“I’ve been wondering what you would feel like,” he murmured. “And you’re just as I thought. Sweet, hot, tight. Most men would lose their minds to have someone like you.”
My heart thumped painfully against my ribs. I literally had no idea how to respond to that, nor to the fact thathis finger was inside of me. At a party. With a bunch of people nearby. Were they watching us?
Az slid his finger in further, and I moaned, shuddering against the wall. Without the slightest bit of control over my body, I felt myself tighten around him. A low growl rumbled from his throat, and then he pulled his hand out from beneath my dress, leaving me a mess beneath him.
“Not like this,” he said as the darkness in his eyes began to clear. “Not here. I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
My chest expanded as I caught the conflicted expression on his face. Had that...had that beenreal? Surely not. We’d been playing around and nothing more, only to catch people’s attention. But that didn’t explain why he’d crossed the line he had. He hadn’t really needed to touch me like that to make people think we were an item.
I wet my lips, trying my damnedest not to get carried away, but…
“What do you mean?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Nothing.” His eyes shuttered over his emotions. “You’re forgetting something, aren’t you?”
“I think I am forgetting about a lot of things right now.”
He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against my ear. “We’ve made one type of scene, and now we need to make the other.The argument, Mia.”
“Oh,” I said numbly. “Right.”
We’ve made one type of scene…
Now I was just getting whiplash. He’d said one type of scene. So, ithadbeen fake. Or had it? Either he was a really good actor or he didn’t want me to know he’d felt the same thing I had.
“Stop playing with my mind,” I said in a booming voice as my hands found his chest. With narrowed eyes, I shoved him back.
He stumbled away from me with alarm plastered on his handsome face. “Mia, what are you doing?”
“You’re hot and cold.” My eyes narrowed. “One minute, you act like you want to rip my clothes off. The next, you look at me like I’m nothing more than a bug on the bottom of your boot. Make up your mind, Asmodeus. Do you want me or not?”
His eyebrows shot up. “I think I’ve made it clear what I want.”
I fisted my hands and propped them on my hips. “Really? You sure about that? Because from where I’m standing, you don’t even know what the hell is going on yourself. And I’m done with it.”
With a frustrated growl, I whirled away from him and stormed down the hallway, jumping into the elevator as soon as it opened. Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught the shocked faces of the other party attendees. Thankfully, none of them were Serena or Noah. I really didn’t want to have to explain what they’d just seen.
As the doors slid shut, I sagged against the wall and closed my eyes. Truth be told, I didn’t even understand it myself. And I was starting to realize that I was in way over my head.
Like,wayover my head.
The elevator shuddered to a stop, and the doors whirred open. I made my way outside and pulled the cool night air into my lungs. My head began to clear, but only a little. The hardest part of the plan came next. If the killer took the bait, I had to trust that the demons would swoop in from above before he could sink his blade into my neck.
Throwing back my shoulders, I turned left, just like we’d planned. I would follow a prescribed route we’d gone over about five hundred times earlier in the day. Caim, Phenex, and Stolas were hiding on the rooftops above while Bael and Valac lurked in nearby alleys.
I was as safe as I could be. You know, in the “catch a serial killer with a bunch of demons” scheme of things.
As I wound through the late night streets of Hell’s Kitchen, every now and then I caught the sound of distant footsteps. But nothing ever came of it. Before long, I reached the club, shut for the night. I used my key to get into the building and drifted down the dark hallway to the meeting room.
When I stepped inside, a sudden flash ofwrongwent through me. I hovered in the shadowy doorway with my fingers half an inch from the light-switch. Heart thumping, I took a step back. The Legion couldn’t be more than a few steps behind me, but they weren’t here yet. If the killer had somehow figured out our plan and had gotten ahead of us…he could be waiting in here for me.
Gritting my teeth, I fished the signet ring out of my purse and gripped it in my hand. Then, with all the bravado I didn’t have, I flipped the switch. Light poured through the room, blinding me momentarily.
When my vision cleared, a gasp popped from my parted lips. The map, once an elaborate display of the killer’s every move, had been ripped to shreds. All the pins were scattered across the floor like fallen soldiers. The yarn now hung from the overhead light. At the end of it was a folded note.
I swallowed hard and snatched the note from the string, heart thumping out a hectic beat. My eyes rushed across the words. A heavy stone crashed into my gut.
I know what you’ve been trying to do. Give up the hunt, Legion. This will be your last warning before I tell Lucifer everything about you. Need extra motivation? I have the werewolf friend. Her name is Serena. And I will kill her if you don’t give me Mia. You have until tomorrow at midnight.
