Azrael's Light [Demon Runners of Unearth] (Siren Publishing Classic) (14 page)

His heavy arms hugged her tight against him. Lost, she could do nothing but return his embrace.

A loud banging pounded on her door, destroying the intimate moment and kick-starting their hearts with alarm. Both their heads shot up, and the spell of arousal shattered.

“Again? Fuck me, sweetness. You need a new place to live.” She wished she could kiss his irritation away, but something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“Diane! Let me in! It’s an emergency. Let me in. Please hurry!” Together they raced for the door as she conjured clothing for them. Diane’s hands shook as she unfastened the security chain.

“Alia, I’m here. Hang on.”

“It’s bad, Diane, but I didn’t know where else to go.” The thick door muffled Alia’s distressed voice. With the locks undone, she wrenched the door open to find her niece carrying a scrap of flesh that looked like it might be a battered naked woman. Her little frame stood strong against the weight of a body that probably weighed more than she did.

Blood spattered Alia’s once-innocent face. The crimson spray marked her pale complexion in grisly contrast.

“I couldn’t risk jumping with her. She’s injured too badly.”

Her voice might have sounded scared through the door, but face-to-face, Diane saw the determination of a seasoned soldier in the lines around her mouth. Grief pooled in her eyes.

Alia took two steps into the apartment and then one back when she spied Azrael. Finding a Soul Runner in her aunt’s apartment must have come as quite a surprise.

“Get in here, kid. I’m here to help. I promise that’s all. What happened?” Azrael’s deep voice helped to soothe frayed nerves.

“Shut the door behind me, quick. Oh, damn it, who am I kidding? That won’t help. I am so sorry. They will probably follow me here, but I didn’t know where else to bring her. I know your powers are bound, but maybe you can find a way or know someone who can heal her. She’ll die if she goes to a human hospital, and I can’t take her through the gate. She’s human. You know Dad won’t let her return to Earth.”

“You didn’t lead them to me. Belial already knows where I live, and I have my powers back. You did the right thing by coming here. What happened? You should have gone home to your father.”

“How do you know about Belial?”

Diane took the battered woman who looked like no more than a mop of bloody brown hair and carried her to the couch. Only moments ago it was filled with pleasure. Now it welcomed grief with its open arms.

“If I go home crying to Dad, he’ll find out about this mess and then he’ll kill Mom. She may have done a stupid thing, but she’s still my mother. I won’t have her hurt.” Alia pointed a suspicious finger at Azrael, who came in carrying a blanket to cover the woman with.

“What’s he doing here?”

“He’s been helping me look for you. Your father already knows everything, and you’re right, he’s not happy.”

“Mom?” Lilith was undoubtedly a pain in the ass, but she was still Alia’s mother. Alia would be devastated if anything happened to her.

“Your mother is fine. Her only worry is your safety. What happened? Where did you find this woman?”

“Just a little bit ago I decided to come and see if it was okay if I stayed with you for a night or two. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Of course not, you’re always welcome in my home, no matter the circumstances. What happened to her?” With a gentle grasp on the battered woman’s wrist, Diane could feel the last vapors of life fading from her body. She suffered crippling physical pain, yet her terror was greater. Marred by dozens of psychic fractures, her mind went beyond the term fragile. The slightest upset and her mind could shatter irreparably.

Azrael moved closer to the couch. “I don’t want to touch her, just in case her time might be near. Let me see her face.” Diane gently pulled the long matted mess of hair out of the woman’s eyes. One half of her beautiful face was marred with swelling, lacerations and drying blood. A quick glimpse showed that the rest of her body seemed to be in the same heartbreaking condition. “She’s not supposed to die for years yet. Whatever happened to her did not have the Fates’ blessing.”

“It was Belial and a few of his guards. On my way here I heard this horrible scream. I can still hear it echoing in my head. My feet started running, and I couldn’t stop myself, and before I knew it, I saw them doing horrible things to this poor woman.”

