Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3)

by Rosalie Lario

  “Fuck you!” She dug her nails into the same spot she’d gouged before.

  He let out a sound that was half-grunt, half-laugh. “Now you sound like your mother.”

  Amara sucked in her breath. He’d touched Solara?

  “Want to hear what else she said?” He caught her wrists and dragged them over her head. “She said it’d never hurt so good before.”

  “You’re a sick bastard.” She tried to buck him off her. “I’m gonna kill you.”

  “You’ve got a lot of fight. I like that.”

  “Go to hell.”

  He only smiled as he straddled her and, transferring his hold on her wrists into one hand. He slid the other one under the top of her dress, coldly caressing her breast. When she tried to bite it, he lifted a brow. “No reaction? You must be quite well fed.”

  “You could never turn me on, you sick fuck.”

  “I’m sure you know that’s not true. Get hungry enough, and you’d be begging for it. Lucky for you, I don’t have the time to test that.” He grabbed the fabric at her cleavage and tore, ripping it all the way to her navel.

  “No!” She lifted her hips and slid to one side, trying to escape him, but he hung on. She rapidly shifted her weight, knocking him off balance. He cursed and steadied himself with his free hand. His hold on her wrists loosened and she tore one free. She jabbed it upward, stabbing him in the eye.

  “Ow!” He reared back, covering his eye. “You bitch!”

  When he lowered his hand, she got no more than a glimpse of his red and oozy eyeball before he punched her hard. Her head jerked to the side and her cheek shattered. She spat blood across the floor, then gagged as more of it pooled in her mouth. He rammed his fist into her stomach, and a lightning bolt of agony ripped through her body.

  “You’re going to pay for that one.” He made a fumbling motion with his free hand that she barely caught from her viewpoint. She turned to see him undoing his belt.

  “No,” she whispered. No. Suddenly she knew that she couldn’t bear this. Not after everything she’d been through with Ronin. She’d had enough. Enough of being used. Enough of standing by and meekly accepting her fate. Enough of being weak.

  Ronin had done that. He’d made her stronger. He’d believed in her when no one else had.

  This couldn’t stand. She might die protecting herself, but she would die doing what was right.

  Amara tried to move the hand that had limply fallen to the floor after Gofrey had struck her. It twitched and lifted an inch before dropping down again, refusing to obey her brain’s command. Move, damn it. Move!

  With more effort than she’d thought possible, her hand rose. She willed her upper body to rise off the floor and, while he was preoccupied with unzipping his pants, she clenched her hand around his throat. A strange burning sensation pulsed through her fingers, and the compulsion to tighten her grip was overwhelming, so she did.

  “What—?” He gasped and released her other wrist, using both of his hands to peel her fingers from his throat. To her utter amazement, a smoking, festering burn in the shape of her hand covered his neck.

  Gofrey crawled off her and scuttled backward like a crab, regarding her with shock that must have matched her own. “What the fuck?”

  Her thoughts exactly. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she would’ve never believed it. She’d burned him with her fingers. How in the hell?

  For a long moment they stared at each other, utterly silent. Appraising each other. Fear permeated the air, rising up in almost palpable waves. Hers...and his.

  And his?

  He feared her. He feared her.

  A sense of purpose like she’d never felt before filled her. She didn’t stop to ponder things any further. Not now. Forcing her battered body to move, she pushed off the ground and lunged at him. He lifted his hands to fight her off and ended up falling onto his back. She landed at his side with her palms on his stomach. When he closed his fingers around her arms, the burning sensation exploded through her palms.

  Gofrey screamed and the smell of seared flesh filled the room. He tried to pry her fingers off but it was like they were glued to his skin.

  How was this happening? She’d surely never been able to do this before.

  “Get off,” Gofrey yelled, flopping around like a fish. “Get off!”

  “No,” she took great delight in saying. She was going to kill him. She’d keep going until there was nothing left but a burnt-out pile of bones. And if every muscle in her aching body protested her movement, then that was too bad.

  For once in her life, she wasn’t going to be a victim.

  A loud thump practically shook the entire room. For a moment she thought it was Gofrey trying to break free. But then the front door burst inward, pieces of wood splintering everywhere.

  “Ronin,” she gasped.

  He’d never looked more enraged, more deadly than he did at this moment. His chest heaved and his hands were clenched into tight fists. The way he glared at Gofrey, his eyes sharp like daggers, promised untold pain and retribution.

  He took one glance at her and let out a roar that made her whole body tremble. Some of her joy morphed into fear. The heat in her palms disappeared and she reared back. “Ronin?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The flight to the address the succubus had recited was the longest of his life. Every moment was one of blinding agony, wondering what Gofrey was doing to Amara. He could fly faster than Gofrey could drive, but the incubus still had some time on him. This was taking too fucking long.

  What would he be walking into? The thought of the torture Gofrey might have already inflicted on her made him sick.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he touched down on the roof of the building, then ripped open the locked door and raced down the stairs. When he saw the apartment number, he braced himself, then kicked the door in. Pieces of it went flying everywhere.

