Seducing the Succubus (15 page)

When the man’s face paled and he suddenly became very interested in reading the magazine in front of him, Semiazas chuckled. Being an Archangel was never this much fun—other than the time he’d spent in Gabriel’s bed. Now
that
was something worth crowing from the rooftops about. Not only was the very delectable Gabriel very inventive and uninhibited in all things sexual, she was also insatiable. Too bad she hadn’t loved him more than that poor excuse for a deity she’d betrayed him for. After all, they were already breaking God’s rules by having any relationship between them; was it that much more of a leap for her to follow Lucifer when he did?

He shoved the old anger aside and concentrated on navigating through the dusty corridors.

How interesting that when he’d seen Gabriel in Manhattan she’d just come from fucking a woman. His curiosity burned to know who it was. Maybe when his work here was done, he’d do some spying. Heaven knew he’d enjoyed some voyeuristic tendencies over the ages. But to watch Gabriel’s glistening pussy be licked and sucked by another woman made his cock hard.

Well—he didn’t have a cock in this form, but he was definitely horny as hell now. As soon as he placed the journal, he’d find a way to take care of that. He didn’t think he’d enjoy sex very much in this current form.

Semiazas smirked and tossed the tacky purse onto the librarian’s desk before making his way to the back rooms where the serious researchers spent time poring over dusty tomes to piece together their so-called expert opinions. Humans were so egotistical, thinking any part of the universe revolved around them. But then, that’s what made them so fun to screw with.

“Excuse me, Miss Shelly?”

Semiazas turned toward the voice to find a small boy tugging at the long flowered skirt this form wore. “What are you looking for, little man?” He balanced his fists on the ample hips of this form and smiled down at the boy. “Something to read that offers a little excitement?”

“Yes, mum. I have to write a book report for school on a nonfiction book.” He scrunched his nose, clearly showing what he thought of anything nonfiction. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one. Follow me, my boy.” Semiazas headed toward the back wall where the research rooms were located. On the way, he stopped and scanned the shelves until he found a particularly gruesome book outlining the torture methods pirates employed during the 1800s. That ought to keep the boy entertained.

He handed it to the boy and grinned. “Here’s something you’ll find fascinating, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that every word is true. A particular favorite of mine is on page forty-four.”

The boy flipped open the book to page forty-four, his eyes widening until Semiazas thought they might pop out of his face and roll around on the ground like sticky marbles.

Page forty-four showed a particularly detailed and full-color illustration of how pirates strung up men by their testicles until their body weight ripped off their family jewels—or they talked. But more often than not talking wouldn’t stop the progression of the torture.

Semiazas hadn’t invented that particular method, but he’d enjoyed watching it being employed.

The boy swallowed hard and closed the book. “Uh, thanks.”

“Another satisfied customer. Now, shoo. I have work to do.” Semiazas turned away and did a little dance step on his way to the back research rooms. If the boy read that book and came back for more, he might actually be interesting. He shrugged and pulled out a large silver key to unlock the main research room.

As soon as he entered through the thick, wooden door, the musty smell of old paper assaulted him, and he wrinkled his nose. “The things I do for my job.” He fished inside the bra cup that held his left breast and pulled out the journal, wiping the sweat off the tiny book onto his skirt. “There we are. Now, where to leave it?” He glanced around at the stacks of books left on the tables, some open where the readers would most likely pick up next time.

He found one book written in ancient Hebrew open to a section discussing the history of the origins of Christianity and grinned. “Perfect.” He laid the journal on top of the open book and headed back out into the main library to have some more fun and possibly find some way to work off his lust over Gabriel.

He headed into the loo, as they called it here in Britain, and sat on the toilet inside a dingy blue stall. He released the woman and stepped out of her body, enjoying his first breath of air in several hours through his own lungs.

The old woman moaned and slumped back against the wall. He’d heard that demon possession left a raging hangover, but it was no more than she deserved for toking up in between her shifts.

Semiazas left the stall and stood in front of the mirror to ensure his dark hair was perfect. He adjusted his tie and brushed a few stray wrinkles out of his dark blue button-down shirt before he left the bathroom in search of a woman.

Not just any woman—preferably one who looked a lot like Gabriel. Brownie points if they were smart enough to spar with him mentally.

He could have a demoness take her form, but he preferred to have his sport with the humans. After all, those little meat sacks were the reason his kind had been reduced to mere servants. And that after an endless time of serving God faithfully. As anger flashed through him, his fingernails snapped out into razor sharp talons and he scraped four perfect furrows in the spines of a shelf full of books as he walked past.

The destruction only banked his anger; it definitely could never remove it. But if things worked out, revenge would be his soon enough.

He made his way upstairs and walked silently up and down the endless aisles of old books, stalking his prey. There were only a few people here and there as he passed, but then he turned the corner and found exactly what he’d been hoping for.

A young woman with silver blond hair pulled back into a ponytail stood on tiptoes trying to reach a book on the top shelf. She had to be nineteen or twenty, her body tight and firm, but yet not fully developed as she would be once she matured. Human women in their thirties and forties were so much more fun to seduce than the young ones, but today he wasn’t after sport, he just needed to come inside someone he could pretend was Gabriel.

He quickly stepped behind her, pressing his body against hers and easily lifting the book off the shelf she’d been reaching for.

