Page 10 of Her Darkest Devils (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 3)

Zade tries to grab my hand but I cross my arms. “Raven—”

“I’m not done, Zade. You claim that you can’t help me out of here because you don’t want to risk losing your wings, but I think it’s something more. You wanted to use me to come here to see Andre. You’re not helping me leave because of it. You love him, don’t you? More than just as your companion.”

“It’s different than what your mortal brain tries to comprehend,” he snaps, his voice growing deeper. Heavenly light radiates from his skin, the holiness of it stinging my eyes.

I squint, remaining strong and stubborn, not letting his grace scare me. “Then explain it. I’m trying to understand why you’re putting yourself through all this. Why torture yourself? You could help us. I want nothing more than to reunite you with Andre, but right now? He doesn’t want to see you. He knows you don’t understand why he chose me. If you could—”

Blinding light engulfs me, zinging me through the core. Zade pulls me to him before I have a chance to process that his lips brush mine as he kisses me so softly it feels like a whisper of angelic grace.

His lips taste exactly how he smells, and they’re softer than I could’ve imagined. My body reacts to his closeness. Tingles burst between my legs to send goosebumps over my skin. I slide my fingers into his blond hair, guiding him to kiss me harder, more fiercely. I want my lips to sting and ache with passion, touched by his grace.

Fuck. I can almost imagine Dante and Kase joking about angel corruption now and how of course the fucker couldn’t resist me, even in Hell.

Zade moans deep in his throat, gliding his hands down my sides until his fingers dig into my hips, pulling me so close that I can feel the hard length of his massive boner flexing between us. Gasping, I jerk myself away, my good senses returning to me in a moment all is usually lost. Zade’s hand flies down to his cock, and he rubs it, trying to adjust it in his pants. He doesn’t have to say anything for me to know this might be his very first boner. And damn. For an angel who seems to rely on the universe to do shit for him, he really surprised me. In a good way. I hadn’t realized how attracted I was to him because of how infuriating he’s been.

I touch my buzzing lips. “What the hell was that for? I’d think an angel would ask me for permission before jabbing me with his cock.”

Heat flushes up Zade’s sun-kissed skin and into his cheeks, turning his turquoise eyes even brighter. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Forgive me. I only wanted to understand.”

“Understand what? Andre didn’t abandon Heaven to freely kiss me. He kissed me with all of his angelic glory beforehand. Hell, I even sucked his cock.” Damn my mouth. What is it about Zade that makes me not only want to overshare but also convince him that it’s more than about a devil’s lust.

Zade’s face reddens even more, and I’m nearly certain he will launch into the air and disappear, leaving me to fend for myself. “Oh,” he finally says, rubbing his hand over his smooth jaw. “I still think it helped him make the decision. He was so enthralled with your soul.”

“So why kiss me? Why risk your wings?” I can’t stop from asking him the questions. “It seems neither of us understands any of this.”

Zade unfurls his wings, expanding them out. “I think I do, but not only because of our intimacy.” Oh-fucking-God. Intimacy? He didn’t even use tongue. The sweet, innocent bastard. “It is more than that. The longer I’m with you, the more I—”

Zade’s face twists in agony, and he hollers as he unsheathes his sword and sets it ablaze. We were so focused on each other that the rest of the world disappeared, leaving us open for an attack.

A hot hand slaps over my mouth. “What a delicious soul.”

I can’t move or scream.

Zade hollers again.

Staring with wide eyes, I scream against the sweaty palm of...another soul, I think. Zade drops to his knees and bows forward. Blood pours from a wound on his upper back, just above his wings.

“Kill him!” a woman shouts.

Zade whips his head up and locks his gaze to mine. I watch several men charge him.

They aim their strange weapons at his wings.

“No!” I scream against the sweaty hand of the asshole pinning me to his chest. “Zade!”

The demon jerks me around, grabbing my shoulders. His sallow eyes rove over my face as he studies me. I struggle to yank away from him, but it’s like he has just as much Hell strength as I do.

Opening his mouth, the demon unrolls his strange white tongue and drags the disgusting thing from my chin to my forehead. Firelight flickers in his eyes, his pupils expanding within his yellow irises until his eyes turn black.

“Can’t let that angelic bastard take you. No one leaves Hell except the kings,” he says, slurping his tongue across my cheek next.

My skin stings, and I ram my knee as hard as I can into the fucker’s groin, but he doesn’t move. I’m not even sure he has a sensitive spot on his grotesque humanoid body. “He’s not taking me from Hell, you fucker. He’s taking me to Andre.”

“Andre? I better get you broken and ready then. The ruler of the lustful has his own desires to quench. Maybe I’ll find myself as part of his legion.” The demon wags his thick, black brows. Ugh. Nasty. “I wouldn’t doubt if he gives me you as a reward for taking care of the angel too.”

“Take me to him and find out,” I snap, grinding my teeth.

His pupils retract and he flicks his long tongue back out, gliding it along my neck. “Like I said, after I’ve had my fill.”

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