Broken Vow (8 page)

But that wasn't the reason he waited for her today. He knew she'd been good friends with Sonya back when Sonya was still an angel. He'd been told the black angel killed his son, Sully, and he swore to make her pay. Fulfilling that vow would be a hell of a lot easier if he knew where she was.

Scarlett might know. If she didn't shun Sonya for her unholy betrayal, it was possible that they kept in contact.

Jude clenched his fists to his sides when he saw Scarlett walking through the park, looking utterly smashing and oblivious as hell. She had no clue he was there and judging by the way no one looked at her as she passed, he figured she must be invisible to humans right now. Good. So was he.

She watched the children playing, seeming content. Was she on a mission, or simply passing through? He was glad she was alone and unprotected. He had a feeling the feisty angel was a fighter, but since he was once an archangel, he was still far stronger than her.

Oh, bloody hell, she wasn't alone. Raphael, one of the archangels stood a brief distance away. He had curly, dark brown hair and the stubble gave him a scruffy look. The male was mellow like nobody's business. His typical demeanor was one of unmoved tranquility. Jude had only seen him angry a few times, but when he was, the demons knew to get the hell out of his way.

Raphael seemed to be watching over Scarlett as she looked over the children. Jude followed the attractive blonde's gaze as it honed in on an invisible demon, whispering into a man's ear who sat on a bench, looking as though he plotted a kidnapping.

The demon smirked at Scarlett's hostile glare, but he began to tremble when he saw Raphael standing in the background. The archangel was docile, but his dark, silent stare had the demon uneasy and possibly contemplating fleeing.

Scarlett walked over to the mother of the child the leering man stared at and whispered something into her ear, probably putting a thought into her head. The mother looked down at her watch and told her child it was time to leave. She left with the kid and the demon fled once Raphael took one step forward.

Scarlett whispered something to a young man who was going through the park witnessing his faith to people. He turned and saw the creep on the bench and headed over to talk with him. They shook hands and conversed for a while.

Jude scowled, wanting to slap the goody two shoes blonde senseless. His intent today had merely been to feed off her soul just enough to learn of Sonya's whereabouts, but he toyed with the idea of roughing Scarlett up a bit first until he saw Raphael there with her.

After seeing Scarlett orchestrate a minor victory for good, Jude recanted on his decision to recant. The bitch was going down. He probably had about three seconds before Raphael pummeled his ass for attacking her, but it would be worth it and he'd get the information he came for, or at least part of it.

Jude snarled and leaped out from hiding. Her lovely aqua-green eyes widened, but she didn't get a chance to react before he knocked her to the ground and got her in a choking hold. It wouldn't kill her, but unleashing some of his frustration and anger on her would feel good.

He sifted through her mind for Sonya's location. She was in the United States, on the west coast in a large city. He saw the view of a bridge in a city near a river. Where was that?

Scarlett fought back and it surprised him to discover that feeling the struggling beauty beneath him caused a familiar stirring in his groin. Oh, bloody hell. The meddling bitch was making him hard. Damn his libido and damn her for being his sodding ideal of a bed mate.

No, she wasn't. He didn't just think that. She pissed him off like no one else could. Someday she would suffer dearly for casting him out of that priest and simply for being angelic.

Her body felt warm and soft beneath him. The way her eyes flashed with outrage at his boldness and the feel of her muscles flexing beneath him as she tried in vain to push him off was far more stimulating than he cared to admit. The fact that he was winning made him feel especially masculine.

His manly pride was dashed to hell when Raphael threw him off her. “Off with you!”

Jude disappeared into thin air and transported himself to another location. He stood in a shopping mall in the United States and went around the corner to make himself visible again. He smiled when he saw Delilah, a succubus head into Victoria's Secret. Perfect.

He went inside and found her rummaging through a bin of discounted, elegant panties. “I haven't seen you in a while.”

She looked surprised to see him standing there, but she offered him a smile before refocusing on the lingerie. “What are you doing here, Jude?”

“I had a run-in with Raphael.”

“In a mall?”

“No. At a park in Prague.”

“Did you get your ass kicked by the gentleman?”

“No, damn you!”

