Born Sinner (Se7en Sinners #1)

  I frown, but say a silent prayer of thanks. I don’t know what he’s doing, but…

  Why?

  “Now that that’s out of the way… Cain, tell us what you know.”

  The scarred man nods. “There’s been more demon activity than normal in the past 72 hours, centralizing around the southern neighborhoods…”

  He recites his detailed report, informing his fellow comrades of the unexplainable increase of demon attacks around the city. Strangers slain on the streets. Entire families slaughtered in their homes. It’s Chicago, so the media is chalking it up as inflamed turf wars between rival gangs, but they know differently. They’re provoking them. Forcing the Se7en to make a choice: give me up or innocents will die. My mouth dries.

  “And do we have a lead on the poison?” Legion asks.

  “No,” Toyol answers, shaking his head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would the angels give up their only weapon of offense to their enemy? Why surrender the one thing that could lose them the war?”

  “What?” I interject before I can stop myself. “What did you say?”

  “The angels,” Phenex replies, his voice hoarse from screaming. “Their venom is poison to us. The demons earlier today had coated their weapons in it. Someone is supplying them, and only the Seraph, the most exalted, have the resources to do so.”

  But that…that doesn’t make sense. Why would angels work with demons to kill defenseless humans that have absolutely nothing to do with me? And why would something that’s supposed to be good and just allow for such death and destruction to sweep through the mortal world? I shake my head, refusing to believe it.

  “Why? How?” But even as I ask the questions, I already know the answers. They rest in the corners of his tight lips, the whites of his knuckles, the tightness of his pulsing jaw.

  “We don’t know,” Legion responds, without looking at me.

  “You know who may though,” Lilith says beside me. I turn to her to find a small smirk on her pink lips. Blonde hair unruffled, clothing without a wrinkle. No signs of brutality. I don’t fight the warmth that floods my chest.

  “No,” is all Legion says, the word sharp and final. He turns away from the mischief in her gaze.

  “Come on, L. You know it’s our best bet. We can’t go out defenseless and expect to protect her when we can’t protect ourselves. Whoever is behind these attacks needs to be stopped, or next time it could be worse. Any one of us could have been Phenex. Even you.”

  “No,” he repeats. The thunderous timbre of his voice vibrates the heavy marble under his elbows.

  “She’s right,” Andras chimes in. “She’s right and you know it. We’re practically sitting ducks out there. And that was the final drop of antidote we had left. I highly doubt Lucifer would like to supply us with more of his blood.”

  “And we could get answers,” Lilith adds. “Answers about why Eden was chosen and what she’ll be Called for. If we could pinpoint the nature of her Calling, maybe we could intercept it. Or teach her to fight it. We have to do something other than sitting around with a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.”

  I sit up straighter, my face a mask of foolish relief. There’s a way…a way to stop the Calling. A way to stop me.

  “Who?” I ask, my voice tinged with hope.

  “The Watcher,” Lilith answers, her earnest expression still trained on Legion. “You know I’m right, L. This is the only way.”

  He doesn’t say a word, his tongue seized with selfish pride. How could he just sit there when people are dying? When his own family is at risk? When there’s a chance—even a slim one—of stopping me from becoming a killer?

  “Please,” I whisper, that one word weighted with every ounce of my anxiety. “Please.”

  His eyes snap to mine, and just for a moment, almost too fast for me to see, he lets his mask slip a fraction, revealing warmth and tenderness. Revealing the Legion from my visions.

  He sucks in a deep breath, and closes his eyes on exhale. “Fine. But we stick together and do things my way. Toyol, locate The Watcher’s whereabouts. Phenex, how are you healing?”

  “About 80%. I’ll be fine by morning.”

  “Good. The Watcher will require an audience, and you have a rapport.” Phenex lifts his brows but Legion ignores the silent question. “Lil, make sure Eden is properly prepped and attired. I want a tracker on her.”

  “Wait…I’m going?” I sputter. I had prepared for them to go seek out this Watcher, but me… I could be walking into something far more deadly than the Se7en’s lair.

