13 CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
S UNSHINE HURRIED AFTER R AUM AS HE TOOK LONG strides out of the club. They’d only had to wait a short time for the amulets to be delivered—securely stowed in a velvet bag, which Raum pocketed—but every second was excruciating.
He was radiating tension and she didn’t understand why. The thick scent of lust in the club clouded her thoughts and made it impossible to think about anything other than that kiss.
The minute they were outside, the haze she’d been trapped in vanished on the stale breeze, and she could think clearly again.
That didn’t mean she felt differently about what she’d just done. That didn’t mean she regretted it.
“Slow down ,” Sunshine hissed as her companion strode across the courtyard so rapidly, he’d already made it halfway across before she’d finished collecting herself. She half jogged to catch up while trying to make sure her cloak remained covering her. “I can’t run and keep myself hidden.”
Raum stopped so abruptly she crashed into his back before righting herself. He spun around. Even beneath his hood, she could see those golden eyes boring into her, a scowl drawing a line between his brows.
“We need to get out of here now.” Though he rarely smiled, he also never lost his temper, but right now, she could tell he was furious.
“What was that comment about Belial?” Sunshine asked. “How—”
“She knows.”
“Knows what?”
“She knows who I am or she wouldn’t have said that. I don’t think she knows who you are, or we wouldn’t have been able to walk out of there. But I don’t know what her endgame is, and it’s a big fucking problem if she decides to tell anyone I was here. So we need to go.”
Sunshine nodded mutely. Raum was here because of her. This whole situation was because of her. If anything happened to him, it would be her fault.
“Let’s go then,” she said. “I’ll keep up.”
He kept staring at her, and it was impossible not to think about the kiss. His claws gripping her neck, his lips pressed so firmly into hers, prying them open for his tongue to invade … How she wished she could have seen his face properly.
She was so conflicted, it made her head spin.
She had always thought she didn’t understand the hypocrisy of Grigori, falling from Heaven yet still considering themselves heavenly protectors, but she’d just been kissed—for the second time—and all she could think about was doing it again. Taking more. Going further.
At least Grigori only mated with humans. Sunshine was lusting for a demon . And not just any demon. An outlaw who’d escaped Hell.
Raum’s gaze flicked to her lips, and she knew he was thinking about the kiss too. The awareness sent a bolt of desire straight down her spine, and this time she couldn’t blame it on Naiamah’s lair.
He tore his gaze away and shook his head as if to clear it. Without another word, he turned and started forward again down the narrow lane. She wanted him to take her hand to keep them from being separated again, but he didn’t.
Somehow, they made it through the winding alleys to the hellgate pavilion, though she didn’t know how he’d found their way and didn’t want to break the heavy silence to ask him. She could feel the anger rolling off him in waves.
With shocking ferocity, he shoved through the crowds of demons, tossing people left and right until he found an empty hellgate.
Unfortunately, Sunshine couldn’t use the same tactics, since she needed to keep her arms covered, and without holding Raum’s hand, there was nothing to keep them from being separated.
Within seconds, she was swallowed by the crowd. Panic seized her. Thanks to the terms of their bargain, he couldn’t leave her behind on purpose. But what if he thought she was with him and left her by accident?
She wanted to shout for him, but she didn’t dare call out the name of a notorious fugitive into this crowd. One hand holding her hood down, she used the other to force her way through the tight press of bodies, praying her sleeve didn’t get shoved up.
Someone’s horn jabbed her in the head, inches from her eye, and she cried out. She was surrounded by creatures who would bleed her dry if they knew what she was. She knew that very well. She’d survived it once already. Fight the fear, fight the fear.
“Sunshine!”
She heard Raum’s voice over the chaos, and her heart pumped with determination. Giving a particularly violent shove to the demon in front of her, she cleared space enough to move forward a few steps.
She caught sight of a familiar hooded figure and lunged toward him. Bodies parted. He reached for her. She caught his hand. He tugged her forward to the hellgate.
Someone grabbed at her from behind, trying to toss her out of the way. As she was drawn forward by Raum’s grip on her hand, their fingers only closed around the fabric of her cloak. Just as Raum pulled forward, they pulled backward.
