Nemesis: Paranormal Angel Romance (Realm of Flame and Shadow Book 2) Read online

  She stared at him, staggered by his gesture. Sure, she was a bit chilly, but her reaction just then had been more psychic than physical. But he hadn’t just noticed her shiver. He’d given her his coat.

  “Don’t want you catching a cold.”

  She’d never had a cold in her life, thanks to the immortal side of her heritage. And the frigid weather didn’t affect her much, although he must be freezing after his act of chivalry. His coat was heavy, encompassing her in a mantle of heated masculinity. But instead of handing it back to him she drew in a deep breath, luxuriating in the heady male scent of autumn forests that permeated the expensive wool with tantalizing promise.

  “What about you?” Her voice was husky as she reached out and flattened her palm against his chest. Despite the fact he wore only a shirt, heat warmed her hand as though she touched a living furnace. “You’re hot.” The words slipped out without her meaning to, but instead of biting her tongue at her stupidity she smiled up at him. Because he was hot. He was the hottest damn thing she’d ever met in her life.

  “So are you.” His teeth flashed in an appreciative grin. “You even look great in my coat.”

  She could feel the thud of his heart beneath her fingers, an erotic tattoo that increased in tempo as she leaned towards him. Don’t do this. But she couldn’t leave him. Not yet. Let me have tonight. “You look great out of your coat.”

  His hands slipped beneath his coat, pulled open her leather one and cradled her waist. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Chapter 7

  Rowan

  Rowan dragged her fingers over his rock-hard chest and deliciously defined abs. She didn’t doubt his word. Couldn’t wait to see in the flesh what she could feel in the dark. Recklessly she pushed against him, desperate to discover if he was as ready for her as she was for him.

  His erection jammed against her, promising her everything and more. A soft sigh escaped, and her fingernails dug into his ribs as his grip on her tightened.

  “Is that a promise?” His coat slipped from her shoulders, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t his coat that heated her blood or caused her pulses to race.

  “You bet.” His voice was little more than a growl as he grabbed his coat before it fell onto the ground. He wrapped his powerful arms around her shoulders and pulled her sideways into a deeply recessed shop doorway. “I always keep my promises.”

  Once again, his teeth flashed in the dark as he offered her a smile of pure sin.

  Before she could stop herself, she gripped fistfuls of his shirt and feverishly pulled the designer cotton from his pants. She wanted—needed—to feel naked skin. God, how much she wanted to press her naked body against his. To wrap her legs around his back. To experience the sheer luxury of sharing not only a bed but a whole night with him in her arms.

  Through the pounding in her mind she realized her back was against a wall. No security lights glowed. No streetlamp threw incriminating illumination. An unobservant human would never know she and Azrael were buried in the shadows of the shop’s portico.

  Just a foretaste of what was to come. That’s all she wanted right now. Her hands slid beneath his shirt and his firm abs sent tremors of need spiraling through her.

  “I’ll hold you to that.” Her voice was uneven. She wasn’t sure why she even answered him. She needed no promise from him and would never hold him to one even if, in a crazy moment of passion, he promised her the world.

  “I’m counting on it.” His hard thighs jammed her securely against the wall, his coat a welcome cushion against the damp stone. “Gods, I can’t even remember the last time I wanted a woman as much as I want you.” He cupped her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. As if she was something precious. “Are you an enchantress?”

  “Yes.” It was a sultry whisper, and yet laughter bubbled beneath the surface of her lust. In the space of one night she had been likened to both an angel and an enchantress. “But don’t worry. It’s not your soul I’m after.”

  His fingers speared into her hair, undeniably possessive. Her fingernails dug into his back, needing him closer.

  “What is it you’re after, Rowan?” One hand fisted in her hair, as if he was a conquering barbarian and she his helpless captive. It was a tantalizing fantasy. Especially when it was an impossible scenario. She could never be the helpless captive of a human.

  But she could pretend.

  “Your body, Azrael.” She wanted to explore and tease and taste every inch of him. Wanted to memorize every second of their time together. Store it up, so she could relive every moment in glorious detail later.

  That’s what she wanted. But she had no intention of letting him know just how desperately she craved his touch.

  Still gripping her hair, he curved his other hand around her throat. Her pulse hammered against his fingers, so deceptively fragile she could almost imagine he held her life in his hands.

  “I have no problem with that.” His raw whisper branded her lips. She had no idea what he meant. “Tonight, my body is yours.”

  His mouth was so close to hers. She wanted to lose herself and find mindless oblivion. How far away was his car?

  She pushed one hand between their bodies. His erection filled her palm and it was all she could do not to rip open his pants and take him where they stood.

  He gave a hoarse growl and rammed her back against the wall. His free hand roamed over her shoulder, briefly cupped her aching breast, and then he tugged her dress up to her waist.

  Disappointment burned through her before she crushed it to dust. A quickie in a doorway was all she could offer him, and all she could expect in return. It wasn’t as though she could risk seeing him again. Not when it might put his life in danger.

  But I want so much more.

  It could never happen.