  “We won’t get answers unless you’re there,” Lilith answers. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe.”

  “Party tomorrow night,” Toyol interjects from two seats down, scrolling through his cell phone. “And you’ll love the theme.”

  Legion rolls his eyes and leans back in his seat, crossing the chiseled forearms in front of his chest. “What now?”

  “Saints and Sinners,” Toyols grins sheepishly.

  Legion snorts sardonically. “The Watcher is a twisted motherfucker.”

  When Toyol said there was a theme, I thought it just pertained to the décor, maybe some festive punch and snacks. No. That would be much too normal. It’s a damn costume party.

  “Do I have to wear this?” I whine, tugging down my skintight skirt. We’re in Lilith and Andras’s room and they’ve been having a little too much fun at my expense.

  “Yes. You’ll need to look the part. If you don’t, you’ll stand out for the wrong reasons. The Watcher loves all things kitschy and extravagant.”

  I release a huff of air and dare a look into the floor length mirror. My skin has been exfoliated into silk and brushed with oil mixed with gold flecks. The only parts of me that are covered are draped in stark white lace and satin, covering little more than my bikini area and breasts. Gold bangles adorn my wrists along with a cuff around both arms. My heels are strappy and obscenely tall, adding an extra four inches to my average frame. Silver, thick curls cascade down my back and frame a face completely painted with more makeup than they sell at Sephora.

  I look like a model for a lingerie brand, or the star in a sacrilegious porno. I am pure sin wrapped in the shade of innocence.

  “You look…” Andras muses, looking me up and down. He did my hair while Lilith did my makeup. I swear, those two could make Cain look like Henry Cavill.

  “Ridiculous?” I answer. “Slutty? Whorish?”

  “Sexy as hell!” he exclaims. “I swear, Eden, if I wasn’t into cock, I’d definitely give you the ride of your life. I may make an exception after tonight. You are…more tempting than usual.”

  “Huh?” I try and fail at hiding the blush from my already bronzed cheeks.

  “That Jumper in you?” He explains, grazing a long finger down the thin bodice that stops just under my breasts. “We can feel it…seducing us. Taunting us. Our baser senses have been on overdrive since you got here. That’s why it was Lil that was sent to befriend you. Any one of us would have fucked you a long time ago, making it really awkward when we had to kill you.”

  “Don’t count me out just yet,” Lilith chimes, coming to stand beside him. “It’s been a long, long time, and it’s not like I haven’t dipped a toe or two in the lady pond.”

  I swallow. Hard.

  “So I make you all…” My face flames hot, challenging the staying power of the makeup.

  “Horny?” Andras answers. “Incredibly. I don’t know how L is resisting you every night. Unless there’s something you’re not telling us…”

  Lilith smacks him playfully on the arm, slicing through the tense intimacy of the moment. “You know that wouldn’t happen. Legion would never.”

  I have the nerve to feel affronted, maybe even a little hurt. My pride wounded, I turn back to the strange, sultry girl in the mirror.

  “It’s not you, love,” Lilith quickly says, reading my solemn expression. I feel even dumber. “But Legion doesn’t…”

  “He’s celibate,”
Andras says, finishing her thought.

  “Celibate?” My eyes grow twice in size.

  He nods. “Remember how I told you that he doesn’t drink to excess? It’s like that with all sins. Well, mostly. But sex? Nope. Never. Not for almost a century.”

  “He hasn’t had sex in a hundred years?” I shriek, much louder than I should. I clamp my lips closed. Holy shit. Holy shit! How? His balls must be elephantine. And shit, why am I thinking about his balls? I swear, my eyes are so wide that my false lashes are melting onto my perfectly shaped brows.

  “Could be longer. Legion was…very much sought after in the underworld. He was strong, powerful, enigmatic and extremely beautiful,” Lilith sighs, as if remembering him from his glory years. “He’s still handsome, and strong, but that’s only a fraction of what he was.”