She made a noise of surprise deep in her throat and whirled to face him as he stepped back, pasting a confused yet innocent expression on his face.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I just noticed you were having trouble reaching this book.” He held it out to her with his best “I’m harmless” expression.

Her full pink lips curved into a smile, revealing teeth a little too large for her face. No matter, he could fuck her from behind.

“Thanks. I just wasn’t expecting anyone up here.” Her voice was high and scratchy, not low and smooth like Gabriel’s. He sighed. Well, she would have to remain silent. No talking or witty verbal sparring with this one.

He lowered his voice and whispered like a conspirator. “There are only two other people up here and they are both on the far side of the floor.” He held her green gaze and glanced inside at her soul just long enough to find the insecurity and the yearning there that he could exploit to get what he wanted.

She glanced around to confirm his words and then looked up at him.

Victory surged through him, and he pulled her roughly against him while he captured her mouth with his. He expected her to protest, at least a little, but instead, she curled her fingers into the material of his shirt as he plundered her mouth, trying to pretend she was Gabriel and failing badly.

“What’s the meaning of this?” The angry and distraught words were from the elderly woman he’d taken over earlier.

Semiazas didn’t stop but instead bent the girl backward, kissing her hungrily in a last attempt to relive his past.

“Sir! This is a library.”

He smirked at the woman’s outrage—especially since he’d been inside her and knew her darkest secrets.

“What better place to look for a piece of ass on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Miss Shelly?”

When she sputtered, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, he stepped past her and slapped her ass as he made his way toward the stairs. “Don’t be jealous, darling. I’ve already been inside
you
today.”

At her indignant shriek behind him, he laughed as he walked slowly away.

Noah
strapped the last of their gear into the back of the truck, careful to avoid the jagged metal edges left from the demon claws. He glanced up to watch Jezebeth back in her near-Kate form scanning the horizon with nervous alertness.

“You see anything?”

She shook her head, Jez’s familiar mannerism at odds with the form she currently wore. “No, but that’s what scares me. There’s no way Semiazas has given up. I’m sure he’s got everyone he can out looking for me and my sisters.” She slid Noah’s backpack off her shoulder and laid it inside the cab of the truck before jumping in and closing the door behind her.

Movement from the front office caught Noah’s attention and he glanced over in time to see Jim watching them from inside the office window. Jealousy snapped through him and he immediately glanced away, pretending not to have seen him as he jumped inside the driver’s side of the truck.

He started the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot, his tires kicking up a wall of dust behind them as irritation at himself burned inside his gut.

“So much for trying to stay below the radar.” Jezebeth glanced over at him and then cocked her head to the side. “What’s with the look of death? I thought I was just stating the obvious.”

“A minute ago you were talking about how half the world is gunning for you, and now you’re questioning why I’m in a hurry?” As soon as the angry words left his lips, he wished them back. Just because his reactions had been screwed up since he’d first laid eyes on Jezebeth was no reason to take it out on her. After all, he was a big boy and could be responsible for his own jealousies. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to find solid ground here.”

She seemed ready to say something, but then fell silent. “I wonder why Uriel was so upset about that information you read.”

Noah let out a slow breath as relief flooded him.

Jezebeth was going to let him off the hook with a subject change, and at this point, he was coward enough to take it. “I’m not sure. I wish I’d had more time with the book, but I only snapped a picture of that one page because it related to my research.”

“Do you still have the picture?”

Noah pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Do you know how to . . .” He glanced over at her, his words trailing off as she expertly found the picture file and brought it to the full-screen view. “I guess succubi don’t have an issue with cell phones?”

She grinned. “I don’t have one myself. I always thought it would make me easier to track down, but that doesn’t mean I’m not techsavvy—or at least that I’ve hunted enough tech-savvy people to pick up a few things.”

He laughed and wished she was back in her normal nonhunting form. It still disconcerted him to be attracted to her in this new form, although since she seemed to shift forms a lot, he might have to get used to it for the duration of this assignment.

She stiffened in her chair. “Wow. No wonder Uriel was pissed. Now I’m surprised he stayed long enough to give us passage to his place.”

“Why?” Noah changed lanes and took the interchange to the freeway that would take them toward Yuma, Arizona, and the portal to Lilith’s lair.

“Armageddon?” A cold chill settled firmly in the pit of Noah’s stomach and he grabbed the phone out of her hand and scanned the picture. “I would’ve recognized a reference to that. Where do you see that on here?”

A honking horn made Noah snap his gaze back on the road in time to swerve the truck back into his own lane.

She grabbed the phone back from him and pointed toward the road. “You pay attention and don’t get your research panties all in a twist. This discussion will become moot if we’re both dead.” She watched him pointedly until he stared straight forward toward the road. “It’s the symbol that appears at the bottom of the page. It’s not common knowledge to anyone in the human realm.”

Noah remembered the intricate swirling design, but figured it was just decoration since he’d seen the same thing on every page. “So just having the symbol there says that anything written on those pages refers to Armageddon?”

She nodded. “The notation of the symbol classifies all of these as Armageddon prophesies. Or simply put, the things that need to come to pass in order to trigger the end of the human realm.”

“Shit.”

“Yup. Totally agree.” She closed the picture and handed him back the phone. “Did you notice the style or age of the book binding on the journal you got this from?”