now sliding into my knickers, cupping my bare arse. I moved against him, wanting him to thrust his hand in further. I needed him to fill the sharp ache between my legs.
Even if you hated an angel with every cell in your body, they could make you slick with a need that could drive you mad.
I reached up, gripping his hair. I couldn’t look at his face again, that divine face I was never meant to see. I just wanted him to kiss me.
And when he pressed his mouth against mine, my need grew hungrier. He kissed me deeply, tongue sliding against mine. The next thing I knew, he was lifting me up from behind, hands under my arse as he pinned me against the mirror. My legs wrapped around him, and one strap of my camisole fell down.
He let out a low snarl as he tugged down the side of my camisole, exposing my breasts.
But when he lifted his face to me, my heart went still.
There it was—his true face. Perfect, divine, and terrifying. Metallic swirls gleamed on one half, and hellfire burned in his eyes. His eyelashes were black as night against the flames, and the fire cast warm light over his high, sharp cheekbones. Flaming chains snaked around his body, his arms. So beautiful, but not meant for me …
I felt as if my mind was fracturing. He was divine, and I was mortal.
I would die. It would all end, wouldn’t it? I’d die someday, and nothing meant anything. This was all temporary, the entire span of my life like the heartbeat of a hummingbird, and then just—gone.
I couldn’t breathe. There wasn’t enough air in here. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run away from him, or wanted him to save me, but—I was going to die, wasn’t I? Maybe not today, but it felt like it could happen at any moment.
My mind went completely blank, but no longer with pleasure.
Samael’s grip on me loosened, and I slid down his body. I was shaking now, my teeth chattering like I was freezing. I closed my eyes, but I still saw it there, a divine face sent to earth to deliver death from above.
“You’re terrifying,” I whispered.
He was Death, reaper of souls.
Trembling, I found myself slipping out of the secret room, running up the stairs, and disappearing into the darkness of the night.
32
Lila
Shivering, I stood on the riverwalk. Sailor pubs loomed up behind me, and narrow alleyways jutted off.
I was lucky in one regard: no one had seen me run off the boat. I didn’t even see Sourial anywhere.
On the other hand, I was still wearing nothing but the camisole and knickers.
I knew a courtesan who lived nearby, a friend from the music hall. She’d get me something to cover myself while I steeled up the nerve to return to Castle Hades.
My mind was whirling. In the realm of the angels, I was trespassing somewhere I didn’t belong.
This was a terrifying, awe-inspiring world not meant for me. The golden tattoos, the eyes like infernos. The chains writhing around him, sparking with flames.
Bollocks. I’d lost the ability to think clearly.
Out here in the cool air, my breathing was starting to slow down, so I could at least think clearly again. I didn’t suppose what just happened constituted enough of a seduction that I’d made him vulnerable.
The sound of footfalls made my heart race faster, and when I turned, I saw Sourial sauntering closer, a faint smile on his lips. “Looks like your evening has taken a bit of a turn.”
I hugged myself. “There was a cop there. I saw him in Leather Apron Alley today. I thought he might recognize me as someone who spent time with you lot.”
One of his curly locks fell in front of his eyes. “So you just ran off the boat?”
At this point, it seemed stupid to keep the charade up. “I saw Samael’s true face, with the gold and the fiery chains.”
His smile fell. “Oh. And you haven’t lost your mind completely?”
It returned again, the image of his face. And with it, the fluttering of my heart, the fear and awe crackling up my spine. “Not completely.”
“Do you remember what he looked like when his face changed?”
“I will never forget it as long as I live.”
He frowned. “Strange. Most mortals forget. They have to, or their minds break. Were you close to him when you saw his face?”
“Quite.” I nodded at him. “Can I have your cloak?”