Az waited. He wanted to hold her, but he was afraid to touch her.
“So I slipped away one night. I stole a motorcycle—Brandt had been the one to teach me to hot-wire them—and I went back home.” Now a teardrop slipped down her cheek. “They were dead. They’d been dead since the night I left. The-the neighbors told me it was some kind of wild animal attack. My parents had been killed, buried, and I didn’t even know.”
“An . . . animal attack?” His own words sounded like the rough growl of a beast.
Her eyes closed. “Even then, I still didn’t realize the truth. Brandt found me. He comforted me at their graves. Told me that he’d make everything better for me. That our life together was just beginning.”
A life bathed in blood.
“Then one night,” she licked her lips, “this guy at a bar started flirting with me. Brandt got into a fight with him. I saw . . . his claws came out. He sliced the man, cut his chest right open. I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.”
A human would be no match for a shifter.
“I ran from him. But Brandt found me, and he told me that I’d never get away. He said we were meant to be together, forever. That nothing or no one would ever come between us.” She swiped away the tears on her cheeks. “And he told me . . . he admitted to killing my parents. He said they would have gotten in our way eventually, so he helped me, and he got rid of them.”
Her voice had grown ragged with pain. “I didn’t want them gone. I loved them. But they were dead, and I was left with a man who could turn into a monster.” Jade’s laughter was broken. “He thought I should appreciate what he’d done. I kept wondering when he’d kill me, and he kept saying how he’d proven his love for me.”
Az couldn’t stay away from her. The darkness was still there, pressing on him, but . . .
But she needed him. Az reached for Jade. He wrapped his arms around her even as she continued her tale. “He took me to the pack. We’d been staying on our own, in cheap hotels and cabins, but Brandt said that since I knew the truth, it was time to take me home.”
Home to hell.
“There wasn’t a chance to get away from him. He was always watching me.”
Guarding her.
“Brandt—he had scars all over his body. Scars that I realized—too late—came from claw marks. He got them when he was a kid, long before he ever shifted for the first time.”
She pulled back from him and stared up into his eyes. “His father is the one who marked him. He got off on hurting Brandt. On hurting anyone that he could. When Brandt went out on a hunt, he left me with that bastard. That night . . . they both made a serious mistake.”
I killed Brandt’s father. He searched her gaze. “How did you do it?” A human against an alpha panther?
“A silver knife to the heart. I’d been hiding the knife for days. Waiting for the right moment. I-I thought I’d use it on Brandt . . . but his father came at me. Hitting. Clawing . . .”
There was more. He could see it in her eyes. “Jade?”
She blinked and seemed to push back the past. “While he was trying to rape me, I shoved that knife into his heart. I twisted it, and I made sure he died.”
The darkness swelled even higher within him as the rage burned. “Good.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. You’d better be burning, bastard.
“And then I left. I ran as fast and as far as I could. I never wanted to see Brandt or any of those other shifters again.”
“But he kept hunting you.”
Her smile was sad. “That’s what he’s good at . . .”
Brandt followed Jade’s scent into the witch’s room. He padded inside and sniffed the body. Heather had finally found her hell. She’d never understood . . . he’d only needed her power, not her.
Only one woman had ever been strong enough for him. Only one had ever battled for him.
Jade.
She’d fought the one thing he feared in this world. She’d given him freedom. Life.
All by dealing out a little death.
The panther inhaled the scents around him. His body tensed. Azrael. And . . . another.
He rushed outside. His pack—some still in the form of panthers, some standing back as men—tensed.
The beast swept past them. He ran. Ran, following the trail Jade had taken.
Then he stopped.
Because the trail had vanished. The panther tossed back his head and roared.
“I thought I’d be able to get away from him at first.”
Lightning flashed outside, sweeping in with the growing darkness. A storm was coming in with night.
“I thought I could find a safe place to hide from him. That I could just start a new life, and he’d forget me.” Her smile faded. “I’d have nightmares about him, but I would get my life back.”
Az waited, his body tense.
“Months passed. Eventually, I stopped waking up, screaming. I got a job as a waitress at a diner in Arkansas. I even . . . I even met a man who didn’t scare me.”
She’d backed away, just a step, as if she sensed the dark energy that had come to surround him. But Az was fighting that darkness—fighting it, even as he drew the energy from the magic that stained the land like blood. When she’d backed away, his hands had fisted so he wouldn’t touch her again.
The darkness had already touched her enough.
“Brandt killed Paul in front of me. Told me that I couldn’t be with another. That I was his, forever.”
Not his.
“I screamed and I begged, but Brandt sliced his throat right open. Paul’s eyes were on mine when he died.”
You could always see the life drain from a human’s eyes at the moment of death. When the soul left, nothing remained.
“How did you escape from him that time?” Az wanted to know. Brandt would have been on guard then. Even more desperate to keep her at his side.
Thunder rumbled, echoing his words. He glanced toward the windows. The storm had rolled in so suddenly. Angry, rough . . .
And Az realized that his powers were slipping past his control. He was pulling in the storm even as he pulled in the latent energy from the unhallowed ground.
