Dark Wings

  When I awoke, it was still dark. I groaned and clenched my fists. Of course, Lucas was one step ahead of me, he always was. My plan had failed and I wondered where Cole’s back up was. Was it even three a.m. yet? It seemed I wasn’t the only one using sex to hide my real agenda. Despite my sneaky attempt to try and trick Lucas into being vulnerable so I could kill him, my lips still burned with the passion that we shared.

  “If my brothers saw you tonight…” Lucas said, leaving the rest of his sentence unfinished.

  I didn’t notice him standing by the window, still wearing the same suit. I exhaled in relief. At least I hadn’t been out for a few days. I made my first attempt to get off the bed. Cold metal bit into my skin and I let out a small gasp of confusion. I glanced at my wrist. Shit. I was handcuffed to his bed. I steadied my breathing and cleared my mind, the last thing I need was a full blown panic attack.

  He turned to me, his dark eyes focusing in on me. “Do you have any idea what they’d do to you? I’ll give you a hint—death would be too kind.”

  He seemed mad. I blew out a puff of air to move the piece of hair that had fallen over my face. I was embarrassed, mostly because I failed and he was meant to be dead. Using my favorite coping mechanism, I covered my feelings with attitude. “Careful, Lucas, your humanity is showing.”

  A lazy smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. “You were going to manipulate me into having sex with you and then you were going to kill me… How’d I not see that coming?”

  “You should have. Do you honestly think I’m still attracted to you after all the evil that you’ve done?” It wasn’t a total lie.

  He dropped his empty glass onto the carpet and lunged at me, his body hovering above mine. Sharply, I breathed in his intoxicating scent, praying the rise and fall of my chest didn’t betray me. His unyielding gaze completely unnerved me yet I couldn’t tear my eyes from him. He was fast, much faster than me, and I wondered how I possibly got the upper hand in the alley. He ran his nose up the side of my neck, inhaling as he went. An involuntary gasp fell from my lips. Damn my body for betraying me! I felt as if he exposed me—stripped me bare with just the tip of his nose.

  “You know, you’re not as repulsed by me as you think,” he muttered.

  Truth was, no, I wasn’t. Lucas looked exactly as I remembered him. He was a triple threat—strong, smart, and sexy. It was rare to find those three things in a male. I also knew he was fiercely loyal, disciplined, and passionate. He was perfect—was—unfortunately, being the operative word. Him being a demon was a big deal breaker.

  “All that love talk… it was part of your plan to manipulate me?” he asked.

  His eyes held a curious gleam. When I didn’t answer, they darkened and the intensity sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly, I was afraid to say yes or no. Telling him I loved him wasn’t part of my plan, I had a brief moment of vulnerability and I flaked, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him know that.

  “Why are you keeping me here?” I groaned, hoping he’d drop the subject.

  Lucas rolled off me and walked over to the bar to pour himself another drink. I glanced around the dimly lit room. It was a huge, elegant room. The bed I was lying on was quite possibly the biggest bed I’d ever seen, and the walls that encased us were panelled with a deep mahogany wood. The floors were dressed in matching mahogany colored carpet. Beautiful paintings of a countryside I had no knowledge of hung along the walls. Other than the bar, a huge bookshelf, and an oak desk, there was nothing else to the room. My eyes fell back onto the bookshelf bursting at the seams with books. I wonder if he still reads.

  “I’m keeping you here because I want to talk,” Lucas said, bringing my attention back to him.

  A sluggish chuckle rumbled through my chest and I reached for my attitude again. “Funny. Talking was the farthest thing from your mind the last time I was handcuffed to your bed.”

  He paced over to me, his brown eyes roaming over my face. He pressed his drink to my lips and I took a big gulp of the harsh whiskey. Alcohol would help me feel better about my failed attempt at killing Lucas. He traced the back of his free hand up the inside of my thigh and toward the hem of my dress. Lust exploded inside me and pooled between my thighs. I bit down on my tongue, hoping the pain would stop the arousing tingles from engulfing me. I tensed, half of me wished he’d keep going and the other half was fighting back the urge to kick him. He stopped before his hands traveled too far.

