Soul Stealer (19 page)

Her anger shamed her, but she couldn’t take the understanding in Jehoel’s eyes. He didn’t understand, none of them could. Her emotional make-up was so humiliating she wished she could just be free of it; be human.

The thought calmed her. In that respect all the angels were exactly the same, weren’t they?

She wanted to cry again. She was behaving like a child.

Back to India, 1911. Anael was in a small, dank hospital, staring down at the swollen face of her poor
frustro
, who was still unconscious from the assault. There was talk of brain swelling, and the only treatment for that injury was drilling into the skull to release fluid.

Anael had shuddered, looking around the archaic building, knowing the girl would surely die if they attempted such a thing here.

“Who are you?” The Sin Eater asked, catching her totally unaware. Anael spun away from the bed, also using her body to block the
frustro
in the same motion. This was her charge, and if she were more diligent this wouldn’t have happened.

The Sin Eater stood near her, almost close enough to touch. He’d been able to sneak up on her and she wanted to curse at her own stupidity. She had to stop her mind from wandering.

When she glanced up into his deep, forest-green eyes words escaped her. Her flight response was firing, which was somewhat reassuring, yet here she stood, caught up in the primal stare and charisma of the enemy.

Her need to kiss him was shocking. Her entire body lit up at the thought of that cruel, forbidden mouth covering hers, touching her anywhere he might have wanted.

“Anael,” he’d guessed. “You
must
be Anael. I can tell by my reaction just to being around you.”

Sin Eaters were the most sexual beings created, she decided. And she wanted him to take her right there, show her what the untouched parts she had were actually for. And he would make sure she enjoyed it.

She hadn’t been able to answer him. Those eyes were ringed with deep emerald, the inside circle much lighter. They could go from harsh to seductive in a matter of milliseconds.

“I am Tentatio-Onis,” he said, when it was obvious she wasn’t going to answer.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she warned, voice steadier than she was really feeling.

“I know, Anael.” He tilted his head, circling around her then peering down at his
frustro
. He sighed heavily. “You have done well with this one.”

Anael couldn’t take her eyes off of him. If he’d been human he might have been grotesque; as a Sin Eater he was walking lust.

“And yet it won’t work, will it?” She muttered.

He smiled. “No, I’m afraid not. I’ve booked passage back to America in the morning, I’m afraid I have been well warned of what the
frustro
can do. Yet I couldn’t leave without seeing her one last time.”

When his eyes slid back to the form on the bed her body noticed a lack of warmth from no longer being the object of his scrutiny.

Then he backed up, clasping hands and smiling back at her. “Oh well. Better luck next time, Anael.”

The smug bastard. She felt her anger fire lightning-fast, and it must have shown on her face. He didn’t stop grinning, he just came closer smoothing her hair back as though a piece might have come loose from under her hat.

“Don’t be angry, Anael. This just means we’ll see each other again.”

She inhaled sharply, the anger and lust mixing in to a strange set of impulses that had her frozen in place, not sure which path to follow. Beat at him with her fists or grab him by the hair and kiss him. Both options would be equally disastrous.

“The next time I see you your head will be severed from your body,” she promised through clenched teeth. She hoped it sounded like she meant it.

“There’s no reason we can’t get along.” He leaned in even closer, backing her up until her lower back hit the edge of the hospital bed and she had to lean backwards further yet just to prevent touching him. His voice dropped even lower and he nearly whispered the next. “If we were to work together you might even find it pleasurable.”

The word
pleasurable
rolled off his tongue so intimately she felt her breath catch and, unable to stop herself, she inhaled briskly with something other than anger or shock. Anael warmed, nearly becoming fluid, and her blood was likely visible in her cheeks and neck. She was watching those lips again, unable to answer him.

His chuckle pulled at parts low in her body. “Anael,” her name sounded like sex from him, pure and simple. “You may not be human, but you sure smell like one right now. I can tell what you want. Why do you fight it?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but was only able to pant once in response. She was too overwhelmed to be embarrassed.

Tentatio-Onis filled the awkward silence by the faintest caressing of his lips on hers. Energy sparked at the point of contact and she gasped. Her eyes were still open, as were his. He looked surprised but recovered quickly, kissing her again slowly, dragging his lower lip upward over hers. When his tongue ran across her lower lip she couldn’t help it; she opened her mouth and he struck fast.

The invasion of the kiss knocked her sideways, mentally. The energy that flew across her face and down her neck was exhilarating, forcing her to close her eyes so as not to be distracted by the physical reality. His tongue in her mouth was careful but bold, advancing bit by bit before retreating. The motion had her moving her hips forward against his, even rotating them a couple times. His hand gripped her lower back, pressing his groin to her. He was hard; she was thrilled by that.

Her hands twisted in his hair, finding it surprisingly silky in spite of its wild appearance. Her breasts were crushed to his chest; they could only be closer to each other if they were both nude.

When his free hand forced its way between them, pushing through her skirts to an aching point between her legs she pushed him off. He backed away, and she was glad to realize on some foggy level that his breathing was as labored as hers.

With just the sound of their panting the room was suddenly incredibly loud. Her shame hit her full force like a wave, and she slapped him across the face before knowing what her hand was doing.

He’d been shocked, yes. But the small smile on his face lingered while he politely bowed by way of bidding her adieu, then turned on his heel and left her with her broken
frustro
.