“Brandt actually thought I’d be glad to see him. He acted like he’d done some grand gesture for me.” Her lips twisted. “He sent his men away. We were alone together. I don’t think he ever even realized I had the knife. Not until I drove it into his chest.”
Az blinked, surprised. Impressed.
She caught his stare and inclined her head. “Let’s just say that at that time, I never went far without a silver knife. When it didn’t kill him, I thought I must have missed his heart. I knew I wouldn’t get another chance right then, so I ran like hell.” Jade shrugged. “I think that’s when he started to enjoy the hunt.”
The fur melted from Brandt’s body. Bones contorted, broke. His back paws turned into feet. Human fingers gripped the dank earth. He bowed his head a moment and sucked in deep breaths.
Jade.
Then he looked up and found his men assembled around him. They feared him, as they should. He’d earned the alpha title, slicing his way through all that came into his path.
Now, they waited. Ready for orders.
“We’re hunting,” he told them, voice calm despite the beast still clawing inside. But he was always calm on a hunt.
It was easier to track prey without emotion.
Find. Hunt. Capture.
But this time, his prey was different. Because this prey had stumbled right into his path. You’ll give me the power I need.
“Jade?” Duncan demanded. Ah, Duncan. He’d just joined the pack when Jade had first escaped. He knew just how much Brandt valued her.
But Brandt shook his head. “Not this time.” Not yet. Because before he could get to Jade, he’d have to take out her protectors.
Two. Two men not of this world.
“First, we’re catching us some angels, and we’re gonna show them just what hell on earth really mean
s.”
“For years after that, I was afraid to get close to anyone. But . . . I made a mistake.” Her shoulders slumped. “Found another man who was so kind. Johnny . . . we’d barely even begun to date when . . . when Brandt found him.”
And killed him. Yes, Az could figure out how that story ended.
“After Johnny, I knew the only way to truly stop Brandt was death. Either his . . . or mine.”
Lightning flashed. Bare inches separated their flesh. Don’t touch. “You’re not dying.”
Her laugh doubted him. “Then why do I have an Angel of Death after me?”
“I’m not—”
Her fingers pressed against his chest. His heart raced even faster. “Not you. The other one. Bastion.”
“You weren’t meant to see him.” Had it not been for Az’s blood, she never would’ve known about Bastion.
Her eyes seemed so deep as she stared up at him. “What did you do?”
Brandt had killed to keep her. And Az . . . he’d been ready to fight Death for her. His jaw clenched. “You shouldn’t touch me.”
Her hand pressed harder. “I don’t think I’m supposed to be here, am I?”
Thunder rumbled.
“If an Angel of Death is pissed and on my trail . . .” She exhaled softly. “I’m guessing that means I should be dead.”
No.
“It wasn’t your time,” he said. I made sure of it.
Her gaze searched his. “I don’t want anyone else to die for me. I can’t stand there again and watch—”
He broke. The cabin shook as the wind howled around them. Thunder rumbled so loudly it sounded like a drum. Az grabbed her. Lifted her up against him. “And I will be damned if I watch you die before me.”
His lips crashed onto her. Control, control—a frantic shout in his head, but a shout he couldn’t heed. His body was burning with need and lust and rage and . . . fear.
Fear, the darkest of all emotions.
Won’t lose her. Can’t.
She was the only thing he’d ever wanted more than heaven.
Jade didn’t push against him. Her hands curled around his shoulders, and she opened her mouth wider for him.
Her taste just fueled his frenzy. A wave of his hand had her clothes falling off her body and dropping to the floor. Two steps, and he had her on the bed. Her hand went to his cock, to the aroused flesh that strained toward her, but this time, he needed more than just the wild rush of release.
He needed everything.
Az’s hands wrapped around her thighs. Such smooth, supple skin. He parted her legs. Stared down at her pretty, pink sex.
Knew he had to take a taste.
His fingers stroked her first. Sliding lightly over the soft flesh, he found her wet and hot. A push of his index finger showed just how perfectly tight she was inside.
Take.
But first, he’d taste.
When he put his mouth on her, Jade’s hips arched up against him. His tongue swept over her. Sweeter than strawberries. So much better. He licked. He kissed.
His fingers pushed into her even as his tongue stroked over her clit. Jade’s fingers fisted in his hair, and she jerked when she came against his mouth.
The first time.
Because he wasn’t done. Az was just getting started. His hands locked under her hips, and he forced her sex even closer to him. He held her, kept her trapped just where he wanted her, and he tasted every inch of Jade’s sweet core.
Her breath panted, her body trembled, and she cried out his name as the climax hit her again.
He could taste the pleasure on his tongue.
His cock ached. The heavy flesh felt so big and swollen that he knew he’d come any moment. Az rose up. Licked his lips, and tasted her again.
Lightning flashed.
The rain beat down outside. A hard, driving rain that washed everything away.
Everything . . .
He positioned his cock at the entrance of her body. Kissed her as he thrust deep.
The rain fell.