  “I remember it well.” He paused and removed his warm flesh from my thigh. “But I mean business this time.” Lucas slammed back the rest of his whiskey and placed the empty glass on the bedside table. “I need you to leave.”

  I frowned. Did I look like I was eager to stay? “And I’d be more than happy to oblige, but unfortunately, I’m handcuffed to your bed.”

  Lucas shook his head, impatient with my comments. “Once I let you go, I need you to leave Earth.”

  I stared at him. He couldn’t be serious? Me leave Earth? Fat chance of that happening. Little did Lucas know that I fought tooth and nail to get this mission. I’m not the oldest angel. I’m not the strongest or the fastest. I had to prove that I was more motivated than the others, that I was driven by the thought of Lucas becoming something so evil. Only I could end him.

  “I’m not going anywhere unless I have your heart in a box.”

  “God damn it, V! Don’t you understand?” Lucas yelled as he began pacing the room. “You can’t kill me. You’re not strong enough. If you were, I’d be dead by now.”

  I watched as Lucas ran his fingers through his short hair. He hammered a few buttons on the big black box that sat on his desk. “Send Eva up, please.”

  Who was Eva? Lucas didn’t inform me of who Eva was and was more than happy to ignore all of my questions as he stood staring at the door until it opened and in stepped an old woman, beautiful, but old. I assumed she was Eva. She wore a long elaborate robe the color of red wine and I couldn’t help but notice that it’d go great with my red hair. Her dark skin was weathered, yet it looked strangely smooth.

  Eva didn’t greet him, instead she groaned. “You brought the redhead here?”

  “No, she came to me. I’m merely hiding her from my brothers. I need a favor, a big favor.”

  They stared at each other for a few minutes until she sighed. “Don’t act like you’re giving me a choice. What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you to compel her to leave Earth.”

  I shot off the bed and pulled as hard as I could on the bed post. The metal bit into my skin until it began to ache. I just couldn’t break it. I didn’t want to be compelled. I had no resistance against it. Only witches—matured witches, could compel others. Of course, it was hard to compel people because it requires your subject to be in the same space as you for a lengthy period of time and angels like me were always moving. No one in their right mind would want their free will taken away.

  “Compulsion is an exhausting spell, Lucas, and on an angel takes it to a whole other level of strength. I’m too old for that stuff now.” I relaxed a degree.

  “I know, Eva, but I wouldn’t ask this of you unless it was very important.” He lowered his voice, but I could still hear. “You know how I feel about this girl. You saw it with your own eyes. I need her to be safe… and Earth isn’t safe.”

  The witch looked up at Lucas with such compassion and understanding. It made me nervous and I had to stop it.

  “Oh please,” I scoffed. “Don’t listen to his ‘you know how I feel’ speech. You don’t have the people you care about compelled… you don’t take away their rights!”

  I jumped and shouted and called them names. I yanked on my handcuff and stomped my feet. They ignored me, of course.

  “I’ll do it for you,” Eva mumbled.

  My body went rigid and anger burned up my chest. “If you come near me, witch, I’ll hurt you.”

  I felt bad saying it and I wasn’t actually going to hurt her. I just hoped she didn’t see through my
empty threat. Lucas turned to face me, his features sharper. He was no doubt angry at my threat to his beloved, ancient Eva.

  “Relax, Lucas.” Eva chuckled. “I’m old, but I’m not useless.”

  If I wanted her to believe I was serious, I was going to have to act serious. She took a few steps toward me and I lowered my stance in defense. She shouted some brief incantation in Latin and extended her palm toward me. A pain radiated from the back of my skull to the front. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I fell to my knees. Whatever she was doing to me hurt like nothing I’d ever felt before. My brain felt like it was on the brink of exploding—like an atom bomb had somehow been shoved inside my skull and forced to explode over and over again. I didn’t scream. I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. Instead, I dropped my gaze to the floor, desperately trying to blink back the tears that threatened.

  “Look at me,” the witch said, soothingly.

  I didn’t.

  “Look at me!” she demanded.

