Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) (6 page)

Chapter Four

Amara hugged her arms around herself, trying in vain not to shiver. She couldn’t fail tonight. Couldn’t keep her hunger at bay for much longer. Couldn’t let Asmodeus down. Yet part of her feared she would. If she couldn’t get the elf to go with her tonight...the consequences were unthinkable.

Lucio preferred to frequent a human club. If he’d chosen Opiate, she wouldn’t have been able to follow. Not after she’d lost control.
And killed Ronin.
She’d been so starved when she met him, almost a full week without sustenance. So hungry that she hadn’t noticed what she’d done. Not until it was too late.

The driver pulled up to her destination and Amara paid him before climbing out of the cab. Reservé was located in the West Village, and it wasn’t easy to get into, not even for someone with her looks. Lucky for her, her succubus allure gave her some extra
oomph
.

Amara ignored the protests from the crowd when she skipped the line and went to the bouncer. She turned her allure on full blast, and within a matter of moments she stood inside the dimly lit club. Shades of blue decorated the large space, and gigantic navy-blue ottomans detailed in silver trim lined the room. Lucio sat at a U-shaped booth of midnight leather, deep in conversation with another man. He’d glamoured his usual moonlit-silver pallor into a more humanlike tan, and his long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail. He was dark, dangerous, and unapproachable. Something inside her rebelled at offering herself to him.

She headed straight for Lucio’s table and arrived right as his companion rose. With a curt nod at Lucio, the man strolled away.

The bodyguard who’d tried to accost her last night moved forward to stop her from progressing any farther. The sinister glint in his eye made her pulse race.

Lucio nodded at her. “Let her through.”

His bodyguard tensed, a frown tugging the corners of his mouth, but he moved aside.

Lucio made a languid motion for her to sit beside him. Amara slid into the cool booth and tried her best to appear seductive instead of disgusted and starved. Her allure helped, and seemed to be drawing him in this evening. He gave her a casual once-over. “You were here last night, right?”

“Yes.” She gave him what she hoped was a coy smile and shifted toward him.

“Huh.” He broke into a slow grin. “Lucky for you, I’ve concluded my business.”

He was right. That was lucky. Willing her mind to detach from the scene about to play out, she licked her lips and tossed her hair back. “Does that mean you’re in a playful mood?”

His fingers slid down her neck and came to rest on the top of her left breast. As usual, her body responded, begging for more of his touch. No matter what her brain thought of him. He responded to her pheromones, his eyes glazing over with lust.

“What are you?” he asked.

She tried her best to seem shy instead of like she was lying. “Half siren.”

He leered at her. “That means you can breathe underwater, hmm? We’ll have to put that to good use tonight.”

Not bothering to converse any further, he stood, pulled her up along with him, and nudged her out of the booth.

Excellent.
She hadn’t failed. If only she could be more excited about it—at least about getting the sustenance her body craved. She ached to drink deeply of Lucio’s life essence, to fill the void that amplified with every passing moment. She wanted it so badly that her hands shook and her stomach cramped. But her heart...it was her heart that hurt the worst. She didn’t want to do this. Not with Lucio.

When would this end? She couldn’t imagine a lifetime of meaningless assignations, luring men to their death to fulfill Asmodeus’s desires.

Sometimes she wondered if she would be better off not even being alive.

Lucio closed his hand around her arm and turned her toward the exit. At that moment, a man strode into the club. He had brown, jaw-length hair framing an angular face, a long, thin nose, and a pair of lips set into a frown that did nothing to disguise how lush they were. And those eyes...

Those unmistakable turquoise eyes.

Amara’s heart thrummed furiously inside her chest, the sound too loud in her ears, almost like fireworks exploding. At the same time an army of butterflies took flight in her stomach, making her feel like she floated on air.

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be real. Wishful thinking, or perhaps some crazy hallucinations induced by malnutrition. Or maybe she’d finally gone insane.

He couldn’t be here.

Yet here he was. He stared right at her as he prowled through the club with single-minded focus. All the other people faded away. She barely noticed that Lucio had taken the lead and now dragged her forward, on a straight trajectory toward him. Her feet refused to function properly and she stumbled, almost falling. Still, she couldn’t tear her eyes from the sight before her. Blood rushed in her ears, making her heart race and her legs numb.

