by Michele Hauf
“A Fallen together with a muse? Was he attempting her?”
Bruce winced. Such a heartless euphemism for the vicious act of rape. His man, who had witnessed it all as a lookout on a nearby rooftop, reported to him, but hadn’t interfered because he hadn’t wanted to become ash. Or to lose his heart, which, apparently, one of them had.
“The angel was defending her against my men.”
“That’s to be expected. She is the one woman on this earth who can give him pleasure. Where are they now? In custody?”
“My man is on it.”
Which meant, they’d let them get away and now Bruce was scrambling to pick up their trail.
“The pregnant muse is Ophelia O’Malley,” he said, deciding to change the subject. “She has only been pregnant three months, but my spies say she’s waddling about like a full-term mother.”
“The nephilim’s gestation is rumored to be very short,” Antonio clarified. “As is its growth period. It’s likely the muse will give birth soon. Have you taken her into custody?”
“Working on it. Have my best team in London, where she was last seen. The muse’s sister is escorting her. And that officious Zane. Traitor.” Bruce intended to stake that bastard soon.
“He never did fit in,” Antonio muttered. “You know this is my greatest and only desire, Bruce? To walk in the light.”
“Yes, sir, I’m aware of that.”
Antonio steepled his fingers thoughtfully before him. “I remember my mother used to tell me about the daylight. We lived below even before puberty gave me the blood hunger, so I have never, ever, known what it was like to feel sun on my skin.”
That had to suck, big-time, Bruce thought. Even bloodborn vampires, like Antonio, didn’t come into their vampirism until puberty, which meant they were basically mortal, and could eat and walk in the sun, until the blood hunger changed them completely.
“So many vampires can walk in the sun,” Antonio continued. “Why should I be denied light simply because my bloodline is ancient and revered? Am I damned? Are we not all damned?”
He held up a silver chain, from which dangled a silver coil. It caught the torchlight and flashed brightly. Antonio closed his eyes, as if soaking in sunbeams.
Bruce silently backed from his master’s office. At times like this, when he went all introspective and waxed on about his damnation, it was better to leave him to sulk.
But his determination was renewed. No man should be denied the simple pleasures of life. Even if the sun would probably burn him after a few seconds, Antonio did deserve the pain of it, just once.
Cassandra stepped down the stairs outside her loft in the building stairwell. Metallic flake demon ash sifted over her hands and cheeks as she did. It tingled and felt hot, as if real ash from a flaming fire.
“It’s too pretty for demon remains.”
Sam swiped the back of his hand across his chin. A blue line dashed where a cut had opened his skin. “If you know things about us, then you know the Sinistari were forged from the Fallen.”
“I do. So he was originally an angel who Fell with you?”
“Yes, but he was taken before his feet touched earth and was forged into Sinistari.”
“That’s so sad, that something divine was made—” She stopped before saying evil. Because the truly evil ones were the Fallen. The Sinistari were the good guys.
But how to label Sam? An evil angel bent on destroying his own? That sounded accurate, but when she caught more demon ash on her palm, she couldn’t decide if evil had just vanquished the real good.
And only moments earlier she had stood in his arms because she’d wanted to. She had needed to feel safe. In the arms of her destroyer.
The night could not get any stranger.
It must be close to morning. She should be standing in the shower right now, washing away the day’s simple trials, like stressing over which silver piece to next work on and about leaving her date at the bar. She should not be thinking about running from angels, demons and vampires.
Marcus would be pissed she’d left the Schwarz without him. Or maybe not. He had been talking up the redhead.
“I’m tired.” She sat on the bottom step and toed the metallic demon ash. It glowed bright red and dispersed to talcum fineness, resembling a big pile of dust rather than ash. “Can we put off the vampire hunt until I’ve gotten some sleep?”
“We’ll have to. The Anakim tribe doesn’t walk in sunlight.”
