Renegade Angel

“Interesting. This is a cologne?” he asked, his voice a velvety rumble. He lowered his head to her when he spoke, his large body curving around her small one until she felt they were the only two people in the room.

For the first time, rather than enjoying the knowledge of her own dominance, something in her recognized a stronger power than her own. Ember’s fascination rendered her strangely helpless.

“It’s a blend of essential oils,” she replied, tilting her head just a little as she looked up at him, startled again at just how fathomless his eyes seemed. “You could let me blend it into something for you … lotion, bath salts, that sort of thing. I could dilute it, make it more subtle. Or,” she continued, tipping the little bottle against her finger, “you could just wear it the way it is. Strong,” she breathed, hesitating only for a moment before daring to reach up and trail the finger down his throat, from Adam’s apple to the warm, intriguing hollow right at the base of it. “Elemental.”

Ember heard his sharp intake of breath, saw his pupils dilate. His lips, sculpted perfection, parted slightly as he dipped his head toward her.

“You’re a clever little demon, aren’t you?” he whispered, his breath feathering her ear.

It was a strange thing to say, but she hardly spared a thought for it. Instead, Ember gladly fell under the thrall of whatever strange magic this man carried with him, her surroundings fading until there was nothing for her but his scent, the steady sound of his breathing, and the intense heat that radiated from him and made her feel as though she’d gotten too close to the sun. She let her eyes drop shut, skimming her cheek against his, tipping her head back to allow him access to her waiting lips.

After so long, such a relief, to give in. Maybe this one would be strong enough to take all she had to give….

Come to me. Mine.

But when he was just a breath away, her beleaguered nuisance of a conscience managed to get in one final word.

I can’t believe you’re going to make out with this guy right now. In front of everybody. In the STORE!

That was what yanked her back, with an agonizing jolt, to herself—and to the reality of a strange man (albeit a stunningly gorgeous strange man) moving in for a very public lip-lock. Ember gasped as she realized what she’d been about to do, and the bottle of fragrance slipped from her fingers to shatter on the wooden floor.

The mess, and the now overwhelming smell of too much fragrance in one place, helped her hang on to sanity, even as shame flooded her and set her cheeks aflame.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, stumbling backward two steps, her eyes wide. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her body was racked with flashes of both intense heat and brutal cold. She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her, but she had to get out of here, and away from the man who watched her with a steady gaze that was less human than it was pure predator.

She watched in horror as he reached for her, a frown creasing his dark brow.

“Ember,” he said. “It’s all right, wait—”

“I’m just … c-clumsy today, I guess!” She backed away from him so quickly that she banged her hip on the sharp edge of one of the small tables that were scattered about the shop. She barely felt it through the adrenaline, though the display of decorative glass perfume bottles wobbled precariously. Ember forced out a sharp, nervous laugh. The unnatural sound of it made her wince, but she kept backing up, wrapping her arms protectively around herself.

“I’ll go get something to clean that right up. Watch out for the glass.” She started to go, then turned, suffused with a helpless misery she’d sworn she was done with. But of course, she would never be done with it.

Not as long as she lived.

Why couldn’t she just be like everyone else?

Unable to resist, she took one last look at Raum. He really was magnificent. And because of it, one of the most frightening things she’d ever encountered. She knew she’d never be able to get him out of her mind … but since that, at least, would be safe, Ember knew she would welcome the dreams.

There was just no way they could ever be her reality.

“Ember, are you okay?” she heard Ginni ask, though it sounded far away. All she could see were the two men watching her with eyes that suddenly seemed to flare and burn, everything around them going dark. She had seen eyes like that before. No matter how she tried to block it out, she remembered.

“I’m just … I’m sorry,” she said softly. And though she knew it was madness, she turned and fled. But she knew now that she would never be able to run far enough.

There was no way to run from herself.

Chapter 2

“So. Our first she-demon. This one’s going to be interesting.”

Raum slouched over his beer and glared at Gadreel, whose infernally good mood was improving with each passing second. He shot a quick look at Leviathan, but the serpent was as impassive as ever. He had a sudden urge to throw a punch that would knock him out of the chair. Maybe that would elicit a reaction.

“You think anything with a vagina is interesting,” he said instead, and took a long pull of his beer.

Gadreel’s grin widened, and the sudden burst of feminine giggling from the direction of the kitchen door told Raum that the waitresses in this little sports bar had already formed their own Gadreel fan club. Disgusting. Raum frowned more deeply, and hoped it would keep any admirers away. Since his glory days, during which he’d earned his one great claim to fame of having seduced Eve into partaking of a certain forbidden fruit in the Garden, Gadreel had moved on to the seduction of every female, be it lovely and lethal she-demon or soft and yielding human, that he could get his hands on.

The show was getting old.

And like every day since he’d drawn the short straw and had to accompany Gadreel on this mission, Raum wished that just once the stupid idiot had ignored the useless piece of flesh between his legs and thought better of laying so much as a finger on Lucifer’s favorite concubine. That would have improved his own existence greatly.

