The young woman’s eyes widened as she took in Baal. He knew what she saw. His beauty choked her terror, made her forget how she got there.
“What is your name?”
She wetted her lips. “Alicia.”
Baal smiled fully. “Come to me, Alicia.”
She climbed to her knees before him, flushed and eager. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Baal reached out and ran the tips of his fingers along her face.
“Remove your blouse.”
She complied with a small shudder. His gaze slipped to the rosy peaks. The tips hardened under his stare. Maybe this would soften his foul mood? He would try at least.
“Enjoying yourself?” Asmodeus asked.
He didn’t look away from the woman at the sound of his voice. “I am about to.”
“Why did you involve yourself this evening?”
Baal lowered his hand to one of the fleshy mounds and squeezed. The woman moaned a sound of pain mixed with pleasure. “I sensed William’s intent to take the new Nephilim. I would have had him if it wasn’t for Julian. The Nephilim would’ve been my gift to you.”
Asmodeus stepped from the darkened corner of the room. “Julian is not the problem.”
“I want to kill him,” announced Baal as he idly flicked the young woman’s nipple. He hardened at the sound of her soft cry.
“In time, but he is of no concern to me at this moment.” Asmodeus stepped closer to the bed.
The woman glanced at him anxiously. Baal could easily read her feelings. She was shocked, turned on by the two beautiful men. He knew she considered bedding them both, and then she looked into Asmodeus’s eyes. She shrank back, showing real fear for the first time.
Baal caught her by the chin, tipping her head up, forcing her back to arch. He relished the rapid beat of her pulse and the pungent smell of her uncertainty. “What do you want with the cop? I don’t understand what is so important about him.” He glanced at Asmodeus. “He’s just another Nephilim.”
Asmodeus drifted away, smirking. “He is very important to me. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“And the senator?” he asked.
“The aide served his purpose, but he is of no more use. To anything.” Asmodeus laughed, and the woman shuddered at the cold sound. “I will be meeting with the senator soon.”
Baal’s grip tightened on her chin; his skin flared. The woman shrieked, but he held on as the smell of burned flesh wafted through the air. “Be quiet, Alicia.”
“I shall leave you to your…pleasures.” He paused at the door. “I do have one request, Baal.”
Baal lifted his mouth from where her pulse beat frantically. “Yes?”
“If you go after the female Nephilim one more time, you will wish I had simply removed your head from your body.”
A second later, Asmodeus was gone. The female Nephilim may be off-limits now, but that did nothing to ease the desire to rip the little whore to pieces. Closing his eyes, he swore under his breath and pictured Lily before him, which wasn’t hard given the resemblance. Wordlessly, he moved his head down her throat and lower. The young woman’s whimpers turned into terrified screams.
Baal smiled.
Chapter Ten
Lily snuck out of the Sanctuary through one of the numerous tunnels, then rode the metro home the following morning. Nathaniel was going to be pissed when he discovered her missing without so much as a note, but he would know where she’d gone, and he wouldn’t follow.
Not after last night.
She unlocked her door and stepped into her apartment with a shaky sigh. Nathaniel’s shock at seeing her arm last night kept gnawing at her. He’d known immediately that Baal had come for Michael, which made no sense. Sure, Michael was an untrained Nephilim, one who could be easily swayed, but why the hell would Baal care? While the doctors had tended to her arm, Nathaniel had questioned her until she’d fallen asleep. Whatever she said to him was useless. She had no clue as to why one of the original Fallen would be interested in the cop.
She dropped her keys on the counter, going straight to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of OJ. Gulping the juice down in one long swallow, she ran the back of her hand over her mouth.
The memory of Baal’s touch was too fresh. It had taken her months to get back into the swing of things after the first time he laid the smackdown on her. And it had taken years for the nightmares to go away. His brutality back then had left her unsure if she could do her duty.
She shuddered, trying to shake off the horror. She didn’t have the luxury now to let it affect her.
Anger and desperation welled up, and in one quick turn, she threw the empty bottle across the room. It made a less-than-satisfying thud.
She was an utter mess after having slept in her clothes. Her shirt was wrinkled beyond recognition, and the knees of her leather pants were scuffed. Leaving the kitchen and the minor mess she just created, she went into the dark bedroom.
Normally the first thing she’d do when home was throw open the curtains and let in the sunshine. Her rooms at the Sanctuary were several levels underground, where no light could penetrate. It had been one of the reasons she’d picked an apartment that afforded so many sources of natural light.
But today she left the heavy curtains in place. In total darkness, she stripped and went into the adjoining bathroom, where she drew a scalding bath. She sat on the edge of the garden tub while steam filled the air. Her gaze fell to her thigh. The irregular pink flesh seemed as noticeable today as it had the first time she’d seen it.
The doctors had kept her leg wrapped for days, and at that time, it hadn’t been her biggest concern. Baal had done a number on her. He’d broken two of her ribs, cracked three more, and fractured her arm. He had also dislocated her jaw and splintered her left eye socket. But it could have been much worse—she knew that.
Her insides tightened as nausea swept through her.
The horrific things Baal had whispered to her as he pinned her down on the dirty floor, prying her legs apart, leaving his mark behind as she cried, would haunt her forever. If Julian hadn’t shown up…
She swallowed the sudden thickening in her throat. Somehow Julian had healed the worst of her injuries after fighting off Baal, exposing the fact that he had retained some of his angelic powers from the days before he fell. The doctors had questioned how she had healed so quickly, but for reasons unbeknownst to her, she had kept his ability a secret.
She’d been lucky this time around.
Lily turned off the water and then sank down, letting out a sigh of bliss as her rigid muscles relaxed. Keeping her bandaged arm above water, she slipped her head under, wishing the simple action could wash away her mind, too.
The silence was welcoming. The last two days had been the longest ever, and the week had only begun.
Running out of air, she broke the surface and opened her eyes, steamy water streaming down her face.
Two extraordinarily bright blue eyes locked onto hers. For a second, her brain didn’t recognize what was happening, and all she could do was stare.
Julian sat on the edge of the tub, staring back at her. There was a mischievous quirk to his lips that faded when his gaze dropped to her rosy peaks.
Snapping out of the shock, she shrieked and jerked up. Water sloshed over the rim and Julian’s leg as she covered her breasts and curled up her legs. “What in God’s name are you doing in here?”
He tipped his head to the side. “I wanted to see you.”