“Just let me stay here and sleep a few hours. You return after you’ve killed all the vampires, Fallen and Sinistari.” She yawned. “Promise I won’t ditch you.”
“I will give you energy.”
“I don’t know how you can do—”
Sam pulled her to stand and clutched her against his chest. He was so solid and there, and yet, not warm. Not cold, either. Almost as if he were a sculpture crafted from silver. Weird but strangely appropriate.
Strong arms slid up her back and firmly caressed her against him. For the muscles strapping his body, she had expected any hug from him to hurt, but he held her as if she were fragile, delicate.
He was doing something to her. She felt him radiate through her body. Not exactly heat or a tingle, but a feeling of satisfaction. No, not exactly that, either. She felt positive, and suddenly perceived an outcome that would see her the victor. Was it hope? If the halo was supposed to give a mortal hope, as her sister believed, then perhaps an entire angel could do the same.
For the first time since this night had gone crazy, Cassandra thought about the sigil and realized it didn’t itch. Why was that? Did their closeness negate the irritant power of the sigil?
Sam had come after her with mad lust in his eyes after he’d killed the demon. His silver wings…they had been gorgeous. Something she could never duplicate though she had tried. The sculpture in her bedroom was a pitiful replica of the real deal.
Gorgeous, and yet a sign of very real danger she couldn’t defend herself against no matter what tricks she pulled out of her pocket.
“How’s that?” he said against her ear.
“Huh? Oh, great.” She pulled from him, following the skim of her fingers as they marked his smooth, tanned chest. “Ready for action, I guess. But do you intend to stalk about the city without any clothes? I mean, the no-shirt look works on you, but it’s snowing out, buddy. We don’t want to attract any more attention than you already do.”
“I will need a shirt, yes. But you are not so tired now?”
Cassandra assessed her muscles and bruised body, and realized she did feel kinda peppy. A flex of her shoulder didn’t sense the heavy exhaustion she’d just experienced. “What did you do to me?”
“We have a connection, Cassandra, like it or not.”
“Raising my hand for not. It’s a connection I don’t wish to complete, if you get my meaning.”
“I understand there are reasons you cannot trust me.”
“You got that right. You said you wouldn’t come after me, but then your wings popped out and—wham! I’ve never seen such malevolent lust in a man’s eyes before. You really scared me, Sam.”
She tried not to meet his eyes, because she knew she’d find a pleading puppy-dog pout there. But it was impossible, and the moment she connected with his gaze, she fell into wonder. The true magic lived there, in his eyes. She felt powerless against it.
“I understand I must earn your trust. I cannot simply demand it. And I will, I swear to you. But that does not discount me from the desire to mate with you. You are a beautiful woman, Cassandra. I would not be a man did I not recognize that.”
“Good thing you gave me the repulsion word.”
“The more often you use it, the weaker it becomes, so use it sparingly.”
“If you keep your eyes on the vampires, and not me, maybe I won’t have to use the word ever again.”
“It won’t be that simple. But I thank you for your trust, cupcake.”
“You haven’t earned my trust yet, buddy.
And what’s with the cupcake? Name’s Cassandra.”
“I like the endearment. It is a common practice between mortals to name each other with sweet nicknames.”
She rolled her eyes, realizing it was fruitless to get him to stop with the silly names.
“Mr. Nelson on the first floor is about your size. Not quite so firm. He has a tendency to leave his clothes in the laundry room dryer for days. I’ll slip in and borrow a shirt.”
Cassandra grabbed two button-up shirts and a pair of jeans, but felt squicky about taking a pair of Mr. Nelson’s boxers. She guessed Sam probably didn’t do underwear anyway. Or was that a secret hope?
While the angel changed in the bathroom, she dialed up her sister.
With vampires and Sinistari roaming the city, she did not want to endanger Ophelia, the pregnant muse her sister planned to escort to Berlin.
