Seducing the Succubus (7 page)

Jezebeth could’ve sworn she felt a blast of cold air coming from Noah’s direction—an outward sign that her mark had hit home. But she knew that was only her own fancy at work. After all, he was only human.

The man held Noah’s angry gaze for a long moment before he said, “Of course, darlin’. My truck is right this way.”

“Actually, the lady is just fine.” Noah stepped forward placing his body between Jezebeth and the newcomer, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist.

Her mind sent a signal to her body to object and pull away, but her body refused to respond. Noah was warm and pulsing with energy, and before she could do anything further, he’d pulled her close, cupped her cheek in his large, warm hand and lowered his head to kiss her.

The shock of his warm lips against hers rocked her system, and she froze.

He continued to hold her, kissing her gently but firmly until Jez’s traitorous body melted against him.

The parking lot and the entire world fell away as her lips softened under his attentions, and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.

He tasted like dark, warm spices and the taste only increased in intensity as his energy seeped into her and pulsed through her system like tiny explosions that did nothing to help her light-headedness. Liquid heat seeped through her body, energizing and arousing her until she slid her arms around his neck, thrusting her fingers into his hair and holding him close.

He expertly kissed her, coaxing her body to respond and arch against him until a low moan escaped from her throat and she pressed greedily against Noah’s growing erection.

When he gently reached up and grabbed both of her wrists from around his neck and stepped back out of her embrace, Jez fought not to stumble against the sudden lack of sensations.

After a few long moments of her mind reorienting, she glanced up to see him watching her carefully, a small furrow between his blond brows.

The world came crashing back like someone had tossed a cold bucket of water over her and heat burned into Jez’s cheeks as embarrassment warred with the arousal still skyrocketing through her system. So much for her controlling herself and showing Noah she didn’t need him and his condescending, bossy ways.

Noah continued to gently hold her wrists until she was steady on her feet, and then she pulled out of his grip to glare up at him, gathering her scattered dignity around her like a cloak of protection. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She nearly cursed as her voice came out shaky and soft.

Noah swallowed hard before speaking.

At least it looked like she wasn’t the only one affected here.

“I was giving you energy. You shouldn’t be going off with strange men.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that welled up from inside her throat at his statement. “You do realize that’s the bulk of what I’ve done for countless millennia, right? I’m a succubus, Noah, not a virginal debutante.”

He continued to study her with an intensity that nearly made Jezebeth squirm. “I’m here to take you back to Lilith safely, so there’s no need for any of that. I have the ring to protect me—”

“So that’s what this is about? Protecting the population from the big, bad succubus?”

Noah huffed out a breath, irritation plain in his expression. “That’s not it at all. I just—” He stopped midsentence and paced away, running his hands through his hair and leaving it to stand up in sexy tufts before he paced back to face her. “Damn it. Has anyone ever told you how frustrating you can be?”

His comment seemed to deflate her anger, and she stared back at him. “Not recently.”

He sighed. “Well, they should.” He shook his head. “By the way, do you realize you’ve changed forms again or have I totally gone insane?”

Gabriel
materialized between two large trees inside Central Park and smiled as she looked out over the Lake. Moonlight dusted the calm waters and a cool breeze ruffled her hair until it latticed across her face. She brushed the white blond waterfall back and tucked it behind her ear.

The scent of sulfur and scorched flesh filled her senses and she slowly turned to face Semiazas. He stood seven feet tall, his skin cherry red, his talons sharp and black. Two thick black horns grew out from his forehead and his leathery lips were curved into an evil leer.

She laughed as she looked him up and down. “Apparently the costume shop ran out of all the good ones before you got there.”

“You don’t approve my form?” His voice was deep and cultured—everything his form was not.

Gabriel didn’t bother to answer and instead cocked her eyebrow at him and waited.

A long moment later, his form shimmered and reformed into the one she was familiar with since the time of their creation. He stood a few inches taller than her own five foot eleven, his dark hair tousled by the gentle breeze, his piercing blue eyes too shrewd to make him handsome, although as a fallen Archangel, he still retained his grace and beauty.

“Better.” She resisted the urge to hug him as she’d done each time they’d greeted one another before he had followed Lucifer in the rebellion against God. Instead she stepped back as the scent of cinnamon and sex twined through the air. She frowned and glanced around them, but only animals were nearby.

“Your form is luscious, as always, Gabriel.” He slowly circled her, his blue gaze raking over her blatantly. He stepped close and sniffed her hair, not bothering with subtlety. “And freshly fucked from the smell of it.” He finished his circle and faced her. “Although not by a cock.” He leered at her and stepped close. “It’s been a long time for me. How about a nice thick cock to tide you over until you meet your girlfriend again?” He cupped his own large erection while he stared into her eyes.

The faint scent of burnt cinnamon and female arousal that still clung to him told Gabriel he was definitely exaggerating his claim to “a long time.” With relief she realized the burning jealousy that used to assault her barely even registered. She’d mistakenly given into her urges where Semiazas was concerned once he’d rebelled. After all, by definition, a fallen Archangel was no longer bound by the rules of the faithful. What a mistake
that
had turned out to be.

She raised her chin, refusing to step back or let Semiazas’s theatrics make her uncomfortable—probably the reason he kept at it. “How did you break out?”

He squeezed his cock once more and then pressed himself against her stomach. “No answer to my generous offer?”