  Legion was even more gorgeous? I don’t know how that’s possible. His is the type of body that is built for only two things: bringing men to death and women to orgasm. Eyes plucked from the stars, proud cheekbones, a straight nose and full lips framed by neat facial hair make up his face. He isn’t as pretty as Andras, or as exotic as Toyol, or even as regal as Phenex. But he’s flawless. Well over six feet of pure male perfection.

  And that makes me even more appalled with myself.

  How can I be thinking of him like that? How can I feel anything but apathy about his celibacy? It has nothing to do with me. He has nothing to do with me. What he does and doesn’t do with his dick is none of my business.

  “Ok, I think you’re ready!” Lilith exclaims. I take in her shiny, vinyl one-piece jumper that dips down to her navel, showing off full breasts and a toned stomach. How she plans to walk in her six-inch platform heels, I’ll never know. Her smoky eyes and blood red lips really bring the look together. She looks more dominatrix than demon, not that she looked like one before.

  Andras is dressed in a tailored, black-on-black three-piece suit cut close to his body. His blonde locks are swept into a bun and, if I’m not mistaken, he’s wearing guy-liner. It actually doesn’t look bad on him. Honestly, it looks pretty fuckin’ hot. His words replay in my head. I tempt him. I make him burn for me. Not me, though. They’re all drawn to Adriel.

  Of course they are.

  I take one last look in the mirror and steel my nerves before exiting the room. Legion still needs to hook up my tracking device, so I take a deep breath and open the door to his bedroom.

  He’s sitting on the bed we share, slouched over with his elbows to his knees, hands clasped together. He lifts his head slowly, his silver eyes taking the agonizing journey from my high heels to my long, gold-specked legs to my tiny scrap of skirt to my naked belly. His molten stare grazes my breasts for just a heartbeat before flicking up to my face. I know he’s celibate. I know he has no interest in me. But the look in his gaze is pure, unadulterated sin and sex.

  He closes his eyes for a moment too long to be considered a blink, clearing the lust from his vision. He’s back. Just like that, the spell is broken, and he’s back to regarding me with cold indifference. I step into the room, my cheeks hot. He doesn’t want me. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be me he was attracted to.

  “Come here,” he commands, his voice gruff, thick with some unnamed emotion. I obey. No thoughts, no hesitations. I slowly slink to where he sits, the clack of my heels mimicking my heartbeats.

  When I’m standing nearly between his legs, he climbs to his feet, looming over me with his daunting frame. Even with the heels, I only come up to his chin. High enough to kiss his neck, or lick the patch of exposed tanned skin peeking through the top unclasped button of his black shirt.

  He reaches into the pocket of his matching slacks, and pulls out a small button no bigger than my thumb. “This is a tracking device. It’ll tell me where you’re located as well as read your pulse and heart rate, alerting me of any distress.”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “Yes,” he replies holding it between his fingertips. “The Watcher’s property is sacred ground, meaning no weapons or violence allowed. Breaking those laws results in sudden, absolute death. I won’t be able to protect you. So I need to…feel you.”

  I suck in a breath. “What?”

  “I’ll be wearing the receiver so I can physically feel if anything is wrong. If I need to find you, it emits a signal to my nervous system and actually leads me to you without causing a scene.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty neat.” It is. I’m genuinely impressed that they’ve thought of everything. A device like that should be in the hands of every parent of small children.

  “Yeah, Toyol designed it.”

  “Toyol? He designed it?” Holy crap. I knew the guy was a tech geek, but damn… “Then why isn’t he installing it?”

  He looks down into my eyes, steel gray plunging into chocolate brown. “Because I didn’t think you wanted his hands on your body.”

  Breathless, I hold his stare. His overwhelming warmth surrounds me, wrapping me in a cocoon of fire. I should tell him that I don’t want anyone’s hands on my body, especially his. I should refuse whatever treachery his touch will bring.

  But I don’t. Because I can’t.