It always lightened her heart to hear her sister’s voice. Cassandra had moved from London two years ago, and though they talked all the time, they only saw each other half a dozen times a year. It was never enough.
“Coco, when does your flight leave?”
“Ohmygosh, I tried to call you yesterday afternoon, Caz. We’re here!”
“What? I thought it didn’t leave until tomorrow?”
“Nope, last night. We landed at Hamburg four hours ago.
The flight was redirected due to bad weather. We went straight to the hotel for breakfast—”
“You and the muse?”
“Me, Ophelia and Zane.”
“Right, the sexy new man who helped you slay the angel.” Her sister had been oddly tight-lipped about Zane, other than to wax over his gorgeous muscles and how she loved to kiss him for hours. Ah, love. “You bring the angel ash?”
“Yes, it’s in my suitcase, safe and sound.”
After they’d slain a Fallen, Coco had been smart enough to gather the crystallike ash left behind. It was a necessary weapon should the worst occur.
“But, Cassandra, I’ve lost something else. Oh…you’re going to freak.”
“What?”
The pause over the phone line felt like forever creeping over Cassandra’s skin. She bit her lip and met Sam’s eyes as he strode into the living room to display his new attire. The jeans fit snugly and low at his square hips. The shirt, unbuttoned at the chest and sleeves, would probably be too tight, but really, she didn’t mind the casual look at all. And look at those cut abs. Yikes, they were hard and firm.
She gave him a thumbs-up. The angel beamed, turning to display the clothes as if a child with new things.
She gestured to the phone and then winced, because the silence was still there between her and her sister. She and Coco never lied to one another, and Cassandra sensed this one was going to be tough.
Coco finally said, “We lost the muse.”
“What? How?” Cassandra sank to sit on the sofa. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I left her for five minutes to go with Zane to get a skinny vanilla latte in the shopping gallery. Ophelia was complaining about back pain and said the latte would relax her. I think she’s close to giving birth, Caz. We’ve searched the hotel. No sign of her. It’s as if she’s disappeared from the earth.”
“She couldn’t have gone far. You said she was huge.”
“Like she’s ready to give birth to quadruplets.”
“You have to find her. She can’t be alone. The poor woman.” And what if she went into labor and couldn’t get to a hospital? Or worse… “Coco, there are vampires in Berlin.”
“Oh, my God.”
“You must be careful. You don’t have protection against vamps—”
“I do. I mean, I know how to kill them, Caz. Stakes and beheading.”
Cassandra stared at the phone. Really? When had her sister done all the research on vampires? She was barely getting her feet about the creatures.
“Zane thinks he can track her heartbeats,” Coco continued, “so we should be okay.”
“Wait. Her heartbeats? What does that mean?”
“Oh, uh…oh, here’s Zane. I need to go, Caz. We can’t lose the muse’s trail. It’s only been twenty minutes since we lost her. I’ll stay in touch.”
The phone clicked off, and Cassandra stared at it. That the muse was missing was cataclysmic. But something else bothered her more. “She said Zane could track the muse’s heartbeats?”
Sam, who fumbled with the tiny shirt buttons, cast her a lifted brow.
“How is that possible? I don’t understand that.”
“Is he vampire?”
“What? No! My sister would never…”
It occurred to her Coco had been pretty tight-lipped about her new lover of late. But a vampire? No. Nein. Impossible.
Hell, lately Cassandra had been insane with learning all she could to protect herself and save the world, if it ever came to that. Okay, she’d always been like that. All focus went toward learning everything she could about angels and how to keep them away from her (like that was working). Coco had always stood in the background, going to martial arts classes with her yet sitting on the sidelines doing school homework for the two of them.
When they were teenagers Coco had originally been the adventurous one, wanting to travel the world and climb every mountain. Cassandra had always wanted to be an artist, living the celebrity lifestyle like the rich and famous.
Until Granny Stevens had sat them both down and forever altered their destinies by detailing impending doom.