When she stood stock-still giving him no reaction, he finally stepped back, a flash of irritation marring his calm features. “Your loss, my sweet. I’ve been building up quite the stamina while caged these last seven hundred years.”

“And since your punishment was for ten millennia and not just under one, I’ll ask again—how did you break out?”

“You don’t think they let me out for good behavior?”

She let all the derision and disbelief she felt show in her face. “No, I don’t.”

“Pity. You and I would get along famously if you were more gullible.”

“Get to the point, Semiazas, or I’m leaving. I only agreed to meet you because you were once very dear to me.”

He snarled, the animalistic sound coming from his mouth seeming at odds with the superficial beauty of his true form. “Don’t speak to me of that time. You betrayed me! If you and the others would’ve supported us, Lucifer would be on the throne, and—”

Anger flashed through Gabriel, and as if her body was on autopilot, she grabbed a handful of the front of Semiazas’s designer button-down shirt and slammed him against the nearest tree. “Don’t you dare speak of betrayal to
me
.” Her gaze burned into him and she let all the anger she’d harbored over the eons show in her expression.

“Still angry over that, pet?” He smiled, but whereas before his betrayal of their Father, his smile could brighten her entire world, now it was empty and made her feel the same way.

All the fight and anger drained out of her, leaving only sadness and resignation. She loosened her grip and paced away from him. “What do you want?”

He stayed leaning against the tree, looking like he’d chosen to lean against it rather than being slammed back against it. “Your help.”

The laugh bubbled up before she could stop it, the ironic amusement spreading through her body in a cool wash. “My help?” She shook her head as she faced him. “Why would you think I would help you in any way?”

His knowing smile and confident gaze sent dread curling inside her stomach. “Because it’s in your nature, Gabriel. You believe good will triumph over evil, you still have a conscience, you’re still naïve.
That
is why I know you will help me.”

She frowned as she tried to puzzle together what Semiazas referred to before he could twist things around to suit himself—something he’d always been a master at, even before Lucifer’s fall from grace. Gabriel ensured her face remained a placid mask as she returned his stare. “Sorry. Can’t think of a single reason in the universe why I would help you.” She turned away and started walking, ignoring the sensation of his blue gaze burning into her back.

“What if it would save Raphael?”

Shock froze Gabriel midstep even though a tiny voice inside her warned her not to listen. “What have you seen?”

He chuckled.

Gabriel clenched her jaw as she forced herself to turn back toward Semiazas. He may be untrustworthy and a traitor, but his visions were always accurate. “Tell me what you saw.”

The demon’s sensuous lips curved at the edges, and he studied her as if she were his next meal. He pushed away from the tree and stalked forward, beauty and grace in motion until he stood so close Gabriel could smell the subtle spicy scent of bergamot and coriander that she remembered so well from their time together. He slowly leaned forward, his eyes darkening just like they used to before he kissed her.

“Look into my eyes and tell me what you saw.” She tried to stare inside his soul, but there was too much inky blackness to give her much clarity.

Her strident words stopped his forward motion and his dark brows furrowed before he straightened. “I saw Raphael on his knees near death, the sword of Michael skewered through his back and protruding from his chest. A succubus stood just behind him with her hands on the hilt. She was one of the four who conspired to cage me.”

Fear licked its way through Gabriel, leaving behind an icy cold that made her bones ache. Losing one of the other Archangels was one of the worst things she could imagine. And Michael’s sword one of the only ways to kill them. But that didn’t mean she trusted Semiazas. That was a mistake she planned on never making again.

“All I ask is for you to help me find one of the four succubi. I don’t even care which one. After all, what’s one little demon to you?”

“You know very well succubi aren’t demons.”

“Semantics?” Semiazas’s sarcastic tone and condescending smile grated against Gabriel’s nerves.

“Demons had a choice. They chose to rebel against God.” She glared at him pointedly as an example. “Those who serve Lilith have made no choices other than to exist.”

The demon shook his head. “I disagree. Those four little succubi sisters chose to betray me to Lucifer.
That
was their choice, Gabriel. And for that, they will pay, with or without your help. I just thought you might like a chance to save Raphael in the process.”

Gabriel sighed, suddenly weary. “Your visions are always accurate, so me helping you find the succubi doesn’t help me prevent the outcome.”

“No, but it will help you avenge his demise,” Semiazas growled. “For once, Gabriel, our aims are the same.”

She shook her head, realizing that she’d held out hope that someday Semiazas would change, would return to her as he had been. But that last hope had finally been shattered. “If that’s what you truly think, then you never knew me at all.”

The last thing Gabriel saw as she dematerialized was his beautiful face contorting with rage.

Noah took a
deep breath in an attempt to calm the hot arousal that still pumped through his veins as he stared down at the woman in front of him.

Even though she looked totally different from just a few minutes ago, he knew this had to be Jezebeth. But something about this form she’d taken sucker punched him in the gut. She was pretty in a girl-next-door way with large, milk chocolate brown eyes framed with impossibly long lashes. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail leaving some wispy bangs in front to frame her face.

In place of the ridiculous caricature body he’d first met her in was an athletic frame of about five-seven with subtle curves that made Noah’s cock harden further inside his jeans and his mouth go bone-dry.

Jezebeth looked down at herself and blushed. “Damn, I didn’t realize I’d shifted.” She seemed more annoyed with herself than him as she glared up at him. “You scared him away, you know.”