She finally had that reward, though not in the way she’d expected.

“Idess.” Lore’s voice was wonderfully husky.

He thrust as deep as he could go, and she arched up, her body clenching and holding him there. In her passion, she scored his back with her nails, and he hissed in pleasure.

“Yes. Oh, damn…” He shifted, palmed her butt and brought her up hard against him. Dropping his forehead to hers, he looked into her eyes as he pounded into her in a wild, raw flurry.

The friction blazed, smoked, and then pleasure was rocketing her into the clouds. Lore released with a shout she barely heard through the thrum of her heartbeat in her ears. It seemed to go on forever, and as her senses tumbled over her, they melted together with so many emotions she wasn’t sure how to separate them.

This was all so incredibly right. Closing her eyes, she held Lore when he collapsed on top of her. His weight was crushing, but she’d never been happier to have her breath squashed out of her.

“Sorry,” he muttered against her throat. “I don’t have the energy to roll off.” She laughed—tried to laugh, anyway, and he groaned and rolled, tucking her close. “What’s so funny?”

Blessed air filled her lungs, and the laugh finally got out. “You. Big bad demon reduced to a lump of exhaustion by a mere female.”

His hand stroked her arm. “There’s nothing mere about you. You’ve given me a run from the beginning.”

She smiled against his chest, loving how, for the first time in centuries, she could finally be herself again, could break the restraints that had kept her so contained. She wanted to go wild, to dance in a club, swim na**d in the ocean, drink a margarita, and then try a whole lot of exotic sexual things with Lore. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”

A long, drawn-out silence ticked by. At first, Idess basked in it, content and sated. But gradually, she became aware of a growing tension.

“It’s time to go, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He squeezed her so hard her joints popped. “How much longer do you have? On Earth, I mean.”

“I honestly don’t know.”

His entire body went statue still. “I don’t want to lose you. I know that makes me sound like a pu**y, but I don’t.” His throat worked on a hard swallow. “I even…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“What?” She propped herself up on one elbow so she could look at him. “You can tell me.”

He threw an arm over his eyes. “You’re going to hate me.”

“No, I won’t.” She peeled his arm away. “Spill.”

Swallowing again, he stared up at the ceiling fan as it spun lazy circles over the bed. “I actually thought that if I killed Kynan, it wouldn’t be so bad, because you’d have to stay longer.”

Ice filled her chest cavity, leaving no room for her heart to beat. “You would do that? Wreck my future?” She had no right to be appalled, given that she’d done the same thing to Rami, but as the ice and pain spread through her, she truly began to understand how betrayed and hurt her brother must feel.

Lore sat up in a quick, fluid motion that startled her. “Hell, no. It was a desperate, random thought. I’m a selfish a**hole, but I could never do something so unforgivable to you.” She cried out, but he misunderstood, and he framed her face with his warm palms and brushed his lips over hers. “I’m not lying, Idess. I swear to you, I would never take something as important as your wings away. I would die first.”

Tears burned her eyes. Horrible, acid tears that she deserved. She’d known that what she did to Rami was unforgivable, but hearing Lore—a demon—say how awful it was with so much passion, oh, sweet, sweet Lord, she deserved whatever Rami did to her.

“Idess? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you—”

“It’s not that.” She really wanted to throw up. “You don’t have to worry about me getting my wings. I’m not going to get them.” She didn’t deserve them anyway, had been fooling herself for centuries, thinking that she’d get into Heaven.

A scowl tugged his dark brows down. “What are you not telling me?”

“We only have one shot at finding Rami before your deadline. Angels aren’t allowed in the Playground, so I broke my vow and made sure I’m ruined. I can flash into Sheoul now.”

“Ruined?” He scrambled to his knees and gripped her shoulders as if he was going to shake her. “Oh, f**k. Do not tell me that I ruined you by making love to you.”

“It was my choice. It was the only way we’d get to Rami. It was the only way for you and Kynan to be saved. Until I’m officially summoned, I still have my powers. Just not angel status.”

