Her arguments were slowly unraveling, being picked apart by an army of high-priced lawyers. She was losing the jury. Most of them refused to even look her in the eye.
The case would be over in a few days. Megan would return from her dad’s. Evie was going to buckle beneath the unrelenting pressure of indecision. What was she going to do? How was she going to protect her daughter?
At first she’d thought he meant himself — she did want him, always — but a quick glance at him in the mirror revealed that his eyes didn’t blaze with the heat that had become so familiar to her. He was solemn and serious, staring at a spot somewhere over her shoulder.
“What are you talking about?”
Without shifting a muscle, he said, “I have the power to protect Megan,” as if he was suggesting she pick up some milk on the way home instead of dangling the answer to her problem in front of her face.
Her hand fisted around the eyeliner she still held. She was dressing for battle. Her best suit and power heels. Perfect makeup and hair.
Deliberately settling the pencil back onto the sink, she tried to catch Brone’s eye in the mirror, but he wouldn’t look at her.
“What do you mean you have the power to protect her? How?”
“Well, that’s not precisely true. You have the power to protect her. With my help. I can get an…agreement. A guarantee for Monroe’s conviction. You wouldn’t just be protecting your own daughter, but other children.”
Evie swallowed hard. “I never told you who was threatening my daughter.”
His mouth twisted into a wry grimace, but he didn’t answer.
She played his words back through her mind. Lawyers were good with words. She could equivocate and split hairs with the best of them. She recognized half-truths when she heard them.
Brone wasn’t offering to protect her daughter because they were lovers and he felt something for her. He wanted something in return.
And considering her suspicions that he wasn’t fighting on the side of good and light…
She barely thought. There really wasn’t a decision to make. If Brone knew of a way to protect Megan, then she’d take it, no matter the cost. Her daughter’s life, innocence and happiness were more important than anything else.
“How? What do I have to do?”
Finally he looked at her, but the expression in his eyes wasn’t what she’d expected. Stark and bleak. He didn’t want to say whatever came next.
“Sell your soul to the devil.”
Brone didn’t drop his gaze or look away. He stared deep into her and waited — for her reaction, her condemnation, her struggle. But there wasn’t one. How could there be?
And that was probably why he’d been reluctant to give her the choice. Because even he realized there wasn’t one.
“All right.”
“You know better than to agree to a contract without reading every word first.”
True, but it wasn’t like they would really matter. Something told her Lucifer didn’t negotiate.
“Fine. Read me the fine print.”
Holding out his hand, a single page appeared, stretching across his palm. Moving forward, Evie looked down at it but didn’t touch. The paper was old, tattered at the edges and stained a pale brown. Brone shifted, and it crinkled.
The terms were straightforward. In exchange for ensuring Monroe Stilton’s conviction on eight counts of child molestation and eight counts of kidnapping, he would receive life in prison…and would die there. She really didn’t want to know how they would ensure that. What if he tried to escape? Would they maneuver things to kill him? Did she really care?
As long as the monster could never hurt another child…could never hurt Megan.
She was allowed to live out the rest of her life, however long that might be. She’d watch Megan grow up, be there for all the important moments. She’d continue her work to get the bad guys off the streets. But at the end of her life she’d go to Hell and become whatever Lucifer wanted.
Evie tried to envision Hell but couldn’t come up with anything besides the childhood tales that had been told to her. Fiery pits, despair, desolation…
“What’s it like?” she asked, slowly bringing her gaze up to match Brone’s. “Hell, what’s it like?”
He flinched, which didn’t exactly give her hope. Brone was big and powerful and dangerous. Instinctively she knew he’d be ruthless in fulfilling whatever task he’d been given. For a moment she wondered if she was his task, and then decided maybe she didn’t want to know.
If the thought of the place made him cringe…she was fucked. But then, she’d already figured that out. The reality was still a bit of a slap in the face.
Turning away, she said, “Never mind.” Snatching the parchment from his hands, she walked over to the pen sitting on top of her desk. When she’d placed it there last night, it hadn’t occurred to her she’d be signing away her soul with it later.
The metal was cool in her hand, slick and silver, but the point never made it to the paper. A heavy hand wrapped around her wrist, stilling her and pulling her away.
He was behind her, his eyes glowing with anger and heat. His powerful fingers tightened, pressing together the bones in her wrist. It should have hurt, but it didn’t. He had that ability, to keep her from hurting.
“Will you be here with me? My handler for Hell?”
“No. The moment our side of the agreement is fulfilled, I’ll leave.”
His fingers softened, sliding up the inside of her wrist. A blast of electricity flowed into her body from where he touched her. It suffused her, making her entire being hum.
“Are all demons this irresistibly sexual?”
He laughed, the sound barbed and broken. “Absolutely, but I’m not a demon. Or not just a demon.”
“Obviously. The wings were a giveaway. You’re a fallen angel.”
He nodded. His fingers slid higher up her skin to tease the crease at her elbow. He was playing with her, trying to distract her. Why?