  He palmed her naked thigh, clearly appreciating the fact she’d worn suspenders and tiny lacy knickers tonight. His mouth claimed hers, savage and demanding as his fingers ripped the lace from between her thighs and teased her swollen lips.

  Lust thundered through her veins, clouded her mind. But she never risked unprotected sex. She tilted her head to the side and loss shot through her when he released her tender mouth.

  It was hard to find the words, but she sucked in a ragged breath and pressed her hand against his chest, to give herself a breathing space. Before she did something stupid.

  As if this isn’t risky enough.

  Azrael

  Azrael froze as Rowan stiffened in his arms. What the hell? He’d been seconds from fucking her up against a rough stone wall. Disgust flooded through him, but still couldn’t dampen the raw need that rampaged through his blood. The lust that had obliterated everything but the need to possess this woman—this human—in his arms.

  “Rowan.” He sounded rabid. No wonder she flinched. He sucked in air between his clenched teeth, tried to beat back the ravening imperative to cast a glamour and thrust inside her welcoming heat.

  Except she was trying to stop him.

  He’d lost control. I never lose control. And now she was looking at him with those great green eyes of hers as if she was having serious second thoughts.

  It wouldn’t take a second to enter the very edges of her mind and erase the last few moments, just as he had with the diners in Estella’s so none of them recalled the incident between Rowan and the confused boy.

  But he couldn’t do it. Because that would be just as despicable as shoving her up against a wall in the first place.

  “Sorry.” He brushed silky soft strands of midnight hair from her cold cheek and again cursed himself. She was slowly freezing when, by now, they could be back in his hotel suite. “It’s not the right weather for outdoor games.”

  Without waiting for her answer, he straightened his coat around her shoulders before tugging her against his side. It was odd, this compunction he had to protect her from the elements. Logically he knew she was warm enough in her long leather coat, but something compelled him to wrap her in
his own coat.

  If a human had done something similar it would smack of primitive male wanting to publicly brand his mate. But since he wasn’t human, it obviously wasn’t that.

  “I suppose not.” Her voice was guarded as though she wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t sweep her into the next available shop doorway. “So how much farther is it?”

  “Just around the next corner.” Damn, it hurt having to walk when his cock was so hard. He’d never appreciated how much he relied on teleportation when the going got tough. He clenched his teeth and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

  Despite his discomfort, amusement flared. This was the first time in his long existence that he’d had to wait for gratification. Archangels never needed to. Then again, they didn’t go around picking up oblivious humans either. At least, he never had.

  “Okay,” she said. “It’s just I don’t think you should be walking around without your coat on. It’s making me feel guilty.”

  “Don’t. I’m as tough as they come. The cold doesn’t bother me.” He couldn’t recall anyone showing such simple concern for his welfare before. If she knew what he was, she wouldn’t waste her time. He guessed there were some unexpected bonuses in hooking up with an unaware mortal. Who would have thought he’d find her solicitude so inexplicably charming?

  “Hmm.” She didn’t sound convinced, but she did snuggle closer to share her body warmth. There was no need. He could feel the heat from her body radiating from her despite the two coats.

  Not that he was complaining. She could crawl all over him if she felt the urge. Preferably when they were both naked.

  “Here we are.” He hoped she couldn’t hear the relief in his voice. They crossed the road and approached the Victorian hotel, its gothic architecture quaintly imposing. Rowan paused and frowned as if the place didn’t meet with her approval.

  What would she prefer? A tropical island retreat? A secluded cabin with breathtaking mountainous views? If it wasn’t for the fact that his method of transportation could tip her into hysterics, he could take her anywhere in the world she wanted to go.

  Make that the universe.

  “We’re going in here?” She shot him an uncertain look. “Did you book a room?”

  She sounded as though such a notion had never crossed her mind. Where had she imagined he was taking her?

  “I did.” He gestured for her to precede him into the brightly lit foyer. “It’s the closest hotel I could find to Estella’s.”

  “Impressive.” She sounded impressed too, but when he looked at her, she wasn’t admiring the ornate interior. She was staring at him and for a second the soft, unguarded look on her face caused an odd pain to stab through his chest.

  Unguarded? The thought jangled in his mind. Did she usually guard her expression? It hadn’t occurred to him she might do such a thing. But now she was simply smiling at him, with no hint of the vulnerability that had so fleetingly illuminated her delicate features.

  He wound his arm around her waist and led her to the elevators. Never had it taken so long to get the female he desired where he wanted her. But, despite the inconvenience, he wouldn’t have forsaken that walk with her. It had been… different.

  Everything about her was unique. A crystalline certainty glittered in his mind, a warning he had no intention of heeding.

  One night wouldn’t be enough.

  Chapter 8

  Rowan

  As Rowan entered the lift with Azrael, she tried to stop grinning. He’d think she was insane. But she couldn’t help it.

  Tonight, she was going to share a bed with a guy who surpassed every fantasy lover she’d ever conjured from her fertile imagination.