“Damn it,” he whispered. “I knew I shouldn’t have made love to you. You’re so much better than I am. I’ve tainted you—”

She stopped him with a finger pressed to his sinful lips. “You aren’t listening to me. And no, I’m not better than you are. Don’t you see, Lore? You’ve punished yourself for being what you are. For loving your sister so much that you did what you thought was best, even though you saw it as a betrayal. You’ve given everything to your sister, and it’s time to take something for yourself. Take me. I can be with you now.” He didn’t need to know that “now” probably meant no more than a few hours before she was called before the Memitim Council… and likely destroyed.

He swallowed hard. “Do you realize what you just said, angel? Turn it back on yourself.”

Sluggish realization wove its way through her. She’d been punishing herself over Rami for centuries, putting all her energy into her guilt. Doing the same thing she’d just accused Lore of. But her betrayal had been far, far more damaging to her sibling.

She gulped miserably. “It’s not the same.”

“How can you tell me to take something for myself, to forgive myself, when you don’t walk the walk?”

He was right, and she nearly choked on her own hypocrisy. “I’ll take something for myself then. After we deal with Rami.”

“Prove it. Bond with me,” he blurted. “Swear to be my mate.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. She hadn’t seen that coming. She’d been thinking more along the lines of a tropical cruise or a bigger house. Swallowing dryly, she glanced at his bedside clock because she couldn’t look at Lore, too afraid he’d mistake the doubt in her face for rejection of him, when the truth was, she still wasn’t sure she deserved to take anything so wonderful.

“We have to go.” Her voice cracked, and the doubt seeped out through it.

“I know.” He gripped her chin and brought her face back around. “I want this, Idess. I keep telling you that I’m selfish, and this only proves it. I can’t bond with anyone as long as I’m bonded to Deth, but as soon as we defeat your brother, I’ll be free. We’ll come back here, and I’ll make you mine. Forever. Don’t say no.”

Maybe she didn’t deserve this, but he did. And she couldn’t deny him anything. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll bond with you.” She smiled, hoping he didn’t notice the tremor on her lips, because they definitely did not have forever.
* * *

Two-fifty-nine A.M. Venezuela time.

Lore breathed deeply and handed Idess the dagger.

“You ready to do this?” “

Not at all.” She clutched the little bag of powdered monk wine tighter. She’d flashed in and out of the abbey with no problems, and she’d admitted to him that she’d been glad to test her powers. Rami had told her that ruined Memitim retained their abilities until their official summoning to the Council, but she’d been nervous about it, nevertheless.

“Can you do this?”

She averted her gaze, and fear spiked through him. He got that they were going to kill her beloved brother. But if they didn’t kill him, the contract with Deth would still stand, and Lore would once again be caught in an impossible situation with Kynan and Sin.

Though… if Idess had ruined herself by sleeping with Lore, would she still be required to guard Kynan?

Fuck. He still couldn’t believe she’d done it—damned herself like that, when for two thousand years, all she’d dreamed of was earning her wings. And now she couldn’t.

Because of him.

He would have to make it up to her somehow, even if he could only make sure that she spent the rest of her life happy. He’d spoil her and make love to her and treat her like a damned queen.

They just had to kill her brother first.

“Idess?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes. I can do it.” She tightened her grip on the crossbow, grabbed his hand that held the dagger and suddenly, they were in a cavern deep inside Sheoul. The walls were lined by live demons crucified on twisted crosses, some being eaten alive by various hell-creatures.

Rami stood just three feet away from Lore and Idess, jaw-dropped and gaping.

“How—”

Idess released Lore and hurled the wine powder in Rami’s face. The fallen angel screamed and clawed at his eyes. Taking advantage of Rami’s misery, Lore buried his sword in the angel’s gut, and Idess cried out at the gruesome sight of her brother being impaled. Steam hissed from the wound, a wet, grotesque sound that was joined by the slide of bone on steel as Rami stumbled backward and off the blade.

Chasing the momentum, Lore swung, a blow that would have decapitated the angel if it had landed. But the bastard wheeled away in a blur, and the tip of the sword only nicked his throat.

He backed against a wall, teeth bared, clutching his gut and glaring at Idess, who had him in her crossbow’s sights. “You bitch.”

“Rami, please. Listen to me. I’m sorry. What I did was stupid. Selfish. I know that—”

“You know that? Your self-serving exploit kept me on this hellhole of a planet for two extra centuries!” he bellowed. “And then it got me kicked out of Heaven, you cocksucking whore!”