Demon Angel Read Free

associate with profiting from a man's humiliation."
    Her laugh set the mounds a-jiggling. He hastily returned his gaze to her face, and she said, "Do not pretend you aren't tempted, honor or no. I am sorely tempted to expose him, and I'm the one who tied him there."
    Aye, he could easily imagine this woman, with her wicked eyes, binding Sir William and teasing him into the state Hugh had seen. Who was she? She'd known his name, his destination, yet Hugh was certain they'd never met. "If you wish his humiliation, then you must know Sir William well," he said.
    Her grin revealed sharp, white teeth—unexpectedly perfect teeth for someone of her apparent age. "Indeed. Although the position you found him in is a far better indicator of how well I know him." She smoothed her palm over the back of his ankle, unprotected by armor. The heat of her fingers burned through his hose and boots. He shifted his foot in the stirrup. Her breasts heaved upward with the movement, and her hand slid up the length of his calf, hugging his leg against her.
    Trapped by a fine pair of bubbles . Choking back a laugh, he said, "You have me at a disadvantage, my lady, for you know far more than I."
    An unfathomable emotion flickered in her dark eyes. Just as quickly, it disappeared and her amusement shone bright again.
    "An innocent, are you?" Her fingernails tickled the back of his knee, and she smiled when he drew in a sharp breath. "Then perhaps we should make a bargain, and even our playing fields? What would you like?"
    "Your name."
    A harmless request, but unease skittered down his spine as she drew back, her expression triumphant. "A name is nothing, Sir Hugh. Agreed. 'Tis Lilith." Surprise fluttered across his features. Before he could respond to the unusual name, or demand a family and connection, she pursed her lips and added, "And I should like you to announce your presence to Sir William."
    He began shaking his head, and her smile grew disdainful. "Or shall you betray our bargain and your honor?"
    Lilith struggled to keep her scorn on her bovine features when all she wanted was, to bang her head repeatedly against the temple's rock wall. Stupid, to try casting aspersions on his honor or courage in order to generate a heated, thoughtless response. She'd done so earlier, and he had regarded her as calmly as he did now.
    Did she never learn? Or had she become so used to men of Mandeville's ilk—proud, vain, cruel men—that she'd become a creature of habit? True, she'd become bored in her old role, and seized the opportunity to corrupt an innocent when Lucifer had offered it, but she hadn't expected innocence to present a challenge.
    Nor had she expected the challenge to be so pleasant to look upon. A pity this innocent was not hers—still, that would not prevent her from playing with him.
    "Honor?" he echoed, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. Oh, those were fine brows. Even a demon could not find an imperfection in them, though she might try. Like dark mahogany, they matched the hair that curled soft as a cherub's, barely visible beneath his helm. Thick lashes framed clear, azure eyes. At an age between adolescence and maturity, his cheeks and jawline curved gently, as if his face were too youthful for angles. "What you ask is hardly in fair exchange for what you deemed 'nothing.'"
    "My good sir, the terms of the bargain are equal! I gave you my name… and you have only to give yours to Sir William."
    A smile seemed to threaten the corners of his mouth. "The consequences are uneven. Name another—worth nothing—and I will leave you to your assignation and return to my party."
    She affected a pout. She'd been listening to those waiting on the road, but Hugh's absence had not yet caused them significant worry. Much longer, however, and they would come after him. "Perhaps they already begin to search for you," she lied easily. "Your resistance will be for naught, and they will all look upon Sir William. I heard the ladies laughing