Her legs wrapped around his. Held tight. His thrusts grew harder. Rougher.
The thunder was so loud it drowned out the squeaks of the old bedsprings. Az kissed his way down Jade’s neck. His teeth scored her flesh.
Her sex gripped him so tightly. Every move sent pleasure spiking through his body. Faster. Harder.
Her nipples were taut peaks against him. Perfect for his mouth. He tasted her there. Thrust harder.
She met him with her body and held on to him as fiercely as she could. Her right hand grabbed the sheet on the bed. Clenched it as she tossed back her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
More pleasure. More heat.
Temptation.
“Jade.”
Her eyes flew open. Bright. Wild. Lost.
Did his look the same?
Her hand rose. Stroked over his shoulder and onto his upper back. Her caressing fingers traced the outline of his wings.
“So beautiful,” she whispered. “My angel . . .”
Not an angel. Didn’t she see? Couldn’t she feel the darkness?
But her touch was all he needed. Az erupted inside of Jade on a hot, nerve-shattering explosion of release. The pleasure gutted him, ripping through his body and leaving him gasping for breath.
After a time, the thunder quieted and his heartbeat slowed.
Az rose onto his elbows and stared down at Jade. Her breath still panted out, as did his own. He brushed back her hair. “You shouldn’t be with me,” he said, even as his body began to thicken within hers once more. He just couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
But she was already running from one monster. She didn’t need to be in bed with another.
Jade’s gaze seemed tender as she looked up at him. “There’s no one else I want. Only you.”
She didn’t realize how dangerous the words were. Surely, she didn’t. To offer them to a man who’d never had anyone want him before.
“You know all of me now,” she told him, voice husky—sex and sin. “I’m not perfect. I’ve done . . . some pretty terrible things. Things I know I’ll never earn forgiveness for.”
But she wasn’t asking to be forgiven.
She was fighting. Planning to destroy the man who’d taken her own life away.
“You know me,” she whispered as her hands traced down his shoulders and skimmed over the thick scars that remained on his flesh. “So when do I get to know you?”
He’s not the good guy that you think . . .
Fuck Bastion.
Az never wanted her to know the truth about him. He wanted her to keep looking at him like he was a hero. Like he was a protector. A man she could count on. A man she wanted.
Not a monster she feared.
“You know all that matters about me.” He began to thrust again. Slow, easy movements. “The rest is just hell and death. It doesn’t matter.”
He wasn’t the same as he’d been before. Jade made him want to be different.
For her, he would be.
She sighed softly, the sound so sweet and lush that he bent and caught it with his lips. This was need. This was pleasure. This was . . . life.
So very different from a world of death.
Her hands clasped his. He rose up and stared down at her perfect breasts. Not even a hint of scarring marred her flesh. He’d stopped Death’s touch.
And he’d do it again.
Bastion wouldn’t have her. Az had given up the witch to death. He’d let her go, but Jade—no.
His fingers tightened around hers. Jade wouldn’t die. She wouldn’t slip away.
Not when he’d just found her.
And if he had to fight all of the angels in heaven in order to keep her, then he damn well would.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sunlight streaked through the old window. Jade lifted her hand to shield her eyes. Dawn had finally come. The light should have made her feel safer.
It didn’t.
Her gaze drifted
to the right. Az slept beside her. She started to touch him, but hesitated.
Last night, she’d felt a darkness around him, filling the air.
And his blue eyes had turned black.
Her breath exhaled slowly as she slipped from the bed. She’d talked to him and bared her soul in an effort to pull him back to her. Whatever rage burned inside him, she’d wanted to quench it.
But. . .
But she knew she hadn’t.
The sex had been phenomenal, as she was pretty sure it always would be with him. Yet Az had been different. So intense. Like a fire was chained inside him. One that would erupt at any moment.
She reached for her clothes and dressed with barely a whisper of sound. Even at rest, his body, bare to the waist, appeared so strong and lethal.
Not the good guy.
But she wanted him to be.
Maybe he would have been, if it hadn’t been for her. Because now she had him locked in a death battle with her ex, and from the sound of things, she’d managed to turn his own kind against him.
Am I supposed to be dead?
She couldn’t think of another reason for a Death Angel to be on her trail. And Az couldn’t fight both that Bastion guy and Brandt. Even he wasn’t strong enough to face two powerful Other enemies.
She opened the door. The squeak had her tensing. Crap. But a fast glance over her shoulder showed Jade that Az still slept.
Okay. Good. She could do this. Last night, she’d peered out of the window and seen the gleam of metal near the edge of the woods.
And if I was gonna stash a ride at this place . . .
That sure would have been the spot she picked to hide her vehicle.
Jade rushed outside and headed toward the woods. Goose bumps rose on her flesh. Even in the daylight, this place just felt weird, and she could have sworn she heard the echo of old whispers floating in the air.
Five more steps, and she was at the edge of the woods. She saw the gleaming metal again, and realized someone had tried to use a green tarp to hide this prize. She grabbed that faded tarp and yanked. It flew away to reveal the heavy frame of a motorcycle.