Page 47 of Angel I Am Not

He didn’t kiss me or shove me against anything. He just breathed me in like he was trying to memorize the scent, and my body relaxed before my brain approved it. That surprised me more than the attraction. For someone built like he could throw me over one shoulder without noticing the additional weight, Gluttony felt safe.

“Gluttony?” I asked, and his eyes lifted to mine, dark and focused with hunger rather than anger.

“Depends who’s asking.”

“Ari.”

Something in his expression sharpened at my name. Behind me, Luc’s arm tightened while Nick moved close enough that our shoulders touched, and my body responded by leaning backward into Luc even as I stayed perfectly still beneath Gluttony’s hand. I realized my fingers had curled more securely around Nick’s wrist and muttered, “This is what I mean. Super fucking unhelpful.”

Nick looked delighted. “I’m having a great time.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” Unfortunately, the bond humming between us suggested he was right.

Gluttony’s gaze flicked over the way the three of us were positioned before returning to me, interest replacing some of the raw hunger. “So this is why you two are here.”

“Partly,” Nick answered, amusement fading slightly.

“Been a minute since I saw demon royalty.”

“We’re not royalty,” Luc said behind me, irritation sharpening every word.

Gluttony laughed and finally stepped back enough that I could breathe without inhaling him. His hand lingered at my waist for one second longer before falling away, and I had the ridiculous urge to follow it. “Sure you are. Dante took a liking to the two of you and dragged you downstairs for half your lives. That’s about as close to princes as Hell gets.”

“It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorn farts down there either,” Nick replied, moving just enough to stand beside me instead of slightly behind. Something passed between the three demons that I clearly didn’t understand, but Gluttony let it go. His attention returned to me almost immediately, which was starting to become a pattern.

“Well, shit. I definitely didn’t miss your ass.” His gaze moved over my face before that grin appeared again. “Angel, you one too?”

Nick choked on a laugh while Luc’s chest moved against my back with a sigh. I narrowed my eyes at the enormous demon in front of me. “Did you just call me Angel?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know you smell like one.”

He looked significantly too pleased with himself, and Nick finally managed to explain that I had been an angel, sort of, and now I wasn’t. Luc groaned at the terrible explanation while Nick lifted one hand toward me like he was presenting an expensive prize. “Meet Temptation.”

Gluttony’s smile disappeared. His eyes moved over me again, but the hunger changed into something more careful. “Not fucking possible.”

I raised a brow. “And yet you’re Gluttony.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and I smiled because that was answer enough. Luc’s hold loosened slightly as I stepped forward, though his hand remained at my hip, and Nick stayed close enough that my knuckles brushed his every time either one of us moved. “Fine. Then let’s try something else.” I held his gaze, remembering exactly what Luc and Nick had told me about full names. “Beelzebub.”

His entire body went still as the air changed around him with something denser and hungrier. The appetite I had felt before sharpened until I could practically feel it dragging across my skin. My cheeks heated as the lesson proved itself immediately. They didn’t create anything that wasn’t already there. They strengthened what was, and apparently Gluttony had already wanted me quite a fucking lot.

His tongue dragged slowly across his lower lip as he looked at me. Nick swore beneath his breath while Luc pulled me back against his chest, and I stared at the large demon whose attention had dropped to my mouth again. “Well. That did something.”

“You think?” Nick muttered.

Gluttony took one step forward and Nick immediately moved between us. The big demon stopped, not furious so much as visibly frustrated at having something he wanted placed just out of reach. I made things worse by adding, “That’s a stupid name anyway,” and his eyes narrowed even as the corner of his mouth twitched.

“That mouth always like this?” he asked.