A few people looked over at them before going about their shopping.

The black-haired beauty smiled at him. “We're visible right now. You might want to sweeten your tone before people classify you as my abusive boyfriend.”

“I'd be more than happy to abuse you.”

Delilah let out a lighthearted laugh. “I'll bet you would. But you see we can never be because you don't want me spanking you in bed and I don't want you giving me a sound beating.”

He grinned. “Yes, that does put us at an impasse.”

“So what did you do to aggravate Raphael? It must have really been something to rattle that docile angel's cage.”

Jude scowled. “He's so bloody tranquil, it pisses me off. Every time I see him I want to hit him.”

“Yes, you do have your anger issues.” Delilah winked at him. “Then again, perhaps your malice toward him derives from the fact that he often shadows a certain blonde mission angel whose genius outsmarted your schemes of possession on a priest.”

He grabbed her by the throat. “Take that back, bitch!”

A couple of people looked over, mouths dropping.

Delilah grinned and winked at him. “Oh god, I love it when you talk dirty to me. Come here, you.”

She gave him a rough, open-mouthed kiss and whispered into his ear. “You owe me for saving your out of control ass.”

“You really think I couldn't take these puny humans?”

“You couldn't take Raphael...or Scarlett.” She winked at him, seeming clearly amused by his inability to knock the stupid grin off her face while they were visible in public.

“Keep pushing it, Delilah.” He shook his head. “I'm looking for a black angel.”

Her pale lips curved into a naughty smile and her alabaster complexion became tinged with a light dusting of pink. “Blade?”

“Why the devil would I be looking for Blade? I'm trying to find Sonya.”

“I remember her. She was that fallen angel I taught how to dance provocatively for the gang-bang Nimbus orchestrated for her. Back in the nineteenth century I think it was. What do you want with her?”

“She killed my son.”

A shadow fell over her face. “I heard about that. It was big news hearing about the death of the angel/demon/vampire hybrid.”

Jude put his hand on her head. “Tell me if you know where this is. It's on the west coast somewhere. That was all I got before Raphael jumped me.”

He dumped the image of the city by the waterside that he'd retrieved from Scarlett's mind into Delilah's head.

“It looks like a city in the Pacific Northwest. Either Portland, Olympia, or Seattle.”

“Well, that does narrow it down some. I'll start with Seattle. I have a vampire friend who owns a sex club there.”

Her face lit up and her gray eyes danced with desire. “A sex club. That sounds inviting. I'll go with you.”

“Maybe I don't want any company on this trip.”

“Well, maybe I don't give a rat's ass what you want. You can't keep me out of Seattle.”

Jude folded his arms with a taunting smile. “Blade is a diehard crusnik. You'll never get into his pants again.”

Her features shadowed with retaliation. “No more than you'll ever get Scarlett to flip up her skirt for you.”

His fists clenched. “Why you little -”

“What, Jude? Do you really think I can't detect the hormones raging off you right now?” She stepped forward and cupped the bulge in his pants. “Or feel how hard just thinking about her makes you? You're your horniest when you're angry, aren't you? Who better to arouse you than the one you hate the most?”

“Get your hand off my crotch before I break it,” he growled, hoping the sparks of electricity her touch struck off didn't show in his face.

“You catch more flies with honey, Jude dear,” Delilah purred as she stroked her palm over his cock with one hand and fondled his chest with the other. “For instance, I have a blonde wig and a fluffy, white pair of angel wings I could strap on. I could give you an encounter that would be the closest thing to being with her that you'll ever experience. I don't even care if you want me to play her as your lover or your victim.”

His dick hardened. “I'm listening.”

She pulled her hands away with an exaggerated sigh and picked up a pair of skimpy panties. “I'd even buy the lingerie you told me to like a good, submissive slave. I could put aside my dominatrix side for an evening for you.”

“What's the catch?” There had to be one. Delilah was cunning and self-interested, but then again weren't they all?

“The catch is I get to go with you to Seattle. Blade commands the cruxim and I have a feeling Sonya will know where he is.”

Jude rolled his eyes. “You're a sodding fool if you can't locate him. Every demon has heard of him.”

