Dark Wings (Never Dark Book 1) (7 page)

“Why’d you do that?” I demanded, shoving him away from me.

I could feel the demon magic crawling all over me. Maybe I was exaggerating, but angels can only teleport when travelling between realms and that’s with the help of a Veltra angel. A Veltra angel is an angel that teleports angels to and from the Never Dark realm. That form of travel was easy, allowed, and not nausea-provoking.

“I broug
ht you home. I was being a gentleman,” he said, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

Of course he’
d find this entertaining. He should know how angels feel about demons and their abilities.

“I could have found my own way home
,” I retorted, leaning against the reflective glass of my wardrobe, ignoring the feeling of a million tiny bugs crawling over my skin.

“What kind of host would I be if I didn’t make sure you got home safely?”

I ran my hands over my face and through my hair. “Whatever.” I pushed past Lucas and over to my vanity table. The teleportation left me feeling nauseous and hot. My hair felt like it was suffocating me and so I searched for a clip that would hold my hair away from my neck. I didn’t own a lot of hair clips, but I knew I had one or two lying around under my guns and catsuits. Finally, I found a big, gold-edged hair clip and proceeded to pin up my hair. I turned to face Lucas, who was now standing too close. Disgustingly, I became breathless as his scent engulfed me. I met his eyes, and now that I strangely didn’t want to kill him, I didn’t see him as an evil demon. His face was soft and he was admiring me. I felt a strange fluttering sensation in my chest. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the teleporting or because of the look in his eyes. He is
a demon,
I reminded myself over and over.

“What?”
I whispered, uneasily. ʺWhy are you looking at me like that?ʺ

He shook his head
. “No reason.”

I frowned.
I’d never seen Lucas look so uncertain before.

“I guess this is goodbye
,” he said. I watched as he lazily trailed a finger up my forearm.

That touch alone was enou
gh for me to abandon my morals, but instead I clenched my teeth, hoping he’d stop and just leave. My gaze trailed from my forearm to his face, and his uncertain expression was replaced with some kind of sexy, defiant smile. He knew exactly what his touch was doing to me.

I let out
a slow, controlled exhale.
I’m not going to do this. It’s wrong and against everything I’ve been taught.
I watched in sweet agony as his wet tongue slid across his bottom lip and I recalled exactly what it felt like on my skin. Delicious desire burned at my core and I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do.
Fuck it
, I thought.

A
nd I threw myself at him.

Almost

Lucas

I pulled her closer to me as she pressed her body and lips hard against mine.
Her tongue stroked mine and made the reaction in my pants unstoppable. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me tightly against her. I could feel her heart beating hard against my chest. She wanted this as much as I did. The things I wanted to do to her were endless. For three years, I’d been imagining this moment, the moment when Violet Ashton would allow herself to want me again. My left hand trailed up the back of her tight, white dress and into her hair. I pulled the clip out and let her hair fall down her back and around her shoulders. If we were going to do this, then we were going to do it the way I’d been imagining it. The clip dropped with a small thud and Violet kicked off her tall, white stilettos. We headed toward her mirrored wardrobe as we greedily devoured each other with as much intensity as our fight in the alley. When we reached the wardrobe, I flipped her, pressing her torso against the cool glass. I could see her hot breath fog the glass as she panted and it drove me crazy. I clenched my teeth against the urge to rip her dress clean off instead of unzipping it slowly. I watched in the mirror as her dress slid down her arms and fell in a small pool of white around her feet. I took a step back to admire her. “You’re so beautiful, V.”

