Demon Angel Read Free Page B

"Have we a bargain, Sir Hugh?"
    He gave a short nod. "We do. I'm in your debt, my lady."
    He did not sound as though he relished that knowledge—all the more reason for her to enjoy it. She lowered her lids to hide the glee that boiled within her. Her nape burned as his stare fell upon her like a hot iron prodding for lies. He doubted his judgment in making the bargain, and did not trust her—but he would not renege. Of that she was certain.
    She folded her hands demurely over her midriff to prevent herself from rubbing them together in anticipation. " 'Tis nothing, Sir Hugh."
    Lilith watched as the mist swallowed Hugh's mounted form, listened to the laughing, nervous coos of greeting from the women. All but one woman—Lilith paid particular attention to that lady's relieved sigh.
    Ah, but this was almost too easy.
    The rough slide of rope against stone recalled Sir William to her. Gathering up her skirts, she skipped into the temple.
    He turned his head, blindly following her trampling path. "Marie?"
    "Aye, 'tis I," she sang and danced into a spin. His hesitation pleased her, as did his fear.
    "You ran, and I was seen." She felt his shame roll into rage. He shook his head as if to dislodge the blindfold. "Untie me!"
    Her good humor dropped from her like a shroud. "You were not seen," she lied, observing his angry struggles with distaste. Whilst she waited at the castle, she had chosen him to play with, to pass the time, but it seemed little worth it now.
    "I heard—"
    "A horse."
    "Without rider?" he scoffed. "You are both slut and liar."
    "Oh, I am more than that," she murmured, settling herself lightly upon a fallen column. Perched as she was, he might have discerned something of her true nature—but, blindfold or no, such as Sir William had no discernment. It had served her so well over the centuries: those she had manipulated saw nothing beyond themselves.
    She sighed as he roared for her to untie him. Destroying him would have been a sweet pleasure, if a rather worthless one. Unless Sir William had a dramatic turnabout in his nature, he was destined for Hell; anything she did would only accelerate his damnation. One such as Hugh, however, or the baron, or Isabel—their temptation and damnation would add a soul not already doomed.
    She touched her lips, ignoring Sir William's increasingly furious demands. If she did this well, perhaps she could tempt all three. Such a coup—and on her first attempt in this role!— should win her some reward. And Hugh would make a fine companion, with his beauty and his absurd mix of practicality and idealism. He could entertain her for a time, perhaps even a century or two. Beneath her fingers, her mouth curved into a frown. Of course, Lucifer would not allow him to retain his beauty, as she had not been able to keep hers. Nor would his innocence survive the descent and torture Below.
    "—IMMEDIATELY! Do you hear me, Marie? Marie!" As if her silence had made him fear she'd left him again, he repeated her name with a hint of uncertainty.
    She eyed his flaccid penis, then leaned forward and collected' a long, slender branch from the floor of the temple, where she'd dropped it after a similar encounter a sennight earlier. It had left satisfactory stripes across his arse, she remembered. "Have you finished bellowing?"
    A poke to his testicles sent the heavy sac swinging. He gasped in pain—but not too much, she noted, as his cock began to fatten. "Marie?"
    That ridiculous name. She lifted the tip of his burgeoning penis with the switch, balanced its length along the wooden shaft. Studied the blind little eye.
    And because there was no one to see, she let herself be Lilith. Her constricting clothing vanished. The shift from human to demon form was instantaneous, a shiver of newly crimson skin and a ripple of muscle. Black, membranous wings sprouted from her back; she stretched them wide, debating whether to push the transformation further. No one would appreciate the effect of fangs,