  “I apologize, I…” His mouth works from side to side, as if he’s searching for the words. “Please…”

  I don’t tell him to do it, but I don’t object when he slowly slides a fingertip along the low neckline of my top. He gently inches the fabric down, revealing the milky white tops of my breasts. I hold my breath, but I don’t register the burn of my lungs. All I can feel is his skin on mine, brushing against the sensitive place where his scruff had tickled me in my visions. All I can imagine is his large, callused hands kneading, exploring, grasping as he dips his head down to take a pebbled nipple into his mouth.

  “This won’t hurt,” he says, slipping the lace-trimmed satin down just a bit further. “I just have to place it right over your heart.”

  I don’t dare respond. I doubt I even can.

  With an agonizingly soft brush of his fingers down the middle of my chest, he finds the spot where my heart races wildly. A loud, erratic rhythm that plays just for him. He pauses for just a second, taking that hypnotic beat into his body then he swiftly attaches the sensor to my skin.

  All while watching me through orbs of swirling silver.

  “There,” he says, gingerly placing my bodice back over the tops of my breasts. “The receiver is behind my ear. It’ll transmit a signal straight to my brain.”

  “Do you plan to leave me alone there?” I hate the panic in my voice.

  “No. But it will be crowded. The Watcher’s parties are…lively…to say the least. You’ll be expected to enjoy yourself.”

  I raise a brow. “And what if I escape?”

  “You’re not a prisoner, Eden,” Legion deadpans, stepping around me, taking his warmth with him. “You’re here because you need to be protected. You’re free to leave whenever you wish.”

  “It hasn’t felt like that,” I challenge.

  “Because I knew if we didn’t have time to make you understand—to explain everything—you’d leave without a second thought. And you’d be taken the moment you set foot out of this building.”

  He’s right. And I hate it. I would’ve left without hearing them out. I wouldn’t have believed any of it if they tried to explain in haste. I would have run home to Sister and led whoever and whatever right to our doorstep. Or worse. I would’ve been activated and may have killed Sister myself.

  I shudder at the thought.

  “I can’t cook.”

  He frowns. “What?”

  “I can’t cook, and neither can Sister. We ate instant mac and cheese and frozen food every single day. Our idea of a gourmet meal was Stouffer’s lasagna. The food here is much better.”

  He nods once, the slightest curve of a smile tugging on one corner of his lips, before turning towards the bedroom door. I stop him just as he hits the threshold.

  “How did you know it was ok for you to pu
t your hands on me?” I ask, a fist resting against a curvy, exposed hip. “How did you know I wouldn’t push you away?”

  Legion looks over his shoulder, a sinister smirk playing on his face.

  “I didn’t.”

  My stomach is twisted in knots as we step into the elevator outside the front door. There’s nothing else in the hallway. No other units or décor. Just the elevator.

  If feels like forever since I’ve been outside, and while I’m excited, part of me is riddled with anxiety. Who or what could be waiting for us when we step onto the street? What if I see someone from before and have to explain?

  Luckily, all those worries are dispelled when the elevator car opens, leading out to an underground parking garage. There are cars. And more cars. And more cars after that. SUVs, convertibles, sedans. Even something that resembles a tank. All black, all heavily tinted. I don’t have to ask why. I’ve been around enough drug dealers to know that flashy colors, bells and whistles attract attention. And while each vehicle appears new and luxurious, they’re not decked out with chrome rims or ostentatious racing stripes.

  We decide to take two cars: a GMC Yukon Denali XL, the proverbial beast of SUVs, and a Jaguar XJ, a much sleeker, sexier ride. The majority of us pile into the Denali, leaving Legion, Cain and Phenex in the Jaguar to discuss strategy. I work to conceal my disappointment.

  “Don’t you all worry about someone sneaking in through the garage?” I ask, staring out the window from my seat behind the passenger side. Jinn is driving, and Toyol took the other front seat, leaving Lilith, Andras and me in the back.

  “The building is heavily armed with alarms,” Toyol replies. “The system that secures our garage and apartment is very complex, to say the least.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s controlled by blood. Our blood, to be exact. It’s a series of very detailed mechanics along with a touch of blood magic. Wards, actually. They keep enemies from finding the place—but even if they could—they’d be killed the moment they set foot on the property.”