The thought of him still, to this day, sent her pulse racing. She had asked to be taken off of the
laqeous
detail. She couldn’t stand the temptation of the Sin Eaters. They were visceral and animalistic; tempting.

She hadn’t seen one in a century. So she spent her next quiet moments convincing herself that Voro was just a pain in the neck that she would only have to put up
with for a while. With any luck maybe that dark presence would prove fatal to Sin Eaters and she wouldn’t have to share space with him ever again.

Because as soon as she’d seen him it came back again. His arrogant air, large and boisterous presence. He filled the room too much, setting
in her head and ears.
Nose.

She closed her eyes. He smelled amazing. Better than Onis had, even.

The thought had her pulse quickening like old. She knew if she cared to look her breasts were likely still peaked. No one but Jehoel knew about her incident, the time she’d been tempted by evil. They couldn’t possibly know what having Voro around was doing to her.

Anael forced herself to focus. The biggest issue at that moment was getting Raphael back. She was going to have to learn to deal with having Voro around, because he wasn’t going anywhere and he was just as worried about Raphael as the rest of them.

But damn it if that didn’t make him even more attractive than Onis had been.

“Oh no, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Claudia covered her face as Saleem’s deep, baritone chuckle wafted across the table to her.

“I know, I’m sorry. I thought I’d get you in a public place before breaking that bit of bad news to you.”

She brought her hands down, studying him in the warm light of the Thai restaurant. It was busy and comfortably bustling, but the lighting was still focused, making a person feel like they were in an elegant establishment. It was also the kind of place that used paper place mats for the lunch menu and linen table cloths for dinner. It had been an excellent choice. Perfect, actually.

His job was not. Starting his second year in a law office that had defended plenty of people she wanted put away, to be exact.

Damn. There had to be
something
. Well, that and the whole
male
thing.

She took
an inward sigh as she sipped her water. The meal plates had been cleared, coffee was still being worked on. And neither one was in a hurry to get anywhere.

Claudia wasn’t sure how she’d ended up in this situation. But her new rule was going to be to just let things happen. If something seemed like a good idea, she’d go with it. If not, then she wouldn’t. Life was short. She didn’t want to be predictable, controlling,
and obsessive.

In an icy rush she remembered an argument with Megan. That adorable face twisted in almost teenage-like indignation, informing Claudia that she wasn’t her mother and if Megan wanted to go out with friends she was going to, quote, “Go out with my fucking friends, thank you very much.”

Cruel reminder: her girlfriend just died. Although they’d been breaking up slowly for weeks and weeks, truthfully.

Saleem was quiet, and she brought her attention back to those deep brown eyes. They wouldn’t be black ever – they were far too warm. Trusting. They’d always appear to be brown. And they were far,
far
too understanding.

“Sorry,” she said lightly. “I drifted off there.”

“S’okay. I’m getting sleepy, too.”

She laughed, hand to her stomach. “I ate far too much.”

“But it was good.”

Jesus, his smile was something else. His teeth were fit for a toothpaste ad. His lovely and perfect brown skin crinkled, dimples in his cheeks. She felt a flutter in her chest, an honest-to-God flutter, like an old-timey woman with a case of the
vapors. He was breath-taking, really.

She knew that feeling when her skin got tight. She was out of her comfort zone because her brain was taking over again. She had to let go of what she thought she should be doing. She was happy.
Just go with it, Bauer.

“This was nice,” she said, smiling back at him. “Thank you for asking me.”

“I couldn’t believe I’d done it, actually. In front of your co-worker, yet. He seemed pretty surprised, too. I guess it was pretty inappropriate.”

“Don’t worry about him,” she glossed it over. She could tell him about her orientation later. She certainly wasn’t hopping into bed with him that very night, she knew that. It could come later, if it came up at all.

“I’ll go get the bill,” he said, standing and putting his napkin on the bench.

“No, please at least let me get mine -”

“No. I asked for dinner, let me take care of this.”

When he crossed the room, she did not catch how good his rear end looked in his dress pants. Jesus he was in fantastic shape –

She took another sip of water. Maybe she was coming down with something.

He came back and placed a healthy tip on the table, insisting on also doing that when she protested. Then he helped her stand. Honest to God, held her hand lightly on his palm while she stood up. He also helped her into her jacket.

A gentleman yet. Maybe she’d had a brain transplant, but she liked this. It didn’t feel condescending when he did it. It just felt as though these were his manners, take them or leave them because he wasn’t dialing it down.

His light hold on her elbow as he ushered her through the door sent a jolt up her back. Claudia liked his warm touch; liked it a lot.

At her car, standing next to her door on the street, he waited for her to take out her keys. Their silence comfortably hung there while she held her keys in one hand, unsure what to do next. Would he want a kiss? Man, she wasn’t sure she was there yet. Or more to the point, what if she
did
want that?

Another thought came to her then, one a bit more immediate. “Hey, how are you getting home?”

“I took a cab, I’ll be fine. I’m picking up another car tomorrow anyway.”

“Do you … do want me to give you a ride home?” Yep, that came out of her mouth.

“Nah, really. It’s fine.”

He was cut off by a trio of police cars flying by, sirens and lights both going full-bore. She tracked the movement then they made room for an ambulance to go by as well. When he gave a laugh she had to turn her attention back to him, small smile on her face.

“Sorry, I can’t turn it off or punch out.”

“You look like you want to go see what’s going on. I’ll say good night.”

She smiled wider, rewarded when he did the same. “Thank you, Saleem. This has been … lovely, actually.”