Page 14 of Crimson Skies

Jasper raised an insolent eyebrow. “I’m standing in for him while he’s out gallivanting around New York with hisex. I think I’ve earned the right to do what the hell I want with his office.”

He crossed his ankles, his boots thudding dully atop Victor’s vintage bureau.

Theo clenched his jaw.You can’t hit him. He’s an ally.

He honestly didn’t know how Victor put up with Jasper. He’d only met the demon a few weeks ago and could barely contain the urge to shove him through a dimensional portal to one of the Hells whenever they were in the same room.

The fact that this would make Charlie Lloyd unbearably sad was the only reason he hadn’t done so yet. The newly promoted Level One enchanter wasn’t just the baby of Morgan’s Argonaut team. He was also Jasper’s lover.

Theo hadn’t missed the emphasis the demon had just put on the word ex. Jasper was deliberately trying to rile him up by referring to Cassius in that fashion.

He was very much aware of his brother’s past relationship with his lover. He would be lying if he said he didn’t occasionally ponder Cassius and Victor’s history, but he’d never felt any resentment toward Cassius, just as Rohengar never did toward his younger brother Icarus. Cassius might have been Victor’s first love in this realm, but heand Rohengar would be Victor’s only lovers now and forever more.

We’re soulmates, after all.

“Well?” Jasper said irritably. “Did you do what was asked of you?”

Theo ground his teeth, the demon’s voice annoying him all over again. “Yes. No thanks to you.”

“I’m in charge around here.” A nasty smile curved Jasper’s mouth. “That means I get to tell you and the other lackeys what to do.”

Reuben Fletcher’s lips twitched where he sat working on his laptop on the sofa. The angel seemed amused at their exchange.

“He grows on you,” he drawled without looking up from his computer screen.

Theo sneered. “You mean, like fungus?”

Jasper had just opened his mouth to hit back at him when Charlie came through the door with Victor’s secretary. Rosemary Barnett frowned when she clocked the demon’s impudent pose.

Guilt flitted across Jasper’s face. He took his feet off the desk with a displeased, “Tsk.”

“How’d you do that?” Theo asked Rosemary, impressed.

“Jasper used to be one of Victor’s subordinates.” The secretary sniffed. “I’ve been bossing that demon around for years.”

Jasper grumbled under his breath.

Reuben rose and went over to Charlie. “You look tired.”

He dropped a kiss on the enchanter’s head.

“I’m okay.”

Charlie’s ears flushed slightly at the angel’s affectionate look. Jasper wasn’t his only lover.

Theo masked a grimace.How that guy ended up in a relationship with those two, I have no idea.

The enchanter’s contented expression made his heart throb. He missed Victor.

He was debating whether to call his lover to see if he was still in New York when the precognition afforded to him by his divine soul raised goosebumps across his flesh, warning him of danger. A taint of corruption whispered against Theo’s senses at the same time he caught a whiff of sulfur.

Light bloomed around him as he unleashed his demigod form. “Shield!”

Rosemary’s eyes rounded. He dove across the room and took her to the ground. Her gasp was lost in the detonation that blew all the windows inward.

The deadly shower of glass smashed against the golden guard Theo had erected before being dispersed by the whirlwind Reuben raised. An alarm came to life, the shrill sound echoing around the building warning the demons of the breach of their headquarters.

Stark Steel armor wrapped around Reuben and Jasper’s figures. Their swords appeared in their hands. Dark enchantment magic throbbed from Charlie.