Seduction would have to wait.
She couldn’t have another man’s blood on her hands. Not again.
When Az stepped out of the shower, he half expected to find Jade waiting on him. Maybe he’d been hoping that she’d be there with her bedroom eyes locked on him.
But the room was empty. He grabbed a towel, dried off with a rough scrub, then secured the cotton cloth around his hips as he went to look for her. The blood had washed away, turning the water red as it slid down the drain. He’d healed and now . . .
He wanted.
Angels weren’t supposed to feel emotions. Not desires. But since he’d fallen, he’d gotten slammed with every sensation that humans experienced. All the needs. All the wants. All the endless hungers.
And, right then, his body was hard and heavy with desire.
Because Jade had looked at him with hunger in her eyes. He’d seen the heat in her stare when she’d gazed at his naked body. She’d liked what she’d seen.
Only fair really. When he looked at her, he could certainly appreciate the view.
He opened the door. A quick glance revealed that Jade wasn’t in the small bedroom that waited to the right. He eased out of the bathroom and turned left in the hallway.
And he found her crouched down, painting an image of a street performer on her wall.
She hesitated, then glanced back at him. A faint streak of blue paint lined her cheek. “Your clothes aren’t ready yet.”
Fine. He stalked closer to her. Took the brush from her hand. Let his fingers linger on her skin.
But she shook her head. “You don’t want to do . . . this.”
“This?” He asked, though he knew exactly what she meant.
She nodded. “It’s not safe to want me. I thought . . .” Jade took a deep breath and licked her lips. He was discovering that he loved to watch the slick movements of her lips and tongue. “When your clothes are done,” she said, “you should leave and forget that you ever met me.”
He’d forgotten many humans. Remembered the screams of others. He put the paintbrush down on the small bucket of paint. Then his fingers slid up her arms. Curled over her shoulders. “I think forgetting you may not be an easy task.”
“You don’t get it.” She didn’t jerk away but held herself perfectly still as she told him, “Men who want me have an unfortunate history of death.”
If she only knew . . .
Her smile was sad as she rose—and pulled away. “So for once, I’m going to do something right.” But her gaze dropped down his chest. “Dammit.”
He lifted a brow and stood beside her.
“Thanks for saving my ass today,” Jade said as she took a few steps away from him. “But once you have your clothes, you really need to just get the hell away from me.”
Not quite what he’d expected. Before he’d entered the shower, Az had thought the human female was trying her hand at seducing him.
Others had tried. Tempted him.
But he hadn’t wanted them, not the way he wanted her.
He wanted Jade on the big bed in her bedroom. Wanted her open to him, her arms around him. Screaming for him.
He wanted to taste the pleasure that humans enjoyed so much. With her.
Every angel was tempted at some point . . .
“I know it’s none of my business. . . .” Her words had a husky edge that he found . . . sexy. “But,” she continued in that voice that seemed to stroke right over his flesh, “what happened to your back?”
“I fell.” Flat. The truth.
Her dark brows lifted. “You fell.” Jade gave a slight shake of her head and whistled lightly. “That must have been some fall.”
“It was.” He wanted to touch her again. Touch had been denied to him for centuries, and he hadn’t realized just how pleasurable it was to feel a woman’s skin against his.
So he stalked forward and let his fingers skate down her cheek.
Soft.
“You shouldn’t . . .” Her voice was like a whisper during sex.
“I should.” What else did he have to lose? His gaze locked on her mouth. Red, plump lips. “I want to know what you taste like.”
He caught the hitch of her breathing, but she shook her head. “I told you—”
Now he laughed. “I’m not scared of death.”
Her lips parted in surprise.
Az didn’t wait any longer. His lips took hers. Not a gentle, seeking kiss. He wasn’t much for gentleness these days. His tongue thrust into her mouth. Drove inside and took.
She tasted sweeter than strawberries. So sweet. His tongue tasted her and his hands curled around her as he pulled her body closer to his.
Her body was small, her breasts lush, and he wanted more.
His cock shoved against the towel, thickening and stretching toward her. He couldn’t pull away from her. Didn’t want to. Her lips sucked over his tongue and his whole body tightened.
He stumbled forward with her. Caged her against the wall and—enjoyed her.
Mouth. Tongue. Flesh.
The towel was in the way. He wanted skin to skin. He wanted to see the pink folds of her sex. Wanted to be in her.
Wanted, as he’d never wanted another.
Her hands curled around his shoulders. Her nails dug into his skin, and he liked the rough sting.
A growl built in his throat.
His mouth tore from hers, and he began to taste her throat. She trembled against him. Ah, she enjoyed that. Right there, on the curve of her neck and shoulder and—
“No!”
His head snapped up, and he stared down at her. Her breasts were tight, hard peaks, pushing against his chest. Her hips had arched hungrily against him, and her eyes—there was no missing the lust in her stare. The same lust that heated his own body.
But the human was telling him no.
“Why?” Grated from him. Was it because he wasn’t . . . like her? He wasn’t less than human, no, he was—
She trembled against him as her fingers slid down his arms. “I told you,” Jade said again, “I’m dangerous. You don’t want to be with me.”
