Page 19

After checking back in with Rebecca, I wondered how I would approach the other two council members. If even Beatriz was warning me to be careful, I had to take them seriously.

That meant I needed more information.

I could visit Zane again and see if my demon had any information for me. However, Gage had caught me last time and, while he didn’t do anything, I didn’t want to take the chance. They all knew I’d visited the twins and Zane, so they’d be looking for me to come back to see them at some point.

The fact that I hadn’t visited Gage yet might have been lost on them, but the Sentinel wasn’t someone I could trust to hear me out. His suspicious and cautious nature made him a danger if I didn’t know for sure that he was on my side.

Walking over to the desk in my room, I found a scrap of paper. I lifted what I thought was a writing utensil and scribbled out a note to meet me at my tower at midnight. Then I spelled it so that only the demon side of Zane would be able to read it. I twisted my wrist and the paper disappeared.

My eyes drifted to the nearby clock, sighing with impatience. Now we waited.

The hours ticked by at an excruciating pace. Rebecca came in and out, offering me options to pass the time or to give me the latest news. For a short time, I sat with her and watched the same drama Luke and Blake loved. It made me homesick, so I excused myself to go back to my room and wait.

The majority of me knew I was doing the right thing. For the humans and for justice for my mother.

However, another part of me wished I could go back to when I’d first been rescued from my tower. I could just be with my mages and not have all these extra complications getting between us. While I had Rebecca, I couldn’t help feeling lonely.

Finally, the time came and I could make my way to Old Central Park. I wrapped myself in a long black hooded cloak, pulling it up over my blonde locks to hide my identity.

I didn’t tell Rebecca where I was going. Not that I thought she would stop me. If anything, she would have encouraged me to find out everything I could to reach our goals.

However, meeting Zane’s demon in the middle of the night could turn into a different kind of meeting than she’d expect. I didn’t want her to think that I was letting them influence my actions.

My magic placed me in the tree line across from my destroyed tower. Stepping out from the shadows, I made my way over to it, staring down at the broken pieces of my past. A thousand years and it had all been reduced down to rubble.

Smoke tickled my nose, and a burning cigarette fell at my feet. I stepped on it, putting it out, and turned.

Red eyes bore into me beneath Zane’s brows. His glasses tucked into the front pocket of his shirt, the demon wearing Zane’s body stalked toward me.

I drew my cloak further around me, peering up into those demonic eyes. “Do you have what I asked for?”

“What?” His lips curled, flashing Zane’s canines. “No hello kiss?”

I grabbed the cross hanging from his neck and jerked him toward me. My mouth crushed against his for a brief moment, just long enough for him to try and deepen it before I pulled back. “There. Now, talk.”

“I see what this is, you’re just using me for information. Luring me in with the promise of violence and then using me to get what you want.” He grinned maliciously, chuckling. “I love it.”

“Good, now spill.” I poked him in the chest. “What do you know about Cleric Jetta and Conjurer Carisa?”

“You should just kill them. It would solve your problem, and we wouldn’t have to do all this complicated stuff.”

I trailed my fingers up his chest, my voice coming out into a purr, “But then we wouldn’t get to meet up like this.”

He clasped my hand gently, leaning his forehead toward mine. “That’s true.” He grabbed the back of my neck in a painful squeeze, my hair tangling in his fingers, jerking my head back. “Maybe I should just kill you then?”

I laughed and grinned up at him. “Now where would the fun in that be?”

“Well, the unending pain it would cause the cleric would be plenty of fun for me.” His other hand wrapped around the front of my throat, not squeezing while making the threat clear.

His nose brushed against mine, and I lifted slightly to nip at it. “Harder.”

The demon threw his head back and laughed darkly. “You are one fucked-up human. Fine. Fine.” He released my throat and stepped back. “We’ll do it your way... for now. I don’t know much about the conjurer, but Jetta, the naughty boy, has a warehouse no one thinks he owns where he does his experiments on humans.”