Using his hold on her, Brone pulled her into his body. His heat surrounded her. Those beautiful wings unfurled, cocooning them together. The contract was a specter that haunted her from the other side of the protective wall. She might not be able to see it anymore, but they both knew it was there.
“Hell is…Hell. It’s backbiting and dangerous. Burning and frozen. Barren and beautiful. It’s tempting and seductive. A grand court ruled by one of the most deadly and conniving beings you’ve ever met. Monroe scared you? He’s nothing compared to Lucifer.
“Satan has the ability to look straight into your soul and know it. Your darkest secrets, truest desires and deepest fears. And he’ll use that knowledge to torture you. Every day. Every moment. For eternity, forever and ever amen.”
The harsh words were meant as a caution. He was trying to talk her out of signing. But they had the opposite effect. They steadied her. Evie had known what she’d do from the moment Brone presented her with the offer.
And if he was smart, he’d known what her reaction would be as well. Obviously he did, because he was arguing with everything he had.
But at least now she knew exactly what she had to look forward to. The knowledge helped.
His palm curved around the nape of her neck. His fingers wove through her hair. A delicious tingle of anticipation shot down her spine. She tried to ignore it, but it was difficult. Before they’d become lovers, her body had wanted him and responded whenever he was close. Now…now that she’d tasted and experienced, she knew exactly what delicious pleasure he could give her.
Breath brushed softly against her cheeks as he pulled her in. His mouth touched hers, a perfect enticement. The kiss held none of the heat and urgency they’d been fighting against. Instead it was delicate and easy. The kind of kiss lovers give each other after years of comfortable moments together.
He pulled back and stared down at her with those dark, dangerous eyes. “Don’t sign it, Evie. You’ll regret it for eternity, and I don’t want th
at for you. I made the wrong choice. I can’t watch while you do the same thing.”
Pushing up on tiptoe, Evie rested her forehead against his. His sheltering wings rustled, cocooning them together. It would have been easy to think they were the only two beings in existence, but they weren’t.
With nothing between them, not even space, Evie stared deep into his eyes. She let him see everything, hid nothing of herself from him. The moment carried with it an edge of discomfort — most people didn’t like to leave themselves that vulnerable, and Evie was no exception. It went against every ingrained instinct, especially when the person you were baring your soul to was a fallen angel in the service of the devil.
“Will you be there? In Hell?”
“No.” The single word brushed against her lips. “I’ve been banished. And even if I wasn’t, that’s not how he works. The moment he realizes you want me there, he’ll use the promise of me to bend you to his will. I’d tell you to keep us a secret, but you won’t be able to. No one hides from Lucifer, not even me.”
“I have to do it,” she whispered.
“I know.”
The contract materialized between them again, this time accompanied by the pen.
“That’s why he wants you. Convincing pure souls to sign is difficult. There aren’t many of you. He’ll torture you, try to break you. The pure ones always hold out the longest.”
Great, she was going to be the devil’s new plaything. But that was vastly better than her daughter becoming Monroe’s.
Without hesitation, she picked up the pen and signed at the bottom of the page with a flourish. The moment the tip of the pen lifted from the page, the paper disappeared.
The sheltering wings around them fluttered, and the spine creaked ominously as they tightened.
Evie wanted him to touch her, to make her forget what she’d just done, at least for a little while. She’d made the right decision, but that didn’t make it easy. Sometimes the right thing hurt.
Chapter Six
The next few days were a blur of activity. During the day Evie prosecuted the case. She had a new air of confidence that seemed to be winning over the jurors. While the evidence was circumstantial, it was there. And since she now believed it would be enough to win a conviction, that certainty bled into her presentation of the facts.
Monroe’s lawyers were not happy. They spent most of their time frowning and whispering back and forth.
But not even the knowledge of the contract she’d signed could take away all her anxiety. Hindsight being what it is, she realized she should have asked Brone just how they planned to ensure she won the case. Having a new piece of irrefutable evidence would have been nice, but it didn’t materialize.
Evie had seen too many slam-dunk cases end up being ruled in the opposite favor for her to feel completely comfortable. She was afraid something would go wrong.
But Brone assured her it wouldn’t. Both sides had a contract. She’d get her case, and Lucifer would get her soul.
To distract her, Brone utilized the time they did have to blow her mind. He filled the nights with sensual pleasure like she’d never known. And was afraid she’d never know again once he left.
And maybe that was her true Hell, knowing that the moment she got what she wanted, Brone would be gone, most likely never to be seen again. And she’d be left devastated.
Evie wasn’t sure exactly when she’d fallen in love with him. Possibly on a dark sidewalk the moment her bullet pierced his side. Or more likely it was while he was sleeping on her couch, free of the tension and despair she now recognized forever stalked him. Or maybe it was the moment he offered her a way to protect her child…and then tried to talk her out of taking it.
He’d been sent to collect her soul, and he’d tried to stop her. She had no idea what awaited him in Hell for that transgression, but he’d told her enough that she could imagine it would be truly terrible.