With a sharp tug, her cloak tore off.
She stumbled into Raum as a hush fell over the crowd, somehow louder than the shouting. She glanced at herself and saw her sparkling skin, realizing that every demon saw what she did.
And then Raum’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his body. He stepped back into the hellgate, and they disappeared.
On the other side, back in the clearing at the dead demon’s campsite, Sunshine stumbled out of the gate and ran toward the bushes while Raum kicked dirt over the sigil to break the magic.
Panting, she folded forward at the waist and waited to throw up, but it never came.
Still, the nausea churned her stomach, and she couldn’t seem to draw a full breath.
“You okay?”
Raum’s gruff voice shattered the rising dark memories, and she straightened. Swallowing hard, she nodded.
He turned away, yanked his hood back, and ran a hand over his head. He was still in half-demon form, but his position kept her from seeing his face properly. “I’m sorry.”
She blinked. “Why?”
“I should have made sure you were behind me.”
“It’s not your fault. I panicked. If I’d have kept my head, that demon wouldn’t have been able to grab me.” She wasn’t about to tell him why that scenario had triggered such blind terror, but she could tell he was curious about her reaction.
He finally turned, staring at her as if trying to glean the truth for himself, and she took the opportunity to study him in this form. It wasn’t fair, she thought distantly. He had four different forms, and all of them were beautiful.
As she’d expected, the scales covered his face the same as his hands and arms, but they were smoother and less defined, the texture almost disappearing around his eyes and mouth.
His skin was black and looked tougher than human skin, and his golden irises seemed brighter, his pupils tiny black circles in the center.
She couldn’t see his teeth, but she’d felt fangs when they’d kissed.
She was also certain she hadn’t imagined the pointed tongue that tangled with hers. The memory made her heart skip a beat.
He forced his gaze away. “Let’s get back to the hideout. We’re sitting ducks out here, especially now that everyone in the Market knows there’s an angel in Hell.”
She nodded. The little cave seemed like paradise compared to facing that crowd again. “I was only uncovered for a split second. Do you think they figured it out that quickly?” She imagined all those rough-looking demon mercenaries hunting her, and her stomach churned.
“I’d rather not find out.”
On that, they could agree.
“I’ll have to carry you again.”
“I don’t mind.”
His eyes narrowed like he didn’t believe her.
She was suddenly too exhausted to hide her feelings, to care if she said too much. “Raum, your demon form doesn’t scare me. I think it’s beautiful, actually. All your forms are.”
His expression was so incredulous it was almost comical.
Without another word, he pulled off his cloak and handed it to her. “Wear this while we fly.”
She did as he asked, and a second later the massive demon crow was standing before her. He shifted his weight and shook out his feathers in a ripple that traveled down his great body to his tail. The feathers there ruffled and then spread, and then he opened his impressive wingspan.
“Hi,” she whispered, coming forward to stroke his silky plumage. She wanted to tell him how magnificent he was, how much she enjoyed flying with him, how safe she felt in his talons, but she reminded herself that he was still Raum. And she didn’t think Raum would appreciate such revelations.
He lifted a foot, so she bent into that awkward position so he could wrap his talons around her middle. His great wings pumped, and there was a jolt as he leapt and took flight. They circled, gaining altitude.
This time, his other foot wrapped around her below the first, and he tucked both legs close to his body. Knowing it was foolish, knowing she shouldn’t, she relaxed into his hold, a prey willingly caught. Her body limp, she closed her eyes as the last of her terror from the Market bled out of her.
He banked left and aimed them toward their final destination. Without even bothering to check where they were going or what was below them, she gave into the sense of security and let herself drift off.
Her lover’s hand tightened in Shamsiel’s hair, forcing her head back as he shoved deeper into her mouth, and she relished the prick of his claws against her scalp. She looked up into his eyes, loving his power over her, wanting to please him.
Tears blurred her vision as she dug her nails into his muscled thighs, swallowing when his thick length hit the back of her throat. The ridges along his scaled shaft heightened the sensation against her lips and tongue. A deep groan rumbled in his chest above her.