
He stepped closer to her, peering into the shadows of her hood as she tilted her face up. And there she was. Her eyes—those big expressive eyes—were wide and sparkling with something unnamed. Her lips … He really wanted to kiss her. Damn Naiamah for putting him in this position.
“Okay?” he asked, though what he really wanted to do was grab Sunshine and crush his mouth to hers like they were the last people alive and the world was ending.
She nodded, but her eyes got even bigger. His gaze flipped to her lips, and she licked them. Did she have any idea how hot that was?
“Oh, this is perfect,” Naiamah purred from her throne, wriggling excitedly.
That succeeded in reminding him … This wasn’t some romantic fucking kiss. This was business. Lust or no lust, Sunshine wouldn’t have kissed him under normal circumstances, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have kissed her. Not when she was blackmailing him by threatening to kill his family.
Just business , he told himself, wondering if there was any part of him that believed that.
He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck over her hood, careful to keep her face hidden. She felt small and delicate, and the urge to clench his fingers, to dig his claws into her and force her head back, was strong.
Grip tightening, he leaned down. She was still watching him with those big dark eyes, and he wished he knew what she was thinking. Her face was normally so expressive, but he couldn’t read it now. Or maybe he was just blinded by desire, his own emotions obscuring his ability to decipher hers.
Sunshine’s gaze flicked to his mouth, and her lips parted. Involuntarily, he licked his own just like she had. The breath left her on a quiet exhale.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned down and kissed her.
Her lips were full and soft and slightly wet from her saliva. When he pressed harder into her, they parted, and her hot breath gusted into his mouth.
He angled his head, fitting them together closer, and the fingers around the back of her neck clenched.
His hard cock throbbed in his pants, and he wanted to grind it against her, and damn, he couldn’t even describe how badly he wanted to feel her breasts.
All that flesh overfilling his hand … And what would her ass feel like if he grabbed it? Thick and luscious and—
Before he knew what he was doing, he was digging deeper into the kiss, sweeping his tongue into her mouth.
Naiamah hadn’t said anything about using tongue. She hadn’t even described what type of kiss or how long it had to last. Nope, this was all him, but he didn’t even fucking care. As soon as his tongue brushed against Sunshine’s and she made a tiny gasp against him, all else ceased to exist.
He did it again, head spinning when he felt a tremor roll through her. The way she relaxed into his hold, dropping her head into his hand, opening her mouth to make space for his searching tongue … He’d never been this turned on in his life.
That he could remember, that was.
For some reason, it was that thought that gave him the presence of mind to pull back, and he did, breaking the kiss with a jerk of his head.
Remembering his lost memories was the reality check he needed, though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because it was angels who had stolen them from him, leaving him feeling like an empty shell afterward with no explanation why.
It took him another moment to gain the control to release his hold on Sunshine’s neck and step back, especially with the way she was looking at him, her chest heaving through her cloak.
Almost dreading what he’d find after having completely forgotten her presence, he turned to face Naiamah upon her throne. She was grinning so widely, the tips of her fangs were visible.
And then she started to fucking clap .
Raum wished he had a dozen daggers hidden under his cloak so he could throw them at her, one by one, pinning her to her stupid throne like it was target practice.
“Good show,” she said, ignorant of his murderous intent.
Or she just didn’t care. “That was delicious. Pure, untapped lust.” She closed her eyes and inhaled.
“You can’t fake that kind of chemistry. I could sit in the midst of an orgy for a week straight and not get that much energy. Truly an invigorating display.”
He focused on flexing and relaxing his claws over and over again while reliving his knife-throwing fantasy.
“Honestly, I’d have given you what you wanted for that alone, but you already offered the gold and there are no take backsies, so it’s mine.
But really.” She cackled, throwing back her head and tossing her silky hair.
“I’m so supercharged from your lust, I feel like I could rip Lucifer’s head off with my bare hands and use his exposed spinal column as a dildo. ”
Gross. “We gave you what you wanted,” Raum growled. “Now I want the amulets.”
“Of course, sweetheart. I’m a woman of my word. Mostly.” She winked. “I can get what you need, but I’ll need a few minutes to reach out to my contact. In the meantime, you can go downstairs and enjoy some top-quality entertainment. Or if you like, I could secure you one of our private rooms.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he bit out.
“Your loss. But you can’t wait up here. I’ll have one of my guards notify you when your product is ready.” She flicked her fingers at them in dismissal.
Grinding his teeth, Raum led Sunshine toward the exit, saying nothing.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Naiamah called out just before he started down the staircase.
He turned back.
“Will you pass on a message to Belial for me? He’s playing hard to get lately, and I’m getting lonely.”
Raum froze.
“Tell him I say hi and ‘miss you, precious.’ He loves when I call him that.” She cackled. “Oh, and tell him I said, ‘Repression never works.’ He’ll know what I mean.”
Heart pounding, Raum turned to go, but Naiamah called out once more.
“Be careful with Murmur, yes? Poor Belial put so much effort into setting up that meeting and negotiating a truce. It would be a shame for you and your … employer to mess it up now.”
As the implications of that sank in, Raum grabbed Sunshine’s arm and rushed down the stairs, Naiamah’s cheerful farewell echoing after them.