  My neck snapped up. I had no control over it, but she did. Her molten gold eyes stared fiercely into mine and she continued chanting in Latin. I couldn’t take my eyes off hers, but I could hear Lucas at the bar pouring himself another drink. It seemed as well as becoming a raging, psychopathic demon, he’d also become an alcoholic. It was strange to see, Lucas was never a big drinker. A glass of white wine was his maximum.

  My brain went fuzzy as I felt her digging around in my brain. She wasn’t trying to compel me yet, she was trying to get information. A few memories played quickly in my mind—the day I woke up in hospital, my first training session with Lucas, when he told me he loved me, the first time we had sex together, and finally, the night he was taken. I scowled at her, but couldn’t speak. Those memories were for Lucas and I only. No one else had to see them. Eva bent down closer to me and I was enveloped by a scent of honey and rosemary. My mind hazed over, all my worries were gone.

  “You’re going to go back to your headquarters and return to the Never Dark realm. When you’re asked why you left, you’ll simply tell them that you are no match for Lucas. Once this is over, you won’t remember the compulsion.” Eva swayed for a split second, but found her balance again. Seconds later, a thin line of blood trailed from her nose to her bottom lip, and as we kept eye contact, I could feel my thoughts changing. The burning need to kill Lucas and set things right disappeared… the only thing I wanted was to leave Earth.

  In front of me, the witch began to wobble on her feet and the muscle in my left arm twitched as I reached for her. The soft fabric of her robe grazed over the tips of my fingers as she fell in a crumpled heap on the ground. Lucas was at her side in a flash, checking her vital signs.

  “Is she going to be okay?” I asked, unsure why I even cared.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  He scooped the suddenly frail, old woman into his arms and laid her on his bed. It was warm tonight, so there was no need to put any blankets on her. I tried to remember why Eva had fallen, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even remember when exactly she came into the room. The quiet sound of metal scraping wood pulled me from my thoughts and reminded me that I was still handcuffed to the bed.

  “Can you let me go?”

  Lucas turned to me and his dark eyes watched me for a few moments. I stared back at him, no longer certain why I didn’t want to kill him. I promised myself that I would end his suffering, but now I was almost certain that I was no match for him and it scared the hell out of me. Slowly, he pulled a tiny set of keys from his back pocket. A cocky smile spread over his face.

  “You know, I like you like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Not angry.” He smiled. “And handcuffed to my bed.”

  Of course, I walked right into that one. I sighed. “Just let me go so I can get out of here.”

  He stepped toward me, but then changed his mind. A sad look crossed his features and pressed his index finger against his bottom lip, as if in thought. “Once I let you go… we probably won’t see each other again.”

  “I know.” My voice quivered. Damn. That didn’t come out as confident as I wanted it to.

  Lucas stepped forward and unlocked my handcuffs. I rubbed my wrist, but it didn’t help. I don’t think anything short of ice was going to help. Abruptly, he pulled me in to him and momentarily I felt weightless. A split second later my feet found the ground again. The scent of smoke enveloped me and lingered in a strong taste on my tongue. I realized we teleported back to my small apartment and the thought of it made me sick.

  “Why’d you do that?” I demanded, shoving him away from me.

  I could feel the demon magic crawling all over me. Maybe I was exaggerating, but angels can only teleport when travelling between realms and that’s with the help of a Veltra angel. A Veltra angel is an angel that teleports angels to and from the Never Dark realm. That form of travel was easy, allowed, and not nausea-provoking.

  “I brought you home. I was being a gentleman,” he said, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

  Of course he’d find this entertaining. He should know how angels feel about demons and their abilities.

  “I could have found my own way home,” I retorted, leaning against the reflective glass of my wardrobe, ignoring the feeling of a million tiny bugs crawling over my skin.

  “What kind of host would I be if I didn’t make sure you got home safely?”

  I ran my hands over my face and through my hair. “Whatever.” I pushed past Lucas and over to my vanity table. The teleportation left me feeling nauseous and hot. My hair felt like it was suffocating me and so I searched for a clip that would hold my hair away from my neck. I didn’t own a lot of hair clips, but I knew I had one or two lying around under my guns and catsuits. Finally, I found a big, gold-edged hair clip and proceeded to pin up my hair. I turned to face Lucas, who was now standing too close. Disgustingly, I became breathless as his scent engulfed me. I met his eyes, and now that I strangely didn’t want to kill him, I didn’t see him as an evil demon. His face was soft and he was admiring me. I felt a strange fluttering sensation in my chest. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the teleporting or because of the look in his eyes. He is a demon, I reminded myself over and over.