She turned around to face me and
I was suddenly grateful that I could see well in the dark. Her impressive bust was covered in thin white lace, making her nipples indistinguishable—just. Violet flicked her hair so it draped all around her, the way I liked it. I watched as she stalked toward me, her eyes not leaving mine. Her hands ran over my chest and down my arms. Slowly, she began unbuttoning my shirt and I let her. Initially, I didn’t want this to go
too
far, for her sake, not mine. But I just couldn’t help myself. Restraint was a difficult thing when it came to her. When the last buttoned opened, exposing my torso and her hands ran up my stomach and over my chest, I lost it. I grabbed her and pulled her in to me. She moaned in delight, letting me know I wasn’t too rough with her. I backed up until the back of my legs hit the bed. I turned and pushed her down onto the bed and I fell on top of her, careful to hold the majority of my weight on my arms. I ran my hand across her flat, smooth navel, loving how her body heaved in response to my touch. She flexed her hips up in a rhythm, hinting for me to bring my fingers down lower. I slid my hands down, toying with the hem of her underwear. The way she moaned exposed every nerve in my body. I trailed my kisses from her lips, down her neck and across her chest. I used my teeth to free her nipple from the confines of her bra as Violet ran her fingers through my hair, urging me back up to her mouth. When our lips met, they melted together like ice on a hot slab of concrete. The only thing running through my mind was her. I was going to have sex with Violet Ashton. The girl I’d been inwardly pining over for the last three years. I slid my hand further underneath the fabric of her panties, rubbing my hand gently along her insane warmth. She whimpered and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She claimed to not want me, but no matter what her mouth said, her body was the only thing telling the truth. She wanted me and she wanted me now. As we kissed, she fumbled with my belt buckle and with every second that passed, I grew more and more excited. I ached against the fabric of my pants as I swelled harder.

Buzz. Buzz.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growled, against her swollen lips.

“Ignore it.”
She gasped breathlessly.

Buzz. Buzz.

I tried to ignore it, but nothing is a bigger buzz kill than a vibrating phone in your pocket, and for me, it usually meant business.

“Give me a second
,” I said as I rolled off her.

My shoes came into contact with the carpet and I pulled my phone from my pocket. It was Dex. I’d never received a call f
rom Dex before, and he was my head of security, so I had to answer.

“Yes?” I answered, panting slightly.

“Sir, angels are attacking. There aren’t many of them. What do you want us to do?”

Beside me, Violet sat up and I exhaled. It was safe to say that
this
was over. I ran my hands through my hair. It was damp with sweat.

“
If you can, capture them. I’ll be there soon.”

I slid the phone back into my pocket. Violet heard the conversation, so there was no need for me to inform her. I glanced at her. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, hiding her body from me.

“What are you going to do?” Violet asked, her voice riddled with guilt.

I couldn’t look at her, not when I knew what I say next was going to break her heart.

“What I have to.”

She grabbed at my forearm
, but I refused to look at her. “You can’t kill them, they’re there for me. They’re just doing their job.”

“We
’re enemies, V. I’m just doing
m
y job.”

Violet let go of my arm
, and despite my restraint, I managed to look at her. She was hurt; I could tell by the way lines carved their way through her forehead. I began buttoning my shirt as she spoke.

“You’re right. We
are
enemies.” Her voice held a strange tone, like she’d realized something. “Somehow, I’ve forgotten that.”

Thankfully, she had no recollection of being compelled by E
va and hopefully her next step was leaving Earth. I didn’t want her to leave, if she did, there was no telling if I’d ever see her again and that sucked. I stood up and tucked my shirt into my pants.
This is it
, I thought.
The last moment you’re going to spend with Violet. Make it count.

“I’m sorry
,” I said, turning to her.

She wore a brave f
ace now. Her eyebrows angled in a way that made her look pissed off. Her plump lips squeezed in an angry pout. I tried to fight off a smile as memories from the time we trained together filled my mind. She meant business.

“If I
could change things, I would’ve been more professional when I was training you. I would have tried harder not to fall in love with you. You don’t deserve this.”

Violet’s fierce blue eyes and compact room disappeared. Not a second later, I was encompassed by the familiar surroundings of my own chambers. I
t felt different, more empty than usual. A quiet whimper signalled that Eva was still passed out on my bed. Hopefully, I’d be able to dispatch the angels before she woke up. When she woke up, I’d have a hell of a lot of sucking up to do.