She must be dreaming, right? It couldn’t be...

Ronin
.
The one man she couldn’t forget. The man she thought she’d killed.

§

She’d gone to a
human
club. He didn’t even want to know what she could possibly be doing there.

Ronin circled the building once before descending in a dark, abandoned alley a few blocks away. Keegan landed as he absorbed his wings and tugged on his sweater. His big brother had been on his cell phone with Dagan the entire time, calling out directions so Dagan could follow in his car. Taeg had stayed behind to keep an eye on Asmodeus.

“Meet us in front of Reservé,” Keegan said into the phone before hanging up. He jerked his sweater on, panting. “Talk to me, brother.”

“She’s in that club. I’m going after her.”

He turned and headed in that direction, but Keegan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t go in there. You’re not acting like yourself right now.”

“Bite me.” Ronin shrugged his hand off.

Keegan growled and shoved him. “Listen to me,
little
brother.”

Was he serious? Ronin had found the succubus who’d almost killed him, the woman who’d stolen his life force and left him damaged. He was so fired up it was a miracle his whole body wasn’t
steaming
.

Normally, Ronin would have used his calming ability to make Keegan go along without question, but since that didn’t work anymore, he faced his big brother head-on. The usually hotheaded Keegan took a step back.

“Listen, Keeg, you can come with me or not. I don’t care. But I’m going in there. Don’t try to stop me.”

“Okay.” Keegan frowned, his brow wrinkling. “But promise you won’t do anything crazy in there.”

“Let’s go.” Ronin led the way to the trendy club.

Amara
. Sexy
succubus
Amara.

When he found her, he’d...he’d what? Like he knew. One thing he did know: she wasn’t leaving that club without him. He breezed past the long line of humans shivering from the frigid weather. Idiots.

“Hold on there.” The bouncer held out his hand, about to put it on Ronin’s chest.

A low growl escaped Ronin’s lips. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The bouncer did a double take. Whatever he saw must have shocked him, because his eyes widened and his hand trembled. He snatched it away.

Ronin stalked past him.

“Sorry, pal. Long day,” he heard Keegan say. “Will three hundred pay our cover?”

Greed colored the bouncer’s voice when he said, “Sure.”

Ronin shoved through the crowd of people, ignoring their protests. He spotted her at the far end of the club, seated next to a man at a booth. She wore a seductive smile, but stress lines tightened her mouth.

The man’s hand closed around her arm and he urged her upward, forcing her to scoot out of the booth. She followed him toward the exit, turning her head in Ronin’s direction. That was when her eyes met his.

She recognized him. No doubt about it. Shock registered on her face. She stood stock-still, stumbling when the oaf holding onto her kept moving. But she didn’t tear her eyes from his. They flickered with a myriad of emotions. Confusion, disbelief, a tinge of fear, and...was that joy? He must be mistaken. The woman worked for a murderer. She
killed
for him. Surely the matter of his life or death wouldn’t be that big a concern to her.

Ignoring the asshat she was with, he advanced until he stood in front of her. “You’re coming with me.” His voice came out gruff. Menacing. But she didn’t seem to notice. She stared up at him with widened eyes.

“Excuse me?” the man she was with bit out, sounding all imperial. He made a motion with his hand, and three large men surrounded Ronin. Their auras indicated they weren’t demons, but they were definitely not human.

“Back away, asshole, before you get hurt,” one of them said.

Ronin tore his eyes off Amara. “What did you say?”

“He said get the fuck out.” The second man punched his fist against his hand in a gesture that would have been laughable if Ronin weren’t so fired up.

Ronin let his eyes rove over each of the men, memorizing their faces. As it happened, he felt like beating someone’s face in right now. Lucky for him, he had three of them to choose from.

The familiar tingle of his brother’s demon aura preceded Keegan’s presence. He stepped up beside Ronin, assessing the situation. “We don’t have time for this, Ronin. Grab her and let’s get out of here.”

