He knew a priest. Well, an exorcist. The only problem would be convincing Father Riley not to banish Shiloh on the spot.
To think he’d had a switch star in his hand, ready to kill her this morning, until he learned they were bonded. Marriage meant a meshing of powers. Lord help him.
“After the annulment, we never breathe a word of this.” She swallowed hard, still backed against the window, gloriously naked, the morning light gleaming through her blond hair like a halo. She knew what he wanted.
Heaven, she wanted it too. That thought nearly sent him over the edge.
He tossed her the slinky gold dress which clung to every curve, barely covered anything and would probably make things worse. “Will you please put some clothes on?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He was a demon slayer, for God’s sake, a holy warrior. He’d lived a righteous life, avoided temptation. His body was his temple. For thirty-five years, he hadn’t even allowed himself to have sex. Until last night.
This was so screwed up.
She was watching him. He knew that look. It had come right before she’d jumped him and made him lose his mind.
He was supposed to break into Napthulo’s casino. He was supposed to drug a succubus into giving him the password to the demon’s inner sanctum. He was supposed to slay Napthulo to blow the whole operation sky high.
Instead, he had sex, got married and made tiger faces outside the MGM Grand.
“Get dressed.” He might not make it if he had to tell her again.
Damien fished his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans, groaning at the erection that made it even more difficult.
“Accept the universe,” he grumbled under his breath, clinging to the second Truth of the Demon Slayers as if his life depended on it.
Father Riley answered on the first ring and agreed to be at their room in a half an hour. Damien would explain everything when the priest arrived. Hopefully by that time, he’d be able to understand it himself.
“Father Riley?” Shiloh squeaked, her dress half over her head. “The exorcist? I can’t see him.” The dress slid the rest of the way over her body. “Not that I have anything to hide,” she added quickly.
They might as well get this out in the open. He shoved the phone into his back pocket. “I know you’re a demon.”
She had the nerve to look offended. “I’m not a demon.”
Shiloh certainly wasn’t what he’d expected. In their natural state, succubi were plastic creatures, almost like department store mannequins. They’d touch a man and mold themselves to fit his every desire.
This one had barreled into the room, hot and blonde, even though he preferred brunettes. Then she’d stayed in her human form all night from the looks of the photographs. This morning too. She didn’t talk like a she-demon. Or act like one.
She didn’t even smell like sulfur. “You are a succubus, right?” he asked. His demon slayer instincts registered her as a threat, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was a demon.
Shiloh chewed at her lip.
Oh no
. No wonder the serum hadn’t worked. “Tell me what you are and I can better protect you.”
She gripped her gold dress, ready to lift it and run. “Or kill me easier.”
“I can call Father Riley up here to tell us.” It was a bluff, pure and simple. The good father couldn’t see into her heart any more than Damien could. But it worked.
She swallowed hard. “I’m a half-breed.”
He could have cursed. But he didn’t. “I asked for a full succubus.” His powers, his truth serum, only worked on full blooded she-demons.
She pushed a lock of blond hair away from her eyes. “They were all busy, okay?” she snapped. “Besides, I didn’t see you complaining last night.”
He had to end this. “Fine. We’re going to go downstairs and see Father Riley.” They’d get their annulment and then . . . He didn’t know what. One step at a time.
She didn’t look convinced.
“Father Riley won’t send you back to hell,” Damien explained. At least not in public.
She didn’t appear too comforted. “Back to hell? I’ve never even been to hell.” That was surprising. He’d assumed all demons were from hell. “Besides”—she crossed her hands over her chest—“You don’t know Father Riley.”
Damien had a pretty decent idea. The good father had been trying to exorcise the demons that had emerged since the Vegas Cleansing of 2009. But it didn’t make sense to banish this one. At least not right now. “Father Riley won’t kill you. I won’t let him.”
“Who are you?” she asked slowly.
If she only knew.
He stood in front of the door, blocking her only way out. “I’m the best thing you’ve got going right now.”
She cringed. “And I thought this morning couldn’t get any worse.”
That actually offended him. There were a lot of women over the years who would have probably been glad to marry him. If he’d allowed himself to date.
Now that he’d actually made love for the first time, she was afraid he was going to send her to hell. “Listen, sweetheart. If I was going to slay you, I would have done it last night.”
Her mouth gaped open. “I married a demon slayer?”
He actually enjoyed that. It wasn’t easy to pull one over on a demon. Or a half-demon, as she happened to be.
Her emerald green eyes were round with surprise. “I had
sex
with a demon slayer?”
He gave her a piercing look. “I’m not even supposed to have sex.”
He’d had more important things to do—like this job. He’d shut down the demon portal into Las Vegas. Considering what had happened the last time demons got out of control here, that was a good thing.