He did. He wanted to be fucking her right then.
“The best thing that you can do is to get away from me.” Her hands flatted on his chest and she pushed against him.
Az eased back a step. Just one.
She stared up at him with those green eyes that he suspected had probably broken mortal men. “That panther pack will be coming after me again. Coming after me and anyone who stands with me. So trust me on this, you don’t want to get caught in this war.”
Then she eased around him. Her body brushed his, a soft glide of feminine flesh.
“I’m going to shower,” she said. “You should—you should be gone when I come out.”
If that was the way the little mortal wanted things . . .
She headed for the bathroom. Didn’t look back at him. Why did that fact anger him? And why did he feel like he had to ask, “Why do the panthers want you?”
She paused with one hand on the door frame. “I guess I did something to make them angry.”
It would seem so.
“Now, they aren’t going to stop. Not until they kill me.”
A human against a pack of panthers. Hardly seemed like fair odds to him. A human against just one shifter wasn’t a fair fight.
“But this isn’t your battle.” She still didn’t look back. Why not? “You should leave while you have the chance. And don’t just leave my apartment. Get out of New Orleans. If you don’t, they’ll pick up your scent. They’ll hunt you down. They’ll rip you apart.”
Highly doubtful. “I’d like to see them try.”
She swung around in an instant. “I wouldn’t.” Soft. Wait, were those tears glittering in her eyes?
A mortal, crying over him?
“You helped me. You didn’t know me. But you . . . you saved my life.” She gave a fast, negative shake of her head. “Now let me save yours. Az, get the hell out of here, a
nd don’t ever come back.”
She sounded like she meant those words.
Jade spun around and slammed the door behind her. A few seconds later, the water flooded on with a roar of sound.
Az stared at the closed door. After a moment, he waved his hand and instantly clothed his body in fresh clothes. He hadn’t needed her to wash the others. Working magic was easy for him. Always had been. Magic was one of his gifts.
The water continued to pour in the bathroom.
The mortal wanted him to leave her alone . . .
But sometimes, mortals didn’t always get what they wanted. Especially not when they tempted him so much.
He’d left.
As she tiptoed out of the bathroom, Jade’s hands tightened around the towel that covered her body. It was good that he’d left.
So why did her chest ache?
She took a deep breath. For once, she’d done the right thing. She hadn’t dragged Az into her hell.
She could handle this nightmare, and he—he’d be much better off the farther away he got from her. For his sake, Jade hoped the guy hightailed it far and fast.
Besides, she was used to being on her own. It was the way she wanted to be. Az would have just complicated things for her. Distracted her.
And . . . and she could still taste him on her lips.
Dammit.
Az waited until the sun fell, then he sought out his brother Sammael at the Fallen’s favorite club.
Brother. He and Sammael—or, rather, Sam, since his brother preferred that version of his name—weren’t exactly close, especially since Az had spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to kill Sam over the centuries.
But, well, bygones. That was all in the past. He hoped. As long as Sam didn’t come looking for some payback anytime soon.
A long line of humans waited outside the doors of Sunrise. Humans were always trying to play on the dark side. Maybe they sensed that the club catered to a wilder clientele. Maybe they wanted the rush that came from risking death.
Fools.
He shoved past the paranormal bouncer and headed inside. Sam was at the bar, looking bored as he talked to one of his demons. Sam spent too much time with the demons. And with hellhounds. But, luckily, Sam’s hound wasn’t in Sunrise right then. Perhaps later the beast would make his appearance.
Sam gave an exaggerated sigh when he caught sight of Az in the bar’s mirror. He spun on the stool to face him. “Visiting again?” Sam waved toward the stage. “And the entertainment hasn’t even started yet. My, you are out prowling the streets early tonight.”
Az’s back teeth ground together. “I want to talk to Seline.”
Sam raised a brow. “Now what would you want with my Seline?” Possessive steel had entered his voice.
Because Seline was his. A woman who’d traded heaven to live with Sam in this hell. Az still didn’t get quite why she’d made that particular choice. For love, or so she said.
“Ah . . .” Sam nodded and his gaze sharpened as he snapped his fingers. “You want to grill her on how to get back upstairs, right? Because that’s always what you fucking want to do . . . go back. Go back. Sometimes, Az, you can be such a whiny bitch.” He grabbed a shot glass and drained the contents in a quick gulp. “You screwed up, you got tossed here, now deal with it.”
But he didn’t want to deal with it. Az was tired of the emotions that were growing stronger every day. Ripping me apart. And since he’d met Jade, the lust inside had been growing—all day. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Couldn’t stop wanting her.
He could still smell the scent of strawberries.
Az exhaled on a heavy breath. “This world isn’t for me.” He’d ruled over an army of angels, and now he was reduced to fighting shifters in a dirty alley in order to get his kicks. “I’m going back.”
“Not unless you get redemption,” a soft, feminine voice told him.
Seline.
He glanced into the mirror and saw that Sam’s mate stood just behind him. Seline’s warm, brown gaze met his in the mirror. “If you really hate it here so much,” she continued, shrugging her slender shoulders and sending her blond hair sliding back, “then prove that you should get the free pass back upstairs.”