  He stepped over the threshold...and paused.

  Amara was there, kneeling over Gofrey, who lay on his back. To his surprise, the incubus yelled like he was in pain. Then he saw Amara’s cheekbone, the bruises on her face, and her ripped dress. Something inside him broke, obliterating everything but the thought that the bastard had harmed his woman.

  An inhuman sound roared from his mouth and Amara jumped back. But his focus was on Gofrey. He was in front of the demon before he’d even processed that he moved. He lifted the incubus by the shirt and slammed him against the nearest wall. Closing his fingers over Gofrey’s throat, he squeezed hard.

  “No,” Gofrey choked out. “I’ll tell you all I know.”

  Ronin ignored him, squeezing tighter. Bone and cartilage snapped and shattered beneath his grip. He twisted and wrenched until the incubus was completely lifeless and his head was attached to his body by a few simple strings of flesh. Once the red haze cleared from his eyes, he saw what he’d done. He let go, backing away in horror. The incubus fell to the ground, his eyes open and sightless. All but decapitated. There’d be no coming back from that one.

  Half in shock, he stared down at his bloodstained hands. How could he have done that without even realizing it?

  Oh damn. Amara.

  Practically choking from the disgust over his own actions, he turned until he spotted her. She stood with her back against the opposite wall, observing everything with horror on her face. Devil, she feared him, and he couldn’t blame her. He was scared of himself right now.

  “Amara,” he whispered, his voice shaky. “Please don’t—”

  Before he could say anything else, she raced across the room and threw herself into his arms. “You found me. I can’t believe it.”

  He started to close his arms around her, but then he saw his bloody hands once again. “Did he...hurt you?”

  “No.” She pulled away to
meet his eyes and winced, rubbing her cheek. “Well, at least not that way. It’s not important. I’ll heal.”

  A tide of anger washed over him when he took in her injuries. Her cheek was knitting itself back together, but the entire left side of her face was swollen to twice its normal size Suddenly he wished Gofrey was still alive so he could kill him all over again. Slower this time. “Wait here.”

  Ronin moved to the tiny sink and put the hot water on. He applied the liquid hand soap he found there and scrubbed until his hands were raw. Once he was certain all the blood was gone, he spun back toward Amara. Lifting his palm to her cheek, he activated his healing ability. A rush of cold, calm energy flowed through his hand. If possible, it seemed his power was working better than ever now.

  Guess she really is good for me.

  “Thank you. For everything,” she said, pressing her cheek into his palm.

  Before his eyes, her bones healed and her bruises disappeared. When he was done with her face, he moved to her stomach, and anywhere else he spotted a bruise. Too many damn places. “What happened?”

  She glanced at Gofrey’s body. “I don’t know.”

  “Start with the club.”

  “Oh. Karen, one of Asmodeus’s other succubi, found me. She told me about what he’s doing to Solara. She said he threatened to kill her if I didn’t...”

  When she broke off, tears lining her eyes, he pulled her into an embrace. “Amara, it’ll be two days tops before my brothers return with the sword.”

  “I know,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

  “Your mother made her choices. You can’t give yourself up for the mere chance he won’t hurt her.”

  “But this is all my fault.”

  “How? How could this possibly be your fault? You were trying to save her. You have this guilt for something you had no control over.”

  “But I did,” she cried, pushing away. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, blindly staring at Gofrey. “I did, Ronin. It was my fault.”

  The self-loathing in her voice gave him pause. He whirled her around to face him. “Explain.”

  She kept her eyes in the general direction of the floor. “I met him first. He was so charming, so attentive. And an incubus. We didn’t know too many of those, and none as captivating as him.”

  “Go on,” he urged.

  “Even though he seemed interested in me, I knew Solara would fall in love with him on sight. He was everything she’d ever searched for.”

  The pieces fell into place. “So you introduced them.”

  “I was so excited when they seemed to hit it off. Solara was over the moon, happier than I’d ever seen her. I thought...well, I guess I thought that maybe if I found her someone to love, she would finally love me. The way I’d always dreamt.”

  His heart broke for her. Before he could say anything, she continued.

  “But I guess the joke was on me.” She let out a bitter laugh. “In the end, Asmodeus got two for the price of one.”

  “This is why you’ve been so adamant about saving her? Why you gave yourself up for her without a word of protest? You think you’re responsible.”

  Amara finally met his gaze. “You can’t honestly tell me I’m not.”

  “The hell I can’t. Everyone is responsible for their own lives. Your mother made her choices. Perhaps if she hadn’t been so damn caught up on the things she didn’t have, she would have seen what she did. The things that really mattered. You, Amara.”

  Her face crumpled and he pulled her in tight, murmuring words of comfort. Once she’d calmed down, he set her back and rubbed the moisture from her cheeks. “Why didn’t you ever tell me all this?”

  “I guess I didn’t want you to think of me as a monster.”

  “Never,” he swore.

  She gave him a tentative smile. It only lasted a second before her face grew serious. “I forgot to tell you what happened with Gofrey. I burned him.”

  Ronin took a moment to process that. “What do you mean?”