She shook her head, her thoughts a million miles away. “I married a holy warrior. My boss is going to kill me.”
“Join the club.” He’d never live it down.
“No, I mean really kill me.” She sat down on the bed. “At first I thought I could just lose my job. Or be mocked for the next six thousand years.” She looked up at him. “But Napthulo will slaughter me for this.”
He believed her. Her boss was as bad as they came.
“Stay away from Napthulo,” he told her. No good could come of her confessing her sins to scum like that.
Besides, Damien was too close to nabbing the demon lord of Las Vegas. He didn’t need her to blow his cover.
“We’ll get an annulment.” Damien sat down next to her. Still, he was careful to place himself between Shiloh and the door. “You can call in sick to work for a few days,” he told her.
“A few days?” she asked, her eyes pleading.
“I’m close to taking the whole place down. You don’t want to be there anyway.”
Why was he protecting her? He’d always had a soft spot for damsels in distress but this was ridiculous.
“You’ll be under guard, of course. I can’t have you warning them.” He just needed to get through to a full-blooded succubus. “You are one of the only half-breeds working for the boss, aren’t you?”
He couldn’t imagine Napthulo surrounding himself with lesser demons.
“I’m the only one,” she said, her voice small.
“Good.” He hoped she was telling the truth.
She rumpled her dress between her fingers. “You used me,” she said. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was hurt. The truth was, they’d both taken things from each other.
“You seduced me,” he reminded her.
She looked up at him then, unshed tears in her eyes. “That’s totally different. You knew what you were getting.”
He most certainly did not. He was a standout among slayers, known for his power to resist succubi. Now that he knew what had gone wrong, he was going back in.
Napthulo had made a fatal error. According to spies on the inside, he’d opened up the Vault of Power. It was the very portal that had brought him into this world—and the one that could send him back to hell for good.
“Have you been in Napthulo’s Vault?” he asked her.
The question surprised her. “No. Of course not. It’s completely off limits.”
Maybe so, but the demon was greedy. He was placing the final touches on his latest project, The Fire Storm, a mega hotel that some slayers believed could transport souls directly to hell. Damien wasn’t sure if he believed the hype or not, but whenever a demon opened a portal, it never turned out well.
He needed access. He needed to bring one of Napthulo’s demons under his control. And if not this one . . .
Damien stopped.
Why not this one?
Shiloh studied him carefully. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
She was smart. She was on the inside. He knew he could work with her and he certainly had something on her.
“You want an annulment, sweetheart?”
“Of course. That’s what we’ve been talking about.”
“I’ll give you an annulment, as soon as you help me take down your boss.”
Panic flashed across her features. “Oh no.”
It was perfect. He didn’t need to depend on a serum. He had his own personal demon, one that had to be loyal or face the consequences. “You said yourself Napthulo is going to kill you.”
Her breath came in short pants. “Only if he finds out about you,” she protested.
“He will,” Damien promised. Let her know what it felt like to do good.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Don’t say that.”
Damien couldn’t help grinning. This could work out better than he’d hoped.
He closed his hand over her cold, shaking one. “Work with me, Shiloh.” He hadn’t chosen this any more than she had. But maybe, just maybe, he could axe Napthulo and at the same time, show this half-demon the light. “I may just be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
Chapter Three
S
hiloh still couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You want me to betray the demon king of Las Vegas?” She stared down at Damien, who was sitting smug and comfortable on the bed.
Napthulo was feared and revered by demons everywhere. He was one of the original fallen angels. He commanded thirty-six legions in hell. He’d blasted Pompeii on a dare.
And right now, he liked Shiloh. She was his special pet, the quirky little half-demon who had helped him back into his glory.
She chewed at her lip. The one he could ignore and starve because she wasn’t as good as the others. The one he wouldn’t miss, now that he had his Vegas business up and running.
Her stomach knotted at the thought. Shiloh stood, her toes grinding yet another wedding picture into the carpet. The blasted things were everywhere.
She couldn’t stop a demon slayer on her own. Damien was going to try to take down The Seven Deadly Sins Casino and frankly, she didn’t want to be anywhere close when it happened. She’d been nearly roasted alive the last time a slayer came to town. The Great Destroyer had taken out every succubus in North America.
Shiloh had barely escaped because she was a half-breed. But it had given her a sunburn she’d never forget. Now this slayer wanted her help to blow everything up again.
Damien leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You said yourself he’s going to kill you.”
She glared back at him. The slayer was one to talk. “You could kill me.”
In fact, the first thing he’d done this morning was reach into that silver suitcase with the strange symbols carved all over it.
It hit her like a bat out of hell. “You were going to kill me this morning.”
“Slay you,” he corrected.
Oh, this was just too awful to contemplate. “Kill me.”