“Like hell.” No way he was about to let the jackass leave. Not with the way he gripped Amara’s arm.

Keegan swore. “You’re doing it again.”

“You’re gonna let her arm go now,” Ronin said to the guy, ignoring his brother.

The man nodded to one of his lackeys and the man shot forward, throwing a punch at him.

Ronin caught the guy’s fist in his hand. He yanked backward, using the guy’s own momentum to throw him off balance. When the goon stumbled forward, Ronin slammed his other fist into the side of his face. The dickwad hit the ground hard, instantly knocked unconscious.

The second goon dove for Ronin.

“Damn it.” Keegan stepped in to fight the man off, allowing Ronin to focus all his attention on the third flunkey. The guy rushed him, much faster than his buddies. Instead of going for the face, as Ronin expected, he lunged forward, hitting him with an uppercut below the ribs.

Ronin let out a muffled
oomph
and crumpled at the pain. His lungs burned and the ache in one rib told him it was cracked, but he didn’t have time to assess any damage before the goon struck again, aiming for Ronin’s nose. He jumped to the side and, when the lackey’s fist flew through the air where his head had been, he swung around and got the guy square in the jaw. The goon dropped right next to his buddies.

When he was satisfied they were all down for the count, Ronin turned back to the man still holding Amara. His fingers closed around the hilt of the dagger at his back.

The man’s eyes widened in obvious fear. “Here. Take her.”

He shoved her forward and she fell against Ronin, clearly still in shock. Ronin released the dagger and closed his arms around her to steady her. She was so small compared to him, so fragile. He’d forgotten.

“No cheap piece of ass is worth this much trouble,” the man bit out before he retreated.

Oh no, he was going to pay for that one. Ronin edged Amara to the side and started after him. He didn’t care if she was a murderer—the asshole had disrespected her and so he would pay.

“Ronin.” Keegan clasped his arms around him, holding him back. “Let him go. We’ve got the succubus. She’s the important thing now.”

Keegan was right. If he ever ran into the man again, he could break his nose then. But now he was the least of their concerns.

Forcing the tension out of his body, Ronin turned to face Amara, who hadn’t moved from where he’d left her. She lifted a shaky hand to her mouth.

“I can’t believe it.” Her fingers reached toward him, as if she wanted to touch him to see if he was real. At the last moment, she dropped them to her side. “You’re alive.”

She really did sound happy about it.

“Damn,” Keegan said. “Bouncers headed our way.”

Ronin turned to see four large men stalking toward them. They wore menacing scowls on their faces and their hands were clenched into fists.

“Can’t fight in here,” one of them said. “Get out of here before we call the cops.”

“Gladly.” Keegan motioned to Amara. “Grab her and let’s go.”

§

Amara followed Ronin and the man he was with outside. If she guessed right, he was one of the brothers Ronin had mentioned having. Some dim part of her acknowledged she was in shock. Her whole body seemed numb, and her heart wouldn’t stop its furious throbbing. She should be worried. With Lucio scared off, she’d well and truly failed to complete her assignment. Asmodeus would go ballistic. And she’d be forced to go without sustenance yet again.

But she couldn’t bring herself to be concerned about that yet. Not when a ghost stood before her.
He should be dead.

She’d watched him die, his life force draining away. Yet here he stood, in the flesh. His deliciously masculine flesh. Everything about him called to her. His dark jeans accentuated his thick, muscular legs and toned ass, and his black wool sweater had a slight v-neck that showed a hint of the heavy ridged curves of his chest. The man was a work of art. No, a masterpiece.

The heat of Ronin’s hand where it closed around her arm set her skin ablaze. Her body shivered with excitement, and already an anticipatory pulse thrummed between her thighs.

She was so hungry. For
him
.

If Ronin had survived her touch, did that mean he was immune to her poison? Could they actually be together? She didn’t dare hope.

Her fingers ached with the desire to touch him. Her legs longed to wrap themselves around him, to welcome him inside her. If he was immune, she wouldn’t have to hold herself back.

Ronin and his brother led her to a gray sports car, where another man waited at the wheel. Another brother, judging from the similar features.