Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2)(14)

“Seline!”

Her hands clenched. “I’m not a succubus.” Her voice came out strong and clear—a very good thing. She was rather proud of that tone. But her heart still raced hard enough to shake her chest, and her gaze wanted to dip down the broad expanse of his chest.

Focus. Why did she have to possess such a weakness? Fear should be her only concern then, not lingering lust. Again, thanks, Dad. Wonder if he heard her thoughts in hell? Probably not, but it never hurt to send out bad vibes.

“Liar,” Sam tossed out, and the back of his hand skimmed down her cheek. “I suspected the first time I saw you on stage. The humans got weak while you just seemed to shine.”

Shine. Yes, that was one of the effects. When she absorbed enough energy, her skin took on a faint glow. The glow was relative to the amount of power she stored. The more power, the greater that glow.

Sam had been a wonderful source of power. All that sensual energy just waiting for her. Now she was lit up like a human sparkler.

His head leaned toward her, and his lips brushed lightly over hers. Seline refused to back down. Instead, she just stole more of his energy. His mistake. He should really stop underestimating her.

“Did you know,” he began, his mouth hovering over hers, “I can kill you as easily as I kiss you?”

Seline swallowed. And I can kill you with a kiss.

His tongue whispered over her lips. “Succubus.”

Only a half-breed one. That’s why she had to be physically close in order to dream-walk with him. Her lashes lifted, and she gazed into his eyes. Scary, dark eyes that she still found strangely compelling. Then she voiced the suspicion that had fueled her heart as she said, “Angel.” The wings . . .

“Not anymore. These days, I’m Fallen.”

For an instant, her world seemed to stop as fear froze her blood. Fallen—just like her mother. An angel for a mother and a demon incubus for a father. Oh, yeah, she’d been screwed up from birth, and since her parents had wound up killing each other before she could even walk . . .

Seline knocked his hands away. “I didn’t want this job.”

“Oh?” One black brow rose. “So you’re done playing the innocent victim in need of help?”

“I’ve never been innocent.” Time to drop the act. Partially, anyway.

“Neither have I.” His grin was wicked.

Fallen. Damn. She hadn’t counted on that, but now it made sense. No wonder Rogziel had been so determined to get Sam. Who better for her boss to take down than Sam? He’d been hot to send Sam to hell, and now she truly understood why.

His knowing smile soon slipped away. “Moorecroft was just bullshit. A sob story to get close to me.”

“No.” She shook her head. “He truly wants me dead. I did kill his friend, but I promise the bastard deserved what he had coming.”

“Like I deserve death?”

Rogziel thinks so. “Don’t you?” she threw right back. This was her job. Nothing easy, nothing pretty. Just death. Punishment. Someone had to stop the monsters out there, and she was the perfect aberration to do the job.

But this is my last assignment. I’m getting out. Going to vanish. Because she couldn’t wash the blood off her hands anymore.

She’d tried to atone for the sins of the past by killing monsters, but their blood stained as dark as anyone else’s.

Sam stepped back, dropping his hand. He exhaled on a rough sigh. “Someone sent you to die.”

Possibly. She held her ground. “You really think you can kill me?”

That wicked grin flashed again, and her breath caught. “I’m Sammael, sweetheart, I can kill anyone.” He lifted his hand and stared at his fingers. “I’m the Angel of Death. All it takes is a touch . . .” He glanced her way. “And I can rip your soul right from your body.”

Angel of Death. The room seemed to dim. Unlike most Other, she knew quite a bit about angels. Not so much Fallen, because who would want to fall from Paradise? Other than my mother. But she knew the angel lore. There were so many angels in heaven, thousands of them flying around.

There were punishment angels, messenger angels, guardians, and . . . the most powerful, the angels of death.

An Angel of Death could truly kill with a touch. Just a touch. Rogziel had sent her after Sammael, and he’d neglected to tell her that real vital bit of information.

She wet her lips. “Wh-why did you fall?” Most people might not actually believe an angel could fall, but she wasn’t like everyone else. Her mother had fallen because she’d been tempted by an incubus. Erina had been weak, and she’d paid for her crime.

And I’ve been paying, too. Paying her entire life for sins she’d never committed.

“I got a taste for the killing.” His gaze flashed back to that deceptive blue, and this time, she did feel like the words held the whisper of a lie. “So I started to kill whoever the hell I wanted.” His gaze raked her. “Want to guess who is next on my list?”

No, she didn’t want to guess at all. Seline swallowed. The odds of her survival were looking real slim. “Can you—can you at least put on clothes before you kill me?”

He blinked and frowned a bit. “A succubus cares about modesty?”

Her back teeth clenched. “I told you . . .”

“Yes, but nearly every word you say is a lie. So why should I believe anything you say?”