He gave a small, satisfied smile. “But I didn’t.”
Well, didn’t he deserve a medal? “Glad you managed to hold yourself back,” she said, scanning the room for a weapon that might fend off a demon slayer. Everything was bolted down. As if a cheap lamp would stop a switch star.
He was following her now, amused.
She grabbed the obnoxious pink teddy bear. She wanted to toss it at his head. But the jerk would only laugh harder. Instead she wrapped her hands around the grinning bear’s neck and squeezed.
These demon slayers thought they were so high and mighty. Yes, some demons were out of control. She could admit that. And the succubi at The Seven Deadly Sins Casino were as plastic and heartless as they came. But this guy was ready to damn her before he even knew her—after he’d slept with her and stolen her powers. She gave the love bear’s head an extra twist.
Damien placed a hand on her shoulder. “Take me to Napthulo’s portal.” It wasn’t a request. It was a demand, from a man who was used to getting what he wanted.
She shoved the bear against his chest. “Why should I?” She was sick of being treated like everyone’s puppet. “You know what? Smite me. Go ahead. I dare you.”
The demon slayer stood there, not quite sure what to do with the stuffed bear. “Shiloh, I don’t want to smite you.”
Fat lot of nerve he had. “Oh, so you’ll marry me, but you won’t smite me.”
“Damn it, Shiloh.” He tossed the bear on top of a thoroughly ravaged room service tray. “I know you’re not mixed up in this and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Too late for that,” she groused.
“I just need to reach Napthulo’s portal.”
Now that took the cake. “How am I supposed to know where to find Napthulo’s portal?” He’d bound himself to her, wouldn’t let her go and now he was asking the impossible.
“It’s in his bedroom,” Damien said.
“Oh.” Imagine that. “I know how to get in there.”
“I figured as much,” he said, digging his fingers through his hair.
For once, she kept her mouth shut. It was true. Only succubi were allowed in to please Napthulo in his private chambers. Although it usually meant every succubus but Shiloh.
The demon had hired her to get the business going again. He still bore a grudge against half-breeds. But she could enter, just like the others.
Of course he didn’t expect her to be leading a demon slayer into his lair. Curses. She’d finally carved a tiny piece of freedom for herself and now this demon slayer was going to blow it all to hell.
She crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t owe Damien anything after last night. She didn’t owe her life to Napthulo either, even if he thought he owned her. “And why on earth is Napthulo keeping the portal in his bedchamber?”
Damien gave her an arch look. “Demons are arrogant.”
True. “And it’s not like any of the girls would bother it.” Succubi lived to please.
Besides, a portal had brought every one of the girls, save Shiloh, out of hell and to Vegas. Why would anyone want to destroy one?
Anyone besides Shiloh.
Her stomach flip-flopped.
She needed time to think, decide. Someone was going down and she needed to be on the winning side. The demon slayer was cocky. Smart, too. She had no doubt he was powerful. But Napthulo hadn’t survived since the dawn of time by being stupid.
If only the demon slayer would leave her alone. Her mouth went dry as Damien trailed his fingers down her arm. Heat and raw energy radiated from his fingers. Was it a caress? Or a warning?
His hazel eyes bit into her. “Napthulo is going down, Shiloh. Do you really want to cling to him?”
Shiloh groaned. “It’s not that simple.” Not for someone who was bound, like her.
She turned toward the window, to the rising sun over The Strip. The demon slayer actually seemed concerned whether or not she’d be hurt by the fall of Napthulo. It was strange. The demon certainly wouldn’t spare a thought for her.
Yet there was more at stake than just her life. She might not mind seeing the demon go down, but she had friends inside that casino and she refused to hurt the few creatures who’d dared to care about her.
“Work with me,” he insisted.
She whirled to face him. “Why? Have you decided to kill me after all? Mr. Kill Things First and Ask Questions Later?”
He threw up his hands. “I’m a demon slayer. What do you want me to do?”
“For your information, there are other creatures in that casino that have done nothing to you.” There was Fawzi, who only wanted to protect her. Rufus, the sweetest hellhound who ever lived. Neither one of them would know what to do in hell, or wherever Damien sent them. “You’re talking like you have a right to just slay whoever you want.”
He actually seemed surprised at that. Arrogant jerk. He stood so damned tall and resolute.
It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair and—
“It’s happening, Shiloh,” he said, as if daring the very demons of hell to stop him. “Whether you want it to or not.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re an asshole?”
“No,” he said, as if the very idea shocked him.
Hades have mercy. She rubbed her eyes, trying to think.
It wasn’t that she had problems with the idea of betraying the mighty Napthulo. Shiloh was half demon after all. Evil deeds came with the territory.
If anything, the other demons would be impressed.