“I don't need help locating him. I'm making you a deal. I'll help you find Sonya if you help me capture Blade.”

“Miss him, do you?”

Her eyes flickered with lust. “Mm, no man craves pain and domination in bed like he does. The fact that he's immortal means he can take a lot more than human males. Now which of these panties do you want to see Scarlett in?”

Jude felt his pulse rushing like a madman through him. “Tell anyone about this...fantasy that I don't have of her and I'll kill you.”

Delilah chortled. “Agreed. Now choose.”

His blood heated when he picked up the white lace panties. “Wear these and I want you to wear a white lace camisole with it.”

She picked up the garment and threw him a flirtatious wink. “Ah, yes. I might have known you'd choose white to reflect her innocence.”

He grinned. “You know me well.”

* * *

Jude sat in a chair in Delilah's bedroom while she dressed in the bathroom. His cock was rock-hard and throbbing angrily in his pants. His mouth salivated when the succubus came out in a white lace camisole that did nothing to hide the baby-pink of her areolas and the hard nipples peeking through. Her bare labia flirted with him through the white lace thong. While the blonde wig didn't look like Scarlett's hair, the shade was close enough to suspend disbelief.

Delilah wiggled her foot at him, making her glittery silver polish shimmer. “Barefoot as you requested.”

He smiled at this. Barefoot like a slave. The puffy, white pseudo-angel wings made his belly tighten with wanton urges. This was as close to the real thing as he would ever get, but it was a pretty damned good replica. Not that he wanted the real thing. Scarlett was a pain in the ass.

“Now, is Scarlett your lover or your victim?” Delilah pranced toward him, flooding the air with the enticing fragrance of her perfume.

A sudden rush of savage energy flowed through his veins when he caught the sweet citrus essence wafting up his nostrils. “Damn, you smell like her.”

She grinned like a vixen. “You like that? It's the new lemon sugar perfume I bought. It smells just like Scarlett. I thought it would help to set the mood for you.”

The scent drove him wild. If he closed his eyes it was like Scarlett was in the room with him, filling it with her intoxicating aroma and her angelic presence. Her irritating, fuckable presence.

Jude bawled his fists and grew tense with aggression. “I want your hymen.”

“Sorry, Jude, I lost my hymen a long, long time ago.”

His tone became stern at her condescension. “You know what I mean, Delilah. A succubus can resurrect her own hymen if she chooses. Now do it.”

She rolled her eyes. “If I had a nickel every time a demon asked me that. Losing one's virginity is painful if you're a female. Just pretend I'm a virgin.”

Jude snarled and lunged at her, pinning her face down against the nightstand. He felt a wild thrill jolt through him when items were knocked off the surface. “I want you to be Scarlett. Scarlett is a virgin. Now give yourself a bloody hymen.”

“I take it your fantasy is of forcing her into bed with you,” Delilah guessed, heaving a sigh. “Fine, but if you so much as poke around my asshole without any lube, I'll tear your balls off. Got it?”

He gritted his teeth that a woman dared to talk to him that way. “Deal. I want you to fight me and act like you're pissed off and scared to death. I want you to scream when I break your hymen. When I bring you to orgasm, I want you to weep in shame over your disgrace and then in delight over my skill.”

She snickered. “Ah, the typical male arrogance.”

He slapped her ass hard. “That's the last ounce of mercy you'll get from me. I want this to be realistic and since you're a demon, I know you can take whatever brutality I throw at you.”

“Do your worst. My hymen is in place. Are we in role now?”

Jude hurled her onto the ground, allowing his eyes to shift to their glowing yellow and his fangs to drop.

She grinned in understanding and assumed her role as Scarlett for him. “What do you think you're doing, you demonic pig?”

He refrained from chuckling, hoping that their make-believe fantasy would morph into a credible pseudo-reality for him. “You've had this coming for a long time, you tight ass bitch.”

She jumped up when he dove at her and punched him in the face. Normally he wouldn't take crap like that from a woman, but because this was in the name of role playing, he could tolerate it. He backhanded her, knocking her to the ground. They wrestled a bit before she threw him across the room.

“You've got five seconds to get the heck away from me before I call one of the archangels to -”