  The door closed. She turned in the possessive circle of his arms and looked at him. His eyes were dark with passion, the golden flecks that highlighted his irises giving him a seductively wild air.

  She shoved him back against a gilt-framed mirror. Shock flickered in his mesmeric eyes. Had nobody ever shoved him before? He looked as if he couldn’t believe she had been capable of such a feat.

  She wound her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him and this time when his coat slid from her shoulders, he didn’t try to rescue it.

  “You pack a powerful punch.” He sounded impressed. “Got any more surprises up your sleeve?”

  He probably wouldn’t appreciate it if she demonstrated her true strength by lifting him from the floor and tossing him across the lift. All he saw when he looked at her was a deceptive fragility. But that was only an outwardly human shell that contained the tainted DNA of a hybrid abomination.

  She only wanted him to see the shell. Because if he saw any deeper this encounter would be over before it had even begun.

  “If I told you what I had in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Her whisper was ragged as she forked her fingers through his hair.

  The lift stopped and the door opened. Azrael didn’t move. “It’s been a while since anyone managed to surprise me.” Amusement threaded through the heady lust in his voice. “Looking forward to it.”

  Not as much as she was. Flirting might be beyond her grasp, but she had no intention of missing this golden opportunity of indulging in a night of glorious sex. That didn’t require small talk. Didn’t require fielding awkward questions about her private life. And unlike the infrequent one-night stands she’d experienced over the last few years, there was no dull sense of despair knotting her gut.

  For the first time since Steven’s death, being with a guy didn’t make her feel cheap.

  “Unless you intend to take me where I stand, you’re going to have to release me.” There was no mistaking the hint of laughter in his voice. “I can see why you go undercover now. If anyone messes with you they’re in for a shock.”

  “Oh.” Hastily she peeled herself from him. She had to be careful. It was all very well for a guy to think she worked out or whatever but even that wouldn’t account for him being unable to push her out of his way unless she let him.

  He picked up his coat and swung it over his shoulder, his other arm wrapped around her waist. Within moments they found their room and he opened the door for her.

  As the door swung shut the wall lights winked on, bathing the room in a low golden glow. He tossed his coat across a chair, wound his arms around her and pulled her back against him, his lips nuzzling her throat.

  She leaned back, her hands cradling his, thrilled by the latent strength in his rock-hard muscles that embraced her. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he’d hired a room for the night. Because hiring a room for an anonymous hookup made it… personal.

  Her eyes drifted shut as his lips teased the sensitive skin behind her ear. It didn’t matter what distinctions she made. This encounter with Azrael had become personal the second she’d agreed to meet him again. But this was as far as it would go. She couldn’t do personal. It was too dangerous for the human involved. But god, she would do it tonight. And in the deepest recesses of her heart she would make-believe it was as personal as anything could be.

  “I’ve never met an enchantress as seductive as you.” His whispered words were an evocative caress against her ear. “Or an angel.” There was a hint of laughter in those last words and although she wasn’t sure why he found that amusing, his humor warmed her deep inside, in a hidden place she had thought forever frozen.

  “How many have you met?” A tiny warning in the back of her mind urged her to skip this verbal foreplay. She didn’t need it. It didn’t stop her craving it.

  And that was the danger. But she couldn’t bring herself to shatter this illusory façade of intimacy.

  She felt him smile against her sensitive skin as he began to leisurely unbutton her coat.

  “You’d be surprised.” Again, there was that hint of amusement in his voice, as if there was more to his words than simple flirting. “I’ve never had an angel like you in my arms before.”

  “Well don’t worry.” She looked at him over her shoulder
as he slid her coat down her arms. His languid seduction was unbelievably alluring. “You haven’t got an angel in your arms tonight, either.” Not that she minded if he thought of her as an angel. At least that was a beautiful fantasy, unlike the ugly truth.

  Her coat pooled on the floor and he turned her to face him. His hot gaze raked over her as though branding her features into his mind. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you possessed the blood of immortals.”

  What a strange thing for him to say. Not that she was complaining about his odd word choice when he was clearly thinking of pure and angelic rather than dark and vampiric. She knew he was only flirting, that it was all a part of his inherent charm. But it didn’t stop her hugging his words in her heart, to cherish and replay them in the future, during the dark times when she struggled to accept the reality of her existence.

  “And if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were descended from archangels.” Was she flirting? Could it really be this easy?

  His teeth flashed in a smile, but it seemed oddly false, as though he didn’t find her comment amusing. Then it fled her mind as he began to tug her dress up her thighs.

  “Rowan.” His fingers skated over her naked thighs and she quivered in anticipation. “Means ancient protection against enchantment.” He found her barely-there lacy thong and teased her wet cleft with one finger. She fisted his shirt and tried to focus. Buttons. She had to undo his buttons… “Were you named well? Will you resist my enchantments, Rowan?”

  Hardly. How would he react if she told him the truth of her name? That her mother, with her last coherent thoughts, had called her unborn daughter Rowan. Not to protect against witchcraft or enchantments. But to keep the dead from rising.

  It was all detailed in her mother’s journal.