  “I burned him. I have no clue how.” She led him to the body and knelt before it, carefully avoiding the head and neck area. “There. Check out his stomach.”

  Ronin squatted beside her. Gofrey’s shirt was singed and the flesh beneath it was burnt beyond recognition. “How did you do this?”

  “I have no idea. I only touched him.” When he did a double take, she shrugged. “I’ve never been able to do anything like that.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe you’ve always had the ability and simply never tried to use it before.”

  “I didn’t try. It burst out of me on its own.”

  That didn’t make sense. He frowned down at the corpse. “We’ll talk to my brothers about it when we get home.”

  “Okay.”

  The rips in Amara’s dress caught Ronin’s eye, and fury ignited within him anew. “Here. Take my shirt.” Even though it was ripped in the back, it would at least cover her front. He began to unbutton it, then noticed the blood and stopped. “My sleeves are stained.”

  “No problem.” She reached out and tugged hard, ripping the sleeves off at the shoulder.

  He took it off and slipped it over her, then helped her button it.

  “How did you find me?”

  “I bumped into one of the succubi back at Opiate, a brunette wearing a silver skirt. She was upset that she’d helped Gofrey take you. She told me he kept this apartment, and that he’d taken her here once.”

  “Oh, poor Karen.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said, helping her to her feet. “We’ll get all of them out of there.”

  “I know.” She motioned toward Gofrey’s corpse. “What are we going to do with him?”

  “I call a clean-up crew later. Right now I want to get you back home.”

  Her lips curved into a grin and her eyes lit with hope. “Home?”

  “Home,” he repeated firmly.

  She stepped into his arms. “That sounds wonderful.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Home. He’d called his apartment her home, as if he imagined a place for her in it. That made her feel things she couldn’t even begin to explain.

  Ronin led Amara to the door, peeking out of it before stepping outside. The racket he’d made in breaking it down hadn’t seemed to disturb any of the neighbors.

  He did his best to close the door before leading the way to the stairwell. To her surprise, he went up instead of down.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “The roof is how I came in. Figured it’d be safest to take it back home.”

  The roof. He meant flying. That explained the big rips in the back of the shirt he’d given her. She gulped. In the short time they’d been together, she hadn’t given much thought to the fact that he could fly.

  “I’m sort of scared of heights,” she admitted.

  He gave her an incredulous glance. “Out of all the things to be scared of, you choose that?”

  “I didn’t choose it.”

  Ronin chuckled and pulled her in, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll make sure you’re safe. Promise.”

  They made it to the roof and, with her hand in his grasp, he headed to the edge. When she looked down, her stomach gave an uneasy flop. “I don’t know about this.”

  “We’ll be fine.” He moved his shoulders and his wings grew, blooming large and full and white. They extended from the top of his head to the ground. It was more than enough to distract her. She reached out to stroke the soft down of his feathers.

  “What does it feel like to fly?”

  “Amazing.” He moved behind her and wrapped his arms securely underneath her breasts. “Ready?”

  She closed her arms around his and squeezed her eyes shut. “Let’s go.”


  Ronin took off with a masterful flap of his wings and an involuntary shriek tore from her lips. “I’ve got you,” he said into her ear. “Promise.”

  His arms were wound so tightly around her that she knew he wouldn’t drop her. After a few minutes, she relaxed enough to open her eyes. She let out a gasp when she saw they were so high that they flew above most of the buildings. The bright city lights illuminated the landscape, casting an orange glow in the night sky, and a thin blanket of fog rolled out over the water. Much to her astonishment, she realized it wasn’t heights she was so much scared of, but the fear of falling.

  Ronin would never let her fall.

  “It’s amazing,” she shouted into the wind.

  “My thoughts exactly. The city takes on another level of beauty from this height.”

  She had to agree. And to think, if it weren’t for Ronin, she would never have seen it. “I love this!”

  His laugh was warm and velvety. “Good. I want to show you something.” He veered right and flew over the center of the city. After several minutes, the Empire State Building, with its top levels flooded by warm white lights, came into view. He headed straight for it.

  Her grip on his arms tightened. “Doesn’t the building stay open late? And I know they have security cameras up there.”

  “It closed a few hours ago. Yes, there are cameras, but somehow the ones on this side keep malfunctioning at night.”

  She read the note of amusement in his voice. “You’re doing it?”

  “A friend of mine has the ability to cause electrical malfunctions. I really like coming out here.”

  He zoomed toward the open-area, 86th-floor observation deck and touched down on it. When he tensed his back, she realized he was about to absorb his wings. She lay her hand on his shoulder. “Wait.”

  Ronin paused. “What is it?”

  She motioned toward his wings. “Can I get a closer look?”

  His breath hitched and he turned his back on her. His wings flared out, glimmering like beams of moonlight. Amazing. She placed her hands on them, delighting in their warmth. They were soft as down, but hid a layer of pure muscle. She scratched the spot where his wings met his back, and he let out a throaty rumble, arching into her touch. Clearly, he enjoyed it. How good could she make him feel by doing nothing other than stroking his feathers?