“Honey, that was admirable, but they could be doing the same thing to you, right now. How in the world did you get away with her?” Exactly how had this little waif taken on one of Hell’s generals and a handful of angry Rimmon?

“Um, you know that little trick Dad has?” Alia bit her lip, looked down at the floor, and her pale face turned about three shades of red with embarrassment.

“You used hellfire? Here, on Earth? You’re lucky you didn’t hurt yourself or burn down an entire city block! Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m okay, just a little shaky, and it wasn’t the entire city block, thank you very much. It was just a half of a warehouse. My aim was off just a fraction, but it worked. That’s all I care about. Apparently now it’s my hellfire, too. Um. But no one is supposed to know.”

Even now they heard the sirens of emergency vehicles racing their way through the city.

“Your parents are really worried about you. Why don’t you contact them to let them know you’re fine and where you are? I’ll start helping the woman. She’s going to require more than one healing session, and her time is running short.”

Once more she focused on the minute thread of life cowering deep inside the broken woman. It had faded until it was no more than the faintest wisp of light flickering in the shadows shrouding her heart. Diane wanted to weep over the agony the woman must have endured.

Deep within herself she released a single tendril of blue light. It slowly made its way into the woman’s broken body and made contact with her fading life force. It twined around the weakened wisp of light and separated it from the dark tide of shadows pulling at its edges. She eased the bundle out of the darkness and closer to consciousness.

Carefully increasing the strength and deepening the color of her light, she bathed the woman in it from head to toe. The progress was minimal, but it was all she could do for now. This was going to take a great deal of time.

She left the woman in a deep, healing sleep, allowing her body more time to heal. She and Alia would bathe her and tend to her external wounds. She would have to stay in one of the guest rooms and rest. Time and the woman herself would have to do the rest.

She should probably examine the relief she felt when she found him in her room, but she was so tired. A tall sentinel, he stood at the window, watching over the rain-drenched streets.

While she and Alia cleaned up the battered woman, Diane’s mind had frequently strayed, thinking of him. It had taken the two of them hours to get her bathed, stitched up, and settled in one of her guestrooms.

More than once she’d wondered if Azrael had returned to his own obligations while she had been occupied with hers. Now he stood with his back to her, his muscular legs braced apart as if guarding the window from attack. His beautiful hair shone even in the pale light of early evening. She wondered how a male with such a soft heart had become a Soul Runner. She imagined he was one who understood the heavy weight of responsibility all too well.

What must it be like to always walk in the dark shadows without relief? Day after day for untold millennia he’d walked paths so dark they defied imagination. And he did it all alone and without complaint. It was a wonder that he was still sane after spending nearly every waking moment escorting the brokenhearted souls to their final resting place.

And to look at his friends and know the date and method of their deaths? To be the one who carried their souls to the ever-afters, knowing they were gone forever once you let them go?

She couldn’t imagine the heartache it would bring.

Yet he shouldered the burden without complaint. His hidden strength and nobility astounded her.

He turned to face her and without thought she stepped into his arms and wrapped her own around his muscled waist. She laid her head against the warmth of his chest and allowed the steady thump of his heart to soothe the last of her frazzled nerves. It had been one hell of a long day, and she suspected that they weren’t quite finished yet.

Her newly restored powers were a subtle throb that beat deep within her heart, and even after so long without them, she welcomed the comfort they brought. The familiar pulse warned her there was more trouble to come. It didn’t take rocket science to tell her that Belial would be back.

She regretted drawing Azrael any deeper into the mess that was her family. She may have had no choice in the matter, but he did.

Should she try to send him away? It would be the best for him if she did. He had enough of his own troubles to contend with. Somewhere along the way she must have become a selfish creature because she just couldn’t bring herself to get rid of him.

“You’re brooding. What are you thinking? Will you head back to your vacation now that we’ve found Alia?” Truly her niece had found them.