The night before closing arguments, they lay together, entwined in her bed. Megan would be home on Monday, and Brone would be gone. Her entire world would be different. But for now they had these moments.
She’d taken to stroking the spine of his wings. He enjoyed the pleasure of it, while she reveled in the fact that he trusted her enough to leave them out in the open. Although she supposed there weren’t many secrets left between them.
His cheek was pillowed on his hand as his gaze roamed across her face. He’d said something to her and at the time she’d been distracted by other things, but the memory of his words now echoed through her head.
“Why were you exiled?”
His eyebrow quirked up in surprise. “From Heaven or Hell?”
“Hell. I can guess how you got kicked out of Heaven.”
His beautifully sculpted lips twitched, and his eyes sparkled.
“A slick-tongued devil convinced me God had chosen his humans over his faithful guards and servants. That got me banished from Heaven.”
Evie’s fingers brushed across the bloodred tips of his wings.
“Do you regret it?”
“Every day of my existence.”
He shifted, rolling to his back and staring up at the ceiling, although Evie thought his vision was focused a little higher, to something she couldn’t see. Would never see.
“I understand exactly what you’ve given up, Evie. Eternal damnation isn’t something I’d want for my worst enemy, let alone someone I care about.”
“You care about me?”
Slowly his head swiveled, and his gaze snagged on hers. “Yes.” It was one simple word, but it punched her straight to the gut.
This powerful being cared about her. She’d fallen for him, but then that had been inevitable. She couldn’t imagine a single person who wouldn’t have taken one look at him and willingly tumbled.
But the fact that he actually cared about her… That changed nothing. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. It changed nothing.
After tonight she would never see him again. The deal would be done, and he would leave. She’d live her life, watching Megan grow, and a small part of her would be forever miserable without him.
Apparently her torture would start long before she entered Hell.
But she refused to dwell on the inevitable or waste a single moment of the time they had left.
“And Hell? How does a powerful being get kicked out of Hell?”
“I challenged Lucifer.”
“You tried to overthrow the overthrower?”
“Not quite. I tried to convince him to let a soul go.”
Of course he had. What else would prompt the Prince of Darkness to banish one of the fallen? Brone had rediscovered his conscience.
He grimaced.
“And do you regret that?”
His eyes closed for a moment before opening again. They glittered, not with passion or humor or promise, but with resolve.
“I should. I walked the Earth for over eight hundred years, unable to speak to a single soul, unable to drink or eat. Unable to touch.” As if to reassure himself that he no longer suffered, his fingers brushed down the side of her naked thigh. A shiver rocked Evie’s body, but the quake that overtook him was stronger.
“Until that night at the club.”
Evie was concentrating on his words and was blindsided when Brone’s impressive body uncoiled beside her. He struck with a speed that left her breathless as her back collided with the mattress.
He stretched over her, the length of his naked body overwhelming all of her. She stared up at him, mute, disoriented and completely turned on. Her body hummed, and her brain spun, trying to catch up.
“You could see me. You talked to me. You touched me. You set me free, and in return I consigned you to a life of torture.”
Even as he confessed his deepest sin, his hips pulsed against her, tempting her to commit a few more. Neither of them could stop the inevitable, tonight or tomorrow.
Evie opened her thighs wide, a silent invitation to take whatever he wanted.
She was his, and they both knew it. If he asked her for anything, she would have given it to him.
Almost anything. She couldn’t walk away from the contract.
Without preamble he slipped deep inside her body. They rocked together, neither of them in a hurry for this moment to end. The hard muscles of his chest slid against hers, rubbing and teasing her aching nipples.
Next to her head, he threaded their fingers together. Palm to palm, chest to chest, hip to hip. Jagged breaths burst across her lips. They were centimeters apart, but he didn’t close the gap and kiss her. Instead, he stared into her with the steady, intense weight of his soul clearly visible. The darkness, the tiny piece of light, regret, hopelessness, fear…and something so much sweeter.
It should have scared her that he, powerful, immortal being, could feel those things. But it didn’t. It settled her. Centered her. Gave her something to hold on to.
The pressure built slowly. The unbelievable unraveling broke across them both with a soft sigh of relief instead of the explosion of passion.
In the aftermath he finally brought their lips together. Feathering his mouth against hers, he gave her the sweetest, sharpest, most heart-wrenching kiss she’d ever experienced.
And, almost too soft for her to hear, whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Chapter Seven
Brone exited Evie’s apartment. With nothing more than the flick of his mind he had the door locking behind him. He was going to sit in on the spectacle. It was the least he could do, be there for her. Although he would have been there either way, wanting, needing every last moment he could possibly have of her.
Today, one way or another, it would end. Either she’d be consigned to Hell and even a hint that he truly cared for her would be enough to endanger her further — Lucifer wouldn’t hesitate to use her to exact just a little more revenge against Brone. Or, if his plan worked and he managed to derail the entire thing, he’d be left to walk the earth in deprivation for all eternity.
Into Temptation (A More Than Men Novella) Page 5
