“Making sure we don’t have any unwanted visitors.”
Good luck with that. She doubted anything could keep Lucifer out, but it still gave her a sense of safety, which was probably stupid, considering she was trapped in here with Maccus.
When he turned toward the far wall, she glimpsed his back for the first time. There were other weapons there, but that wasn’t what claimed her attention. No, it was the set of magnificent black wings etched along his spine.
As though drawn by an invisible tether, she walked toward him, her hand out. They were beautiful, each feather so intricately drawn they looked real and soft. She curled her fingers inward to keep from touching them. The muscles in his back tensed.
Then she saw the scars. Only her enhanced vision allowed her to see them. They ran down the length of his back on either side, perfectly symmetrical.
Unable to believe what she was seeing, she swallowed heavily, taking a step back when he spun around. Danger pulsed in the air, vibrating through her entire body.
Run! the primitive part of her urged.
She held her ground.
“You’re an angel,” she blurted.
He shook his head. “Once.”
Holy fuck! Maccus Fury was a fallen angel. There’d been rumors, but she’d figured they were just that. Other than Lucifer himself, she’d never actually believed there were others like him out there.
Why have her kill Maccus? Wouldn’t dealing with him fall under Heaven’s jurisdiction? Or was he so powerful Lucifer feared him?
That was enough to make her slightly ill. How the hell was she supposed to kill a man that Lucifer feared? No, not a man, an angel.
She’d had sex with a fallen angel.
Her legs buckled, and she landed on her knees on the floor. When he came toward her, she wondered if this was the end. Eternity in Hell loomed before her.
When Maccus extended his hand, she rolled to the side and sprang to her feet. Shit, her weapons were still in the bathroom. Here she was, naked and unarmed, facing a fallen angel.
He tilted his head to one side and studied her. She was beginning to feel like an exhibit at the zoo. In front of you is the totally fucked bounty hunter from Hell.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“What are you doing?” she countered.
“We’ve had a similar conversation,” he reminded her. “And like the last time, I asked you first.”
“I’m trying to stay alive.” That was the truth. The problem was she had no idea how to make that happen. Someone was going to kill her, and whether it was Maccus or Lucifer, she was screwed.
“Then you need to tell me the truth.”
She kept her legs slightly bent, and her hands open by her sides—not that she could win any fight with him, but because it wasn’t in her nature to just roll over. If it were, she’d already be languishing in Hell.
“What truth? You were the one who found me,” she reminded him. “I was just hunting a demon.” She resisted the urge to run. There was nowhere she could go that was safe.
He put one finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “So you were. It seems that outside forces conspired so we’d meet. I wonder why.”
Yeah, so did she, but she didn’t think any answers would be forthcoming any time soon. Nor would they help. More powerful beings were messing with their lives.
“Will those really work?” she asked, motioning toward the walls.
“Yes.”
His surety made her muscles uncoil slightly. “So, what do we do now?”
“Now?” He moved so fast she couldn’t evade him, grabbed her around the waist, and tossed her over his shoulder. She didn’t struggle because they were heading toward the bedroom, which was closer to her weapons. A good hunter knew when to act and when to wait.
But Maccus seemed to have other priorities. He dumped her in the middle of the bed and followed her down, supporting the bulk of his weight on his forearms so she wasn’t crushed.
“Now,” he continued as though he hadn’t just hauled her around like a sack of grain, “we have sex. And this time, we go slowly.”
Chapter Six
It was such a relief not to have to fight for her life that she had no defenses when he slanted his lips over hers.
The urge to taste life, to grab on to whatever goodness there was, compelled her to kiss him back. Maccus was one of the rarest beings in existence. Honestly, her odds of running into a unicorn or dragon had been better, and she was pretty sure they were mythical. Okay, maybe she wasn’t so sure about the dragon. They might be real. But still, at some point in his life, he’d been an angel. She’d never met one, for which she was profoundly grateful. When angels came around, people died.
History and literature aside, they weren’t exactly the benevolent creatures they portrayed themselves to be. Oh, they could grant favors and do magical things, but they always had an agenda. She’d dealt with paranormal creatures enough to understand that survival and the need for power were universal in all species.
Good and bad were simply judgments. Demons wanted to live, and their natures dictated they do so in a certain way that usually meant torture and killing others. Was she looking to join their ranks? Hell no. Would she battle them to her last breath? Hell, yes. But they were simply what they were.
And Maccus was no different. He was driven to survive just as she was. Death for one of them was inevitable. Her only hope was to slip past his defenses and kill him before he killed her.
A sense of loss and heartache filled her, driving out the passion.
He pulled back and stared down at her. “Don’t think about it.”
He knew. Of course, he did. And like her, he seemed conflicted about it.
Or maybe she was simply projecting. Maybe he’d have no problem slitting her throat when the time came.
She raised her hand to her neck and covered it. Flimsy protection at best.
Making a sound she took to be displeasure, he stroked his big hands over her torso before cupping her breasts. His palms covered them easily. Fear aside, every fiber of her being responded to his touch. Even now, she was wet for him.
“No one will get past the wards I set,” he reminded her. What went unsaid was that he had no plans to kill her, either. At least not until after they fucked again.
They were alone for now. Lucifer wasn’t going to pop in and snatch her away for not killing Maccus. While she couldn’t stay here forever, for now, she was free to do as she pleased.
What would have happened if she and Maccus had met under other circumstances, one not tainted by secrets and lies?