Now Coco worked at a travel agency, because she never had time for adventure and, truthfully, Granny had put the fear of danger into Coco’s heart.
And Cassandra now sought danger as if some kind of drug. And damn, didn’t the man who’d just sat on her sofa exude danger. He held out his wrist, and she buttoned the sleeve cuff then gestured for the other wrist.
Of course she hadn’t found time to chat with her sister about her new man. But could he be…a vampire? He had slain an angel. Normal mortal men weren’t capable of that feat. Not without the proper weapon. Coco had said Zane owned a Sinistari blade. That may allow a mortal such strength and skill. Hmm…
“I can’t think about this.” She finished with his button, then stuffed the phone in a pocket and stood to pace. “The pregnant muse is missing. Her name is Ophelia. We’ve lost her, and she’s to give birth any day now.”
Sam caught her in his embrace and, in lieu of a much-needed sisterly hug, she allowed the unwarranted touch. He was much taller and more solid than Coco. Standing in his arms made her feel a little less small, supported, and not so close to the edge.
It is what you want. Safety. Take it.
“We’ll find Ophelia. We’ll find the vampires. We’ll stop it all,” he said reassuringly.
“You have grand plans, angel. Don’t you know it takes more than two of us to stop an army?”
“How do you know it’s an army?”
“Tribe Anakim must be many. They have to be if they expect to capture a nephilim. And just because you took out the Sinistari doesn’t mean another won’t be summoned. Isn’t that their job? The demons will pursue you relentlessly. Too bad we can’t get them on our side.”
“Their alliance would help. Yet, the Sinistari are too lustful. One minute they’re focused on the Fallen, the next they’re following the shifting hips of a sexy looker. They are easy enough to distract.”
“You were easily distracted by my shifting hips at club Schwarz.”
“I, er, hmm…” No way to deny that one.
“How did you find me, by the way? Were you looking for me?”
“I was not. I do have a mission. But when passing the club, I felt the heat of the sigil on my hip and sensed you were inside. You know how it goes from there.”
The angel bowed over her and pressed the crown of her head with his lips.
“I can’t fathom this,” she said.
“But you can accept it. You believe in everything you were taught does not exist. That goes miles
toward your strength, Cassandra.”
“Not like I have much choice. I would love it if vampires had remained fictional characters.”
“Angels have never been fiction.”
“True.”
And had she imagined she’d one day be standing in an angel’s arms? Taking comfort from a supernatural being? And not at all frightened of their preordained connection?
Yes, she had. It had been a blissful, sensual dream of a warrior.
Sam stroked her arms and bent before her, which brought them eye level. As if to kiss. But he only lingered there, their mouths inches apart, breath dallying, eyes searching each other’s.
She wanted the kiss. It was wrong on so many levels, but she needed it. Yet she sensed he would not give it. Could not. Because they were both fearful of the Pandora’s box their desires could open.
Kiss him. It will be dangerous. How can you resist?
Cassandra tilted onto her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. He pulled away, his eyes flashing at her as if to ask whether this was okay.
“Yes,” she murmured, and touched her mouth to his again.
He was cool, but he did not stay so for long. Heat blossomed at the point of their connection. His firm mouth remained unmoving against hers. He allowed her to explore with a soft brush of her mouth over his, to direct the kiss in the manner she desired.
Then she realized he might have never before kissed a woman. Sam had only been on earth two days. And she had no idea what he’d done after his original Fall, but surely after millennia of imprisonment in the Ninth Void, whatever sensual technique he may have possessed had gotten a little rusty.
The idea excited her, and also gave her concern. She might be his first experience.
Sensing his tension, she smoothed a hand over his jaw, measuring the pulse of his muscles once, twice, beneath her spread fingers. “Relax,” she said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
He smirked, both of them aware that he’d said the same earlier, but in not quite the same context.
“This is new,” he started, then looked aside and chuckled. “I’ve not done this before. With any woman.”
