Page 45 of Angel I Am Not

That was when something sweet slipped beneath the lingering smell of alcohol, sweat, and garbage from the alley.

My attention shifted so quickly that Luc must have felt it. His grip loosened a fraction as I breathed in again, trying to figure out where the scent was coming from. It was sweet without being cloying, warm underneath with something darker threaded through it that made the first breath nowhere near enough. I took another before I realized I was doing it, the hunger that had been fixed on the asshole inside redirecting itself so completely that I barely remembered why Luc had dragged me outside in the first place.

“What the fuck is that?”

Nick straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall, a slow grin spreading across his face. Luc didn’t answer at all, which should have told me everything I needed to know.

I followed the scent toward the mouth of the alley and finally noticed the woman standing a few feet away from us. Golden-brown skin glowed beneath the shitty light spilling from above the back door, long dark braids falling over her shoulders and framing a face that had my attention snagging on one feature after another. She was curvy, fucking gorgeous, and somehow smaller than both Morningstars without looking remotely swallowed up between them. Then her silver eyes met mine and held.

Well, fuck.

The scent had made me curious. Seeing her made the hunger worse.

She watched me with the same open interest, gaze traveling over me slowly enough that I felt every second of it. There wasn’t any fear in her expression despite the fact that she had apparently walked up while Luc had me pinned against a brick wall. Mostly, she looked curious, and something about that made me want to close the distance just to see what she’d do.

I wanted to hear her talk. Wanted to get close enough to figure out whether that impossible scent was coming from her skin or something deeper. My attention caught briefly on her mouth and stayed there long enough for the thought of tasting her to settle somewhere dangerous.

One taste probably wouldn’t be enough.

That was usually my problem.

I pushed away from the wall and took a step toward her, only for Luc’s palm to land hard against the center of my chest.

“No.”

I looked down at his hand and then back at the woman. “Who is she?”

Nick laughed under his breath, entirely too entertained by whatever the fuck was happening, while Luc looked like he was reconsidering every decision that had led to the three of us standing in this alley.

The woman’s mouth curved.

“Ari.”

Even her voice did something to me. Soft enough to make me want her to keep talking, but there was an edge beneath it that didn’t match the angelic scent tangled up with everything darker surrounding her.

I let my gaze travel over her once more, slower this time. “Ari.”

Her smile widened like she liked the way I said it. Then she tipped her head, studying me with enough interest that another pulse of hunger rolled through my chest.

“And you must be Gluttony.”

I grinned. “Beelzebub. Zel if you like me.”

Nick made a disgusted noise somewhere beside us, but Ari laughed, and that was significantly more interesting.

I wanted to hear that again too.

Ariuk

I still would have liked more time with just Nick and Luc before Dante started throwing the rest of the sins at me, but apparently that wasn’t happening. His text had sent us straight to Pink Flamingo, where both of my demons already knew exactly who we were going to find.

“Ari, you can’t wear that.” Luc tried pushing me back into Nick’s room to change, but I planted my feet and refused to move. I looked down at the low-cut forest-green dress, then back at him with a grin because he had absolutely no room to complain when he was the one who bought the damn thing. “Why not? It’s just a dress. That you bought me.” Nick peeked down the hall from the living room at exactly the wrong moment and groaned when he saw me, which only made my smile widen. I adjusted the no-show bra we had picked up with everything else and smoothed my hands over the skirt. “We’re going to a club. I’m dressing for a club.”

“We’re going to find Gluttony,” Luc corrected, his gaze dropping over me one more time before he forced it back to my face. “There’s a difference.”

“Not to me.” I stepped around him and headed toward the living room, where Nick was still staring like he had forgotten whatever he had been doing. “I like Pink Flamingo. Dante happens to be sending us there. Those things can coexist.” Nick’s mouth curved as he muttered that I had a point, earning himself a glare from Luc and another laugh from me as I slipped my shoes on near the door. Pink Flamingo was familiar territory, one of the few places on Earth I had always enjoyed, and if Gluttony was there, at least I was walking into something I understood. Music, alcohol, dancing, and apparently a demon who had trouble knowing when to stop once he wanted something.

That last part probably should have bothered me more than it did.