  “What?” I whispered, uneasily. ʺWhy are you looking at me like that?ʺ

  He shook his head. “No reason.”

  I frowned. I’d never seen Lucas look so uncertain before.

  “I guess this is goodbye,” he said. I watched as he lazily trailed a finger up my forearm.

  That touch alone was enough for me to abandon my morals, but instead I clenched my teeth, hoping he’d stop and just leave. My gaze trailed from my forearm to his face, and his uncertain expression was replaced with some kind of sexy, defiant smile. He knew exactly what his touch was doing to me.

  I let out a slow, controlled exhale. I’m not going to do this. It’s wrong and against everything I’ve been taught. I watched in sweet agony as his wet tongue slid across his bottom lip and I recalled exactly what it felt like on my skin. Delicious desire burned at my core and I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do. Fuck it, I thought.

  And I threw myself at him.

  Almost

  Lucas

  I pulled her closer to me as she pressed her body and lips hard against mine. Her tongue stroked mine and made the reaction in my pants unstoppable. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me tightly against her. I could feel her heart beating hard against my chest. She wanted this as much as I did. The things I wanted to do to her were endless. For three years, I’d been imagining this moment, the moment when Violet Ashton would allow herself to want me again. My left hand trailed up the back of her tight, white dress and into her hair. I pulled the clip out and let her hair fall down her back and around her shoulders. If we were going to do this, then we were going to do it the way I’d been imagining it. The clip dropped with a small thud and Violet kicked off her tall, white stilettos. We headed toward her mirrored wardrobe as we g
reedily devoured each other with as much intensity as our fight in the alley. When we reached the wardrobe, I flipped her, pressing her torso against the cool glass. I could see her hot breath fog the glass as she panted and it drove me crazy. I clenched my teeth against the urge to rip her dress clean off instead of unzipping it slowly. I watched in the mirror as her dress slid down her arms and fell in a small pool of white around her feet. I took a step back to admire her. “You’re so beautiful, V.”

  She turned around to face me and I was suddenly grateful that I could see well in the dark. Her impressive bust was covered in thin white lace, making her nipples indistinguishable—just. Violet flicked her hair so it draped all around her, the way I liked it. I watched as she stalked toward me, her eyes not leaving mine. Her hands ran over my chest and down my arms. Slowly, she began unbuttoning my shirt and I let her. Initially, I didn’t want this to go too far, for her sake, not mine. But I just couldn’t help myself. Restraint was a difficult thing when it came to her. When the last buttoned opened, exposing my torso and her hands ran up my stomach and over my chest, I lost it. I grabbed her and pulled her in to me. She moaned in delight, letting me know I wasn’t too rough with her. I backed up until the back of my legs hit the bed. I turned and pushed her down onto the bed and I fell on top of her, careful to hold the majority of my weight on my arms. I ran my hand across her flat, smooth navel, loving how her body heaved in response to my touch. She flexed her hips up in a rhythm, hinting for me to bring my fingers down lower. I slid my hands down, toying with the hem of her underwear. The way she moaned exposed every nerve in my body. I trailed my kisses from her lips, down her neck and across her chest. I used my teeth to free her nipple from the confines of her bra as Violet ran her fingers through my hair, urging me back up to her mouth. When our lips met, they melted together like ice on a hot slab of concrete. The only thing running through my mind was her. I was going to have sex with Violet Ashton. The girl I’d been inwardly pining over for the last three years. I slid my hand further underneath the fabric of her panties, rubbing my hand gently along her insane warmth. She whimpered and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She claimed to not want me, but no matter what her mouth said, her body was the only thing telling the truth. She wanted me and she wanted me now. As we kissed, she fumbled with my belt buckle and with every second that passed, I grew more and more excited. I ached against the fabric of my pants as I swelled harder.