I teleported to my club
downstairs. Music blared, but there were no humans here to enjoy it. Smashed glasses and bottles of alcohol littered the floor. Before me, my guards had three male angels down on their knees. Their faces were bloodied up and swollen. Dex stood behind them, looking smug. His black hair curled around his ears and he placed his hands on his narrow hips. I signalled for the music to be cut off. When it was, the room was eerily silent. Only the sounds of the busy city could be heard in the distance.

“Only three of them?”

Dex nodded. Rage built up in my stomach. I was interrupted and pulled away from Violet for three fucking angels? He could tell by the look on my face that I wasn’t impressed. He dropped his head slightly, like a dog does when it’s in trouble.

“You called me to deal with only three
angels?”

“Yes
, sir. I thought—”

“Tell me,” I said, interrupting him. “
How many angels have you taken down at once?”

“Seven, sir.”

“Seven? Impressive.” Glass crunched under my feet as I approached him. “How many angels kneel before you?”

“Three, sir.”

“Three.” I ran my hands over my face. I couldn’t kill Dex. He’s usually the most competent demon I have. It’s quite hard finding a demon that knows how to follow orders or  has some semblance of common sense. “Do you know what that means?” I hated being condescending, but these morons deserved it. Dex shook his head. “Do the fucking math!” I snapped, losing my patience.

“It means I should have killed them myself
,” he said quickly.

“Yes
, you should have.” I glanced down at the angels who had their hands tied behind their backs. Not one of them made eye contact. I checked their stars. Two. Three. Two. I couldn’t help but laugh. The headquarters sent three inexperienced angels to a building filled with demons, and for what? For me?

I knelt down to their level and spoke to the first angel in line. “Why did you come here?”

Warm liquid hit my face as he spat on me. Instinctively, I rubbed my face and glanced at my hand. He spat his blood on me. Tonight was not a good night to fuck with me. I grabbed the angel by the collar of his uniform and yanked him to his feet. I spun him around and pressed his back against my chest. I pulled on his oily, red hair and yanked his neck back, exposing his throat. “Make them watch!” I snapped.

My guards forced the angels’ heads in my direction. Dex brought me a blade and I tore it across the first angel’s neck. Blood poured out and he twitched in my grasp. I let him go and he fell into a crumpled heap on the floor.
I kicked him away. “Next.”

Dex yanked the second angel to his feet and dragged him over. I pressed his back against me and position
ed the blade against his throat.

“You
,” I said, flicking my head to the third angel. “What did you come here for?”

His
long blond hair stuck to the blood on his face and his green eyes were wide with fear. He didn’t say anything, so I tried a different approach. “Whoever tells me the purpose of destroying my club and scaring away my customers, I’ll let live.”

The
blond’s deep voice rang first. “We’re here for Violet.” His voice was high and desperate. I felt a smile spread over my lips.

“Well, isn’t that a waste of not-so-good talent. Violet isn’t here. She’s at home tucked in bed. I know
that, because I took her there myself.”

A few of my demons chuckled.
The angel I was holding struggled against me, but he didn’t have enough energy to break free. I ripped the blade across his throat and threw him to the floor. I stepped over the dead bodies and knelt at eye level with the blond.

“You’re free to go.” He slumped into himself in relief. I grabbed a fist of his blond hair and forced him to look me dead in the eye. “You tell your boss that if they send anyone to my club again, I’ll kill every single angel that sets foot in my city. Do you understand?”

The blond nodded quickly.

“Good. Go.”

Dex cut the angel’s ties and he fled from the club. I stood up. “This place is a god damn mess. Clean it. I want it ready to re-open by tomorrow night.”

I
teleported back to my room. Eva was still sleeping peacefully on my bed. I showered and made myself comfortable on my desk chair. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Violet and suddenly I missed her.