Anger built in me. The bastard wasn’t just talking about cutting me open to study me. He was actually already doing it to others.

Suddenly, the demon’s idea to just kill him wasn’t looking so aggressive. Maybe I’d do a bit of experimenting myself and then the mage could see what it was like to be under the knife.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but I can feel the bloodlust from here and it’s getting me hard.” The demon dragged me against his front, grinding Zane’s length against my stomach. “I need to have you again. Right now. While you’re still thinking about blood and violence.”

I put my hands on his chest, pushing at him. “No. Not while you’re in his body. Not without his permission.”

My moral compass may not go north, but there were some things I wouldn’t do. I cared about Zane, and the thought of using his body without his knowledge made my inside squirm.

The demon growled against me, his teeth clenched. “Then just let me taste you.”

Those red eyes burned me, making my clothes feel tight and itchy against my body. The next thing I knew, one word came out. “Okay.”

He swirled me around, pushing me back into the tree line. My back scraped against the bark of the tree. He knelt before me, and my pulse ratcheted up.

The sight of Zane kneeling before me the way he did when in his chapel made me clench my thighs together. I knew it wasn’t Zane and yet, my mind couldn’t separate the two of them.

“You smell so good,” the demon growled, pushing my skirt up until the cool air brushed against my center. “I can’t wait to have you in my mouth.” His nails dug into my leg as he threw it over his shoulder, eliciting a sharp pain.

“Just a taste. If you take flesh, I will rip you out of Zane, shove you into a tiny box, and throw you into the ocean.”

“Oh, please, sinner. Talk dirty to me.” He buried his face between my legs, latching onto my clit without warning.

I screamed before shoving my hand over my mouth.

“Don’t hold back,” the demon snarled. “I want to hear those pretty screams.”

His lips wrapped around my clit once more, sucking and pulling on it until I bit into my hand, the tang of my blood filling my mouth. The moment the demon scented the blood, he shoved a finger inside of me.

“Fuck, sinner. If I were in my true form, I’d rip you open with my massive cock and bathe in your blood until you begged for mercy.”

“Stop talking.” I shoved at his head, forcing his mouth back where I wanted him. “You wanted a taste, now lick me like you mean it.”

If I could say one thing for the demon, he knew how to work a woman’s body. I wasn’t sure if that was concerning. How many women did he seduce as a demon? Did he use Zane’s body for it? If so, did Zane know?

Jealousy and rage filled me. My hand tangled in his hair, thrusting my hips against him.

His fingers curled inside of me, hitting a spot that made my eyes roll back in my head. I cried out as liquid gushed from me.

I didn’t care who heard me or that I was making a mess. I hoped it covered him in it, marking Zane and the demon as mine.

My leg dropped, and the demon lifted his head to meet my gaze. His tongue peeked out to lick my essence off his lips as he grinned up at me. “I know what you’re thinking, little sinner.”

Breathing heavily, I cleared my throat and straightened my dress. “I doubt it.”

Standing, he leaned over me. Putting one hand on the tree behind me, he brushed my lips with the same fingers that had been inside of me. “I’m going to make sure that the cleric wakes up to find your smell all over him. You’re going to be on his tongue, his lips, burrowed into his skin. I want him to know exactly what I’ve been doing with his body while he was away.”

“You’re seriously fucked up.” I couldn’t hold back the grin that took over my face. “Now, go find out something about the conjurer and, if I need to kill her, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

He sucked on his fingers, still grinning down at me. “Oh, I’ll be counting on it.”

Zane walked away without a goodbye, a slight swagger in his step. I sank against the tree, my face hot and my legs wobbling enough that I wasn’t sure I would be able to move any time soon.

A twig snapped.

My head jerked toward the sound, pulling my cloak tighter around me.

Gage stepped out of the shadows, his mask covering half his face. His arms crossed over his chest, pulling his shirt tight against his large muscles. The ones in his arms flexed deliciously.

I snapped my mouth shut and cleared my throat. “Gage, what are you doing here?”