A heartbeat of suspended inertia and tense silence after they’d disappeared out of sight—and then Azazel had me up against the wall.
My back met the stone, and I uttered an oof, the breath rushing out of me. He’d moved so fast, I hadn’t even seen or felt him pull me up. Now his body pressing into mine held me pinned against the wall, all hard muscle and unmovable strength, his power a whisper of darkness with a bite.
“You,” he said, his face so close to mine I could see the iridescent silver in his eyes swirl in a way no human iris should be able to, “will regret this.”
I still had trouble catching my breath, but not from the impact of him pushing me against the wall anymore. It had to be a sign of impending madness that it was all I could do not to wrap my legs around his hips. God, but I wanted to.
Before I could ask him what part exactly I’d be so very sorry for—I could name a few things where I’d been pushing my luck in the past couple hours—he brought up his hand to stroke over my throat and muttered, “I was willing to let you go with a warning, make this a short lesson in humility and send you back to your rooms. By piquing the curiosity of our guest, however, you just bought yourself an extended time pretending to be my devoted pet. You will clean up, slip into something more appropriate—” his hand moved torturously close to the neckline of my tank top “—and then you’ll have the pleasure of serving me at our little get-together.”
I squirmed under his touch, my legs twitching with the urge to lift up and clasp him closer. The pulse ticking low at the apex of my thighs craved some more pressure, irritatingly so.
“And you better play your part perfectly,” Azazel continued in a silken murmur. “Or else our little bargain is null and void.”
I narrowed my eyes. That was a gauntlet thrown if I’d ever seen one. “You want a show?” I asked with a saccharine smile. “I’ll give you the performance of your lifetime.”
“Careful with that promise.” He raised a brow. “Considering I’ve lived for thousands of years, the bar is set high, my dear.”
Stepping away, he grabbed my arm and pulled me after him as he strode toward another archway leading away from the large hall. I scrambled to keep up and not do a full face plant. His pace brisk, he yanked me down the hallway, in another direction than the one I’d come from when I’d fled from the creatures.
As far as I could see, the walls were bare of the marks I’d left, which meant we must be yet in a part of his labyrinthian house that I hadn’t explored earlier.
When I stumbled and almost tripped, he grabbed me around my waist, slung me over his shoulder and walked on at a clipped pace.
“Hey!” I managed to wheeze while bouncing with his steps. “You don’t have to carry me like some ill-tempered barbarian. I can walk just fine.”
“Not fast enough,” he growled. “Zaquiel has requested your presence, and you will not displease him by wasting time. You do not keep a Fallen waiting.”
“Fallen?”
His answer came grudgingly, impatience clear in the tone of his voice. “One of the angels who fought and fell with Lucifer. The original demons.” His hand holding on to my thigh tightened. “As much as you enjoy poking at me, you better hold your tongue in his presence. He is not to be trifled with.”
And from the way they’d interacted and addressed each other, Zaquiel clearly outranked Azazel.
“Okay,” I wheezed. I had no intention of riling up a demon more powerful than Azazel who wasn’t contractually obligated to not kill me. There was rightful defiance, and then there was utter stupidity. I tried to steer clear of the latter.
A moment of silence while he kept carrying me in a rush.
“Just okay? What—no saucy comeback, no spiteful challenge?”
“Contrary to your impression of me,” I ground out, “I do have some sense of self-preservation.”
“Hidden underneath misguided pride and impulsive intractability,” he muttered.
I gasped. “That’s rich coming from the guy who’s too high-and-mighty to explain the basics of Hell to someone who’s never been here.”
I expected a snarly reply, instead he paused for a second, and I heard the click of a door opening. The next moment he carried me into a dimly lit room, kicking the door