Upstairs. Where there were no pesky emotions to plague him. No feelings to tie him into knots. No needs that made him ache. Only duty and death.
“If that’s what you want . . .” Sam interrupted, voice taunting as he offered his hand to Seline. She stepped toward him and their fingers locked. “But something tells me that the longer you’re down here,” Sam said, amusement flickering in his eyes, “the more you’re gonna like it.”
Az’s gaze drifted around the bar. Couples were dancing, their bodies too close together. Nearly screwing right there in public. Drinks poured and were guzzled instantly. Magic drifted in the air.
Booze. Alcohol. Sex.
Jade.
He blinked, wondering for a moment if he’d imagined her. But, no, this wasn’t another fantasy.
She was there. Standing just inside the doorway with her eyes narrowed as she scanned the bar.
“See something you like?” Sam taunted. “Because I sure think you must.”
Az realized his whole body had stiffened. He’d even taken a step toward her without realizing it.
Sam’s left hand slapped onto Az’s shoulder, and it felt like a burning poker had been laid against his skin. Probably because Sam was still pissed at him and wanted the touch to hurt. Sam was as powerful as Az, and the other Fallen knew how to control fire and magic just as easily—if not more easily—than Az did.
“Go ahead,” Sam told him. “Go find a human. Screw yourself silly. Live a little.”
But with every moment that he spent on earth, Az felt like he slipped farther away from his past. From his real life.
Not meant for earth. Too much pain. It ate at him here.
“Redemption,” Seline said softly as she pressed against Sam’s side. “It’s your only way.”
It was his only way. Because if he stayed here, well, a very long, long time ago, a certain powerful prophet had predicted that Az might just bring about the end of the world . . . when he killed his own brother.
He’d had the chance to kill Sam before. He’d passed. End of the world apocalypse averted.
For the moment. But every day, Az could feel a darkness stirring inside him. If the emotions just kept growing stronger, what would happen?
Could he keep holding on to his control?
Or what if that old prediction finally came true? If the darkness inside of him grew too strong, Az wasn’t sure what would happen or what he might do.
His gaze returned to Jade. He could barely see the top of her dark hair now. She’d slipped to the side, moving almost stealthily as she turned toward the hallway that led to the darker part of Sunrise.
The part humans weren’t meant to see.
She was a human. Lost. Alone. Hunted by the Other.
Weak.
Sam began to laugh behind him.
Humans were weak, but they were also favored.
“You’re going to regret so many things,” Sam murmured to Az as he pulled Seline closer. “So many . . .”
Az turned his head and offered a tight smile to his brother, the only angel who’d ever been able to equal him in power. The angel who’d fallen when he’d slaughtered dozens of humans. “Fuck off,” Az told him.
But Sam’s grin didn’t fade. It only stretched wider as he said, “Now that’s the spirit, brother.”
Az left him. Intent on finding Jade, he pushed his way through the crowd. She shouldn’t be there. It was far too dangerous for her to be in that wild crowd.
Redemption.
He pushed back two demons who’d blocked his path. Demons . . . they looked just like humans, unless you were powerful enough to see through the glamour that they used. Usually, only other demons could read past the illusion. A demon’s true gaze was pitch black. Darker than the wo
rst night in hell.
The demons didn’t bother with glamour when they glared at him. Az shoved a burst of his power at them and sent the demons stumbling back. In this town, he was used to enemies being near. He was used to enemies being everywhere.
The dark corridor on the left snaked away from the main bar. A few more steps down that corridor, and Az found himself in front of a barred door. A seven-foot-tall bear shifter blocked his way—and there was no sign of Jade.
“Where is she?” Az demanded.
The shifter smiled.
Fine. Az grabbed him and slammed the shifter’s head against the door. Once. Twice. The third slam broke the door.
He tossed the shifter aside and peered through the shattered remains of the door. Another hallway waited.
But voices reached his ears. Men. Probably more demons or shifters. And then, he heard her.
Az entered a cavernous room and, even with the cluster of bodies, he caught the scent of strawberries. He focused on that scent. Followed it.
There she was. Jade was leaning over an old wooden table. Two demons sat at the table, with their eyes too intent on her body. She slapped a wad of cash down on the table’s scarred surface. “Here’s the money, now do it.”
One demon jumped up. Grabbed her. And put a knife to her throat.
In that instant, the dumb-ass demon begged for death.
And Death heard his plea.
CHAPTER THREE
The blade slipped down her throat, slicing the skin—then the demon was yanked away and tossed across the room.
What the hell?
Jade covered her throat even as she scrambled for the knife that had fallen to the floor. She needed that knife, she needed—
“Get out of here.” Oh, hell. She knew that deep, rumbling voice. Az was there. He grabbed her before her searching fingers could close over the knife’s handle. “Run,” he told her. “I’ll take care of them.”
Run? No, thank you. Her throat stung, but, luckily, the blade hadn’t sliced her too deeply. “What are you doing here?” Had the guy totally not listened to her at all? She’d tried to do the right thing, but, no, here he was, looking all tall, strong, and avenging, and—