It wasnt mine in the first place.
Well, whoever you borrowed it from isnt going to be too happy with that hole in the middle of the roof.
Possibly not. He paused, looking at me, and I wished I could even begin to guess what was going through his mind. You are everything that is evil. I should have left you to the Nephilim.
I was leaning back against the car, my legs still a bit unsteady, a strange, churning feeling inside me, in my breasts, between my legs, feelings that were totally foreign to me. He was standing too close to me, but I couldnt tell him to move away. I didnt want to.
Why didnt you? My voice was almost a whisper, as if I knew what he was going to do and I was afraid to startle him. Distract him. Stop him. I knew what he wanted, and God help me, I wanted it too.
His deep-blue eyes were shadowed, and I thought I could see a streak of blood on his mouth. Whose blood? Because I am a fool and a half, he whispered as well, the night air all around us. Because I know who and what you are, and I want you anyway.
And he kissed me. His mouth was rough, pushing mine open as his hard body pressed me back against the car, and I felt heat, desire, sweep through me, not knowing if it was his or mine. He was hard against me, I was wet just feeling his mouth on mine, and if hed stripped off my clothes and taken me there by the docks I wouldnt have protested.
I put my arms around his neck, kissing him back, my tongue sliding against his, and he pulled me up, up against him. I wrapped my legs around his hips, trying to get closer, shutting out my mind and my doubts, sinking into the hot wet cloud of need that enveloped us both.
Common sense hit him first. He pulled his mouth away, and I lowered my legs to the ground, letting them slide against his, slowly. He reached up and pulled my arms from his neck, stepping back, his eyes hooded, his expression as cool and unyielding as if the last few moments hadnt existed.
Im letting you go, he said in a voice only slightly roughened by what wed been doing. I would suggest you run before I change my mind.
I stared at him in disbelief. It was as if the kiss had never happened. Maybe Id dreamed it. In the end, it didnt matterwhat mattered was he was letting me go. Just like that? I said.
Just like that, he said. I have decided killing you is more trouble than youre worth.
I could happily agree with that. But I couldnt move. I still felt that strange, magnetic draw, still wanted to put my hands on him, to feel his body tight against mine, his skin sliding against me. I stayed motionless until his voice lashed out: I told you to run.
And then I ran. Into the midnight-dark streets. No purse, no money, no passport. No name, no past, and no future. I didnt care. I was alive, and I was free. Id figure out the rest later.
THE DARK CITY
CHAPTER FOUR
AZAZEL PERCHED ON THE EDGE of the cliff, looking out over the roiling ocean, letting the cool sea breeze blow his overlong hair away from his face. He closed his eyes, drinking in the feel of it. In an empty existence, the feel of the wind, the smell of the sea, were among the few pleasures he could experience.
He opened his eyes again, sensing Raziels approach. In the year and a half since Azazel had rejoined the Fallen, Raziel had repeatedly tried to hand the leadership of Sheol back to him, and hed steadfastly refused. Raziel as the Alpha and his unconventional wife made a good ruling pair. Raziel had more compassion than Azazel was capable of feeling, and his wife, even though shed shaken things up a bit, was proving to be a warm and caring Source.
He could look at her now without wanting to kill her, even hold short conversations with her. Because Sarah had liked her. He suspected his wife had known her death was comingSarah had often
had unexpected visionsand she had already set the stage for Allegra Watson to take her place. If Sarah approved of her, he couldnt very well despise her.
Everyone had left him alone since hed returned from his self-imposed exile, knowing that when he was ready to fully rejoin the ranks of the Fallen, hed tell them. In the meantime, hed spent the days poring over the old texts, searching for some hint, some clue, to Lucifers whereabouts.
The first of them, the Bringer of Light, the most favored of Gods angels, had been the first to be punished, imprisoned somewhere deep below the earth in an unending silence. Until they found him, they were helpless against the tyranny of the only archangel never to have been tempted. Uriel, bloody, ruthless, and completely without mercy, had been left in charge when the Supreme Being had given the human race free will and then withdrawn, leaving them on their own. Uriel had been charged with watching over things, but hed followed through on the most horrific of the Supreme Beings punishments. Plagues that wiped out two-thirds of the worlds populationsthe Spanish influenza, smallpox, cholerawere successive gifts for the unrighteous. Uriels particular favorites were syphilis and AIDS. The punishment for sin was death, and fornication was the worst sin of all in Uriels eyes.