Lover Arisen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #20)(28)

“Yup, just great,” she called back to her colleague.

Opening the driver’s side door, she dumped herself behind the wheel and immediately locked the unmarked. As she started the engine, she looked back to where the brunette had been leaning against the bridge pylon.

The woman was gone.

As if she had never existed.

Erika squeezed her eyes shut. The sense that the world around her wasn’t as solid as it had seemed made her want to tear up. Made her want to sob. Especially as she had a feeling she was going to find another dead body when she got over to that address on Market.

But instead of losing it, she put her car in drive and hit the gas.



* * *



Over by the bridge’s support, the demon Devina made herself invisible not because she couldn’t handle that cop. Detective. Whatever the fuck the woman was.

Nah, she poof’d out because she was looking to have some fun with this. God knew there was nothing much else happening in her life, and as she felt herself once again falling into the sulk that had dogged her for the last couple of months, she had to do something to cheer herself up.

Driving Balthazar’s woman insane was going to be a little pet project.

Unless that fucking Book gets off its ass, she thought as an utterly uninspiring American sedan drove off. Why did it have to be such a little bitch?

That piece of shit collection of parchment had given so much to so many as it had come down through the millennia: Death to enemies, riches to the greedy, sickness as an act of vengeance, lovers back where they belonged. Always on its terms, though.

That last one was the problem, of course. The thing was like a gun with an opinion about its targets.

“What the hell do I have to do to get what I deserve—”

Not much really. Just jump in front of a train.

Gritting her teeth, Devina pivoted around to the disembodied voice—and got an eyeful of somebody who, under different circumstances, would totally have been worth a fuck or two.

Lassiter, the fallen angel, was standing in the cold wind just as she was, half naked and unaffected by the outside temperature. With his muscular torso bare except for all his gold chains, and his blond-and-black hair blowing around his handsome face, he was like Magic Mike without a stage. And of course, those beautiful gossamer wings rising up on both sides of him were a nice touch, too.

They were a deliberate reminder that she was dealing with somebody out of this world, and not just because he was so fuckable.

All things considered… she wanted to scream at him.

Instead, she smiled and then nodded toward the crime scene. “Come to save the soul of some poor wretch? Isn’t that how the song goes? I think you’re a little late, going by the lack of an ambulance. Nothing to revive, Lassiter.”

Actually, I’ve come to see you.

Devina flushed and felt the need to plump her already luscious hair. As she gave in to the impulse and brought some of the waves over one shoulder, she ran her eyes all the way down the angel’s body. In those leggings he insisted on wearing, his thigh muscles were nice and obvious in all their corded strength, and what was between them, that bulge, was downright impressive.

Why had she never considered him before, she wondered.

“What exactly are you looking for, angel. And FYI, I’m not sure you’re my type.”

This was a lie, of course. He absolutely was her type. He would hate fucking her, and getting him to compromise his principles would be a very good time. And then there’d be the orgasms.

Well, what do you know. The night was looking up.

I think you and I need to have a little discussion about property lines and boundaries.

Devina frowned. “I beg your pardon.”

You heard me. I want you out of Balthazar. You’re trespassing and you know it.

Oh, she thought. That.

“It’s more of a time-share, really.” She smiled and wondered what it would feel like to have him on top of her. “And my sex life is none of your business, is it.”

I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. Get out of Balthazar.

“Nope. Sorry.” She shrugged and then ran her fingertips from her collarbone to her sternum, lingering on the bustier’s contouring of her cleavage. “And not to go five-year-old on this, but you can’t make me. I’m also pretty sure the Creator is going to have an opinion about you getting overly involved. Isn’t that a thing? I think it is, what with your new promotion and all.”

This is just between you and me. You’ve got a million other people in this city to play with. You can have another.

“I don’t want another.” She leaned forward toward the male. “And you’re not very bright, angel. I want him even more now that you have an opinion about my little infestation.”

All at once, the air between them changed, the charge of heat so intense, it came at her in a warping, nuclear rush that pushed her back against a concrete support and held her in place. As she fought to get free, she didn’t really want the liberation. The power wielded on her made her nipples tighten and her thighs loosen.

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” she moaned as she arched into the pain, knowing that the bustier wasn’t going to be able to keep things decent given how full her breasts were in the cups.

Lassiter stalked up to her, his iridescent wings unfurling fully over those strong shoulders, his body a thing of both beauty and vengeance. In the wind coming off the river, his blond-and-black hair pulled back off his face, and the gold chains around his neck, his wrists, and his waist gleamed like they were alive.