What dark thoughts troubled him as he stood straight, with his arms crossed over his chest? A dark scowl marred the face she’d grown to care for. Was he that anxious to leave?

“No, I’m not, and nice try, but you’re out of practice shielding your thoughts. You’ll have to work on that. Your magic makes you a strong broadcaster. I heard every thought that’s crossed your mind since you’ve stepped through the door. I appreciate your motives, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’ll be here until this is finished.”

“You don’t think it’s over either?” She didn’t bother to hide her doubt.

“No, I admit I’m impressed with Alia’s strength, but we won’t be rid of Belial that easily. I figure he’s licking his wounds and plotting his next move at this very moment. It’s only a matter of time until he strikes again. Until then, you’re stuck with me.” His warm fingers cupped her jaw and tilted her head so she looked up into his burgundy eyes. She waited breathlessly as he leaned in to place the softest of kisses on her lips.

She sighed into him and welcomed him with her own hunger. She softly nipped his bottom lip and savored the heady flavor singing through her senses. More potent than the finest whiskey in her bar, his lips intoxicated her with just the right amount of honey and spice. His tongue, hot and moist, swept into her mouth and seduced hers, awakening her senses and amplifying her desire for everything he offered.

Her hands threaded through his hair and held on tight. Sweeping down her sides, he grasped the hem of her top and deftly removed it. Her breathing quickened as he blazed a trail of kisses under her jaw and along the slope of her shoulder. Unfastening her bra and murmuring his appreciation in a language lost long ago, he drew the straps down her arms with the barest touch of his fingertips. The cool air met her quickly warming flesh as he spanned his hands beneath her breasts, supporting their aching weight. His thumbs stroked fiery circles around the beaded points of her nipples. With each breath she took, their weight seemed to grow.

She watched his hungry eyes darken with arousal as they surveyed her from head to toe, hinting at wicked intentions. There was no mistaking the determination marking his strong features as his hands and lips began their own worship. Her body’s need for him grew with an all-consuming desperation. Her desire for his touch, his taste, and his possession made her tremble.

When Azrael took her breast into his mouth, a delicious ache throbbed deep within her pussy. Tonguing and tugging at the tips with single-minded focus, he set fire to long-dormant feelings of need. Echoes of sweet torment grew as a flash fire spread to her womb. She tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him from her breast with a sucking gasp. She needed his taste on her tongue, and in her blood. Now. She captured his mouth and relished the moist heat of his breath mixing with hers. Lips merged and tongues dueled as they battled to remove each other’s clothing.

* * * *

Had anyone in his entire life shown that much awareness of what his life entailed? Her concern over his loneliness and worry about the darkness surrounding his life humbled him. Now that he’d found someone who understood his lonely way of life, how could he ever let her go? He wasn’t sure he could.

He needed her bare and in bed now. He wouldn’t survive the night without quenching the need threatening to consume his every cell. He reached down to grip the back of her smooth thighs and lifted her against him. Everywhere their skin touched both soothed and inflamed him further. He cursed the brief moment it took to place her on the waiting bed.

“Gods, you’re beautiful, Diane.” He looked down at the vision she made in the fading purple light. The pale vapors worshipped her every curve and hollow, only enhancing her natural beauty. The look of pleasure on her upturned face, the rise and fall of her delicious breasts, and her kiss-ripened mouth branded him on the deepest level of his soul. The vision was a gift beyond measure and one he would treasure always.

She murmured her approval as he rejoined her. Sweet yet bold, her hands moved to undo his pants and find his straining length. Her soft touch nearly crippled him with its delicate torture. He couldn’t help but rock his hips into her silken grip as one hand reached down to cup his taut sac. If his cock had its way, it would have her finish him off now, and it sure as hell wouldn’t take much effort on her part. One soft, searing touch had proven that his desire now belonged to her alone. And he had so much more he wanted to do with her before he was finished.