Page 96 of Stone Cold Touch

I sighed dreamily, swaying toward him. “Where have you been all this time? It’s been hours and hours.”

“I’ve only been gone ten minutes,” he snapped, and I didn’t like his tone or the way he thrust his hand through his hair, as if he were upset. “Shit, Layla... Didn’t I tell you to stay put? Not to dance?”

I giggled at his stern expression. “They made me.”

“We invited her,” corrected Sister. “We didn’t make her do anything. We know the rules.”

“She just wanted a taste,” added Brother, touching my arm with just the tips of his fingers. I shivered. “We didn’t hurt her. Did we, lovely little sister?”

Roth shot forward, wrapping his hand around Brother’s throat and lifting him off the ground until his feet dangled in the air. “What did you just call her?”

Sister hissed, fingers sharpening into deadly looking claws. In an instant, her beauty fell away. Skin thinned over sharp bones, eyes narrowed and predatory. She looked more feline than human.

“You take one step toward me, and I will snap your brother’s neck,” Roth warned without taking his eyes off Brother. “Do not ever touch her. You’re not welcome here any longer.”

“You cannot banish us,” Sister shrieked. “You are no King.”

Roth dropped Brother and turned around. “Maybe not, but I can rip your heart out and feed it to Hellions. How does that sound? Like a party you want to join?”

The dysfunctional siblings retreated, slinking back into the crowd. I floated away, eyeing a dancer on the stage. He was beautiful, full of ropey muscle and long, flowing blond hair. Cayman stood by the stage, smiling up at the guy.

An arm circled my waist, stopping me. “Where are you going, shortie?”

I leaned into him. “I don’t know. I feel...really good.”

“You do.” A sigh seemed to work its way through him and, when he spoke, his voice was deep and lovely. “You almost killed that girl, shortie. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

I shrugged, moving my hand back and forth. A strange pearl-colored shade followed it.

“What are you doing?”

I turned in his arms, looking up at his near-perfect face. God, he was so beautiful. Why must something so hot be so...hot, especially when I couldn’t have him? I couldn’t remember why exactly, but I knew there were reasons, good ones. “I think I can see my soul.”

His brows rose. “Can you? Can you see anyone else’s now?”

“No, but mine is white.” I sighed happily. “That means my soul is pure.”

Roth watched me, a slight smile on his face. “Demons can’t have pure souls.”

Somehow my head ended up burrowed in his chest. “Then I can’t be like you.”

“Oh, wow, you’re so off the charts right now.” Shaking his head, he moved, and the next thing I knew I was off the floor and in his arms. “Up you go.”

A wild laugh escaped me, and I felt as if I could keep laughing. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you someplace you won’t get into any more trouble.” He started forward, easily parting the crowd.

The bar was upside down to me. “Everyone is walking on the ceiling.”

His laugh was strained, reluctant sounding as he shifted me in his arms. My head now rested against his chest. “Better?”

The world was right once more. “What were those people back there?”

He shouldered open a door, walking into a dimly lit corridor. “A succubus and an incubus. I call them Sucky and Inky. I think I’m going to change their names to Dead and Deader. I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes without the wolves pouncing on you.”

I threaded my fingers behind his neck. “They weren’t so bad.”

“Guess what?” His grin didn’t quite reach those eyes of his.

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