But no. Another little nothing of a human town, an other homicidal half-breed demon to take out, per the orders of the white-winged powers-that-be. He’d had no idea how overrun Earth had become with such things, or how difficult it was making life for the angels who actually gave a damn about protecting humans. Too many half-breeds, not enough white wings who could devote all their time to slaughtering them. Enter the demon assassins with nothing but time on their hands. It really was the perfect solution.

Raum might have found it amusing, in a sick sort of way, had it not meant that he now got to be graced with Gadreel’s golden presence all day. Every day. Forever.

Or until one of them finally got fed up enough to go after him with a blowtorch.

Raum growled as another burst of feminine giggling erupted, turning his head to look out through the window. He now had a fine view directly into the large glass window of Lotions and Potions, even though Ember had not come into view again. He also had decent beer, though the company left a lot to be desired. For once, he wished for a few of his brethren to appear. As annoying as they were, he much preferred their company to what he’d ended up with on this mission: the underworld’s most notorious narcissist, and an unsympathetic sea monster.

Raum slumped further into his chair and glared at the bottle in front of him. He did not, as a rule, bed she-demons. He liked control, which the succubi delighted in wresting from any man brave, or foolish, enough to succumb to their many charms. But Ember Riddick had affected him … differently. He was intrigued, and not just because she was by far the most beautiful creature he’d seen in ages.

Raum didn’t want to be interested. It pissed him off. Like a lot of things these days.

“Oh, stop brooding, Raum,” Gadreel sniffed, motioning to the waitress to bring him another beer. “You’re so boring. Be happy, will you? We found the half-breed, which means all we have to do now is wait for some asshole to descend from on high to tell us to send her back where she belongs. Then I can go work with someone who appreciates my talent, and you can do … “ He trailed off for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively. “Well, you can do whatever it is you like to do. Sit in the dark. Write bad adolescent poetry. Buy more black shirts. Whatever.”

Savoring the image of slamming that pretty golden head into the nearest wall, Raum took a deliberate swig of his beer, middle finger extended. Then he looked to Leviathan, who was toying with one of the small electronic devices he himself wanted nothing to do with.

“You’re quiet,” Raum finally remarked. After punching a few more buttons, Levi raised eyes that were a pale, icy blue to look at him. His hair was as black as Raum’s own, but hung straight to the middle of his back. Today he wore it pulled back with a simple leather thong, exposing high cheekbones and elegant, angular features that drew human women like flies. Not, Raum had noticed, that Levi really seemed to care. About much of anything, actually. But he was wickedly clever, which was what truly counted. Leviathan was ancient, possibly even older than the demons themselves. He had been in the underworld long before Lucifer had claimed it for his own, that was certain. But the sea monster had been tamed by Lucifer’s hand, and had come to be a prized pet of the King of Hell. Leviathan had certainly wreaked his share of havoc on Hell’s behalf, Raum thought, considering the enigma sitting across from him. But after all these thousands of years, it seemed as though they had all made a mistake when they’d assumed that Levi felt any loyalty to what they had created … and that a monster like him must necessarily be pure evil.

In fact, since leaving Hell, Raum had come to realize that he didn’t know anything at all about Leviathan. And the serpent shifter, for his part, seemed happy to keep it that way.

“I don’t like it,” Levi said, trading the BlackBerry-thing for the glass of water he’d opted for instead of the beer. “Too many Reapers hanging around. Too many nefari skulking around in one place, for that matter. It’s not like this is anything like a big city, and this half-breed hasn’t killed anyone.”

“Yeah, I’d say killing is pretty far down on her list,” Gadreel snorted, trailing a finger absently down the waitress’s arm as he accepted his beer. Raum saw her quiver before she headed back to the bar, and knew that Gadreel, at least, would have plenty of company to distract him later. For once, Raum envied him that.

He thought again of Ember’s eyes, the way they’d turned from warm honey to hot gold when he’d touched her. She was a luscious little creature, though she was trying rather badly to hide it behind those ridiculous glasses: small but perfectly curved, and with pointed little features and a rosebud mouth that made her look like a sexy faerie. It fascinated him, that she would run a shop devoted to scent when she wore none but her own natural one. The heady combination of sweetness and spice that poured from her creamy skin had made him want to tug the band out of her wild tangle of fiery curls and plunge his hands into it, holding her still while he ran his tongue over every inch of her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Stupid. It didn’t matter. She didn’t matter. She was a job, nothing more.

“Do you think the Reapers are here just because of all the extra nefari?” Raum asked, frowning. “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

“Don’t think so,” Levi replied with a small shake of his head. Then he indicated the window. “Look at them. It makes no sense. They’re all just waiting.”

Raum followed Levi’s gaze and watched a black-robed man, slim and pale and dark, flicker into existence across the street, walk past several shops, glance his way and vanish once more. Around him, humans walked and drove on the bustling main street, enjoying the crisp fall day. Raum wondered how complacent they’d be if they could see what he saw … if they knew their sleepy little town was now a hotbed of supernatural activity of a rather dark kind.

He wished they could. It would at least make for some entertainment.

The bell above the door rang again, but Raum didn’t bother to look. Not until Gadreel growled several colorful curse words with venom that was uncharacteristic even for him. Then Raum knew who it was, even before he heard the creak and groan of the vacant seat at the table as another, very large, body settled into it.