And if news made it as high as Satan, the devil himself wouldn’t mind. He admired treachery.
Maybe she could work out a compromise. “Okay, Saint Damien.”
He scowled. “Don’t blaspheme.”
She ignored him. “If you’re going to try to take out Napthulo . . .” She couldn’t stop it. She could only survive it. “If I help you, you have to get me and a few of my friends out. Unharmed.” Napthulo and the plastic demons could find another way out of hell as long as Fawzi and Rufus were safe.
He leaned a shoulder against the wall by the window. “I can’t rescue demonic minions, Shiloh.” He didn’t even pretend to consider it. Which ticked her off.
“You say that as if you didn’t sleep with a demonic minion. Hmmm . . . last night.”
Desire crept over her as she remembered the way she’d backed him against the wall and taken him in her mouth. He sure hadn’t minded her then.
“Shiloh,” he warned.
Her body flushed and she let out a little moan as the desire washed over her. She needed a touch of comfort right now, some nice healthy lust.
He looked stricken.
In fact, she could go for a morning snack. Most of the time, she could go longer, but whatever had bound their powers seemed to have intensified her ardor. In fact, she was as hungry as if she’d gone days and days without.
His gaze dropped to her chest. She felt it like a touch. Her nipples tightened almost to the point of pain as she strolled toward him, hips swaying. He watched her like a starving man.
She brushed her breasts against his chest. “Let go.” She ran her tongue along his collarbone, his throat, that sensitive spot behind his ear.
“Shiloh. We can’t.” His voice was hoarse now, uncertain.
She rubbed against the length of him. He was hard as a rock. “Oh, I think you’re ready. And I’m certainly ready.”
“No,” he said, breathing hard, eyes on the ceiling. “We can’t do that again. Ever.”
But he didn’t push her away.
“Say it,” she whispered in his ear.
“What?” he croaked.
“Say the word.” She ran her fingers down his chest, down to where his jeans were slung low on his hips. “Sex.” She teased him, her touch lingering where his jeans met flesh.
He licked his lips. For the first time, she saw his carefully crafted wall crack. “I don’t need to say it. You know what I mean.”
Amazing that this man, who had so much to give, held himself back so fiercely. “You’re too uptight to say it.”
He looked her in the eye, struggling in a way she’d never understand. “Which is why it can’t happen again. Ever.”
Wrong answer. “You should have thought of that before you let yourself get bonded to me. I need sex from you, Damien.” She dropped to her knees in front of him, flipping open his top button, then another. And another. “I can’t feed off anyone else.”
“Feed?” He said it like the idea revolted him. “Get up.” He pushed off the wall, buttoning his jeans, stalking toward the other side of the room.
Shiloh dropped her hands to the floor, aching with unspent lust. She had to be the only succubus who had such a hard time getting sex.
Damien paced by the door, still hard as a rock. Why was he being so difficult?
“You’re going to stop the seduction right now,” he ordered. “We have work to do.”
If she didn’t get the demon slayer back into bed—soon—she was going to explode.
He continued on as if she wasn’t about to throw herself at him again. She would if she thought she could get away with it.
Damien pulled on a T-shirt. Then he selected a gray sweater out of the closet. He finished with a leather jacket.
“Fine.” She slowly rose to her feet, so turned on it hurt to move. She’d never had a partnership. She wondered what it would be like to be an equal. “I’ll help you on one condition.”
“Shiloh,” he warned.
“Let me get my friends out. Fawzi is an ifrit that Napthulo won in a card game with Nostradamus.”
Damien raised a brow.
“Fawzi is harmless, a captive.” Like her. “And Rufus is a sweet little hellhound.” She stood her ground as he scrubbed a hand over his chin, frowning.
He paused, shoulders stiff. “Agreed,” he finally said. “Partner with me and no harm will come to your friends.”
Her stomach tingled with the weight of what she was willing to promise. She also felt a surge of power. It was a heady feeling to decide her own destiny, even though she’d just leapt headlong out of her predictable world.
She rested a hand on her hip. “Well, demon slayer. It looks like we have a deal.”
He laughed at that. “Yes, I suppose we do.” He studied her, the mirth fading from his eyes. “I’m not a man who compromises easily.”
And she was one who had always compromised too much. “I like a challenge,” she teased. It felt new, exciting, to take a stand at last.
He gave an exaggerated groan. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, you had to walk into mine.”
“Yes, well, it’s not yours yet.” There was a mega demon to be dealt with first.
“True,” he said, switching to business mode. He moved over to the silver suitcase, snapping the clasps closed. “We missed our window of opportunity last night, but I have my contacts trailing the demon. As soon as there’s another chance, we’ll jump on it.”
She braced herself. “Napthulo is incredibly smart. We’ll have to move fast.”