Agone couldn’t go.
And he couldn’t refuse. Not in front of his men.
Agone spared a glance at Axis, the leader in his absence, then at his men standing in formation yards away. Axis's stoic face gave nothing away. Did he know about Eden? Did the rest of them? How much danger was she in?
His grip tightened on his axe. He’d kill them all before they hurt a hair on her head.
“Come, Agone. I’ve kept the other princes waiting long enough. We leave now.” Belial entered the portal. Agone had no choice but to follow with his men bringing up the rear.
Chapter 18
When it came to hand-to-hand combat, Eden wasn’t a complete novice. She knew how to punch, knew to thread her keys between her fingers for maximum damage. She knew to go for the vulnerable areas: groin, eyes, and throat. Seren added to her limited skill set. He taught her how to break a choke hold, reverse a grab, and perform a leg sweep. And admitted none of this would probably work on a demon. But you never know. Some training was better than none at all.
By the time they were done, she had bruises everywhere and had kissed the dirt more times than she could count. Seren still looked like he stepped off the cover of a magazine. Eden refused to see her reflection until she took a bath. A long one.
After soaking her sore body in the tub, Eden got her surf and turf at a restaurant on Pier 57 in Seattle. She stuffed her face while Seren watched with just a glass of water at his twelve o’clock. Embarrassed to be stuffing her face while he sat there, she slid her salad across the table.
Distaste curling his upper lip, he said, “I don’t eat.”
“Ever?” she asked, not able to comprehend never chewing. Never swallowing.
“There’s no need. No desire. I have no thirst. I have no hunger.”
How sad. One universal pleasure all humans shared was enjoying food. There was nothing like a satisfying meal.
His gaze dipped to her face to travel down her body to her breasts. He may not be hungry for food, which didn’t mean he didn’t hunger for something else. Heat exploded through her body. Every time he looked at her, this was the result. Always, he looked away after being caught. Not this time. His cerulean eyes held hers, and she was dumped in the Puget Sound, needing a life vest. Drowning, dying slowly from oxygen deprivation though, she was sitting in a restaurant with a forkful of lobster halfway to her mouth.
She broke his hold on her and focused on the pier and the Ferris wheel at the end. Anything except him.
This was getting old, really fast. Each day, the sexual tension between them cranked up. And today had beenhard. Their close contact during the sword and hand-to-hand combat training hadn’t helped. By the end of the day, he’d touched her everywhere. Not intimately, but her heated body didn’t care the careful manhandling was self-defense. His touch was kindling to her smoldering fire.
She had to do something, but what? Send him away? Her entire body revolted at the thought of never seeing him again. She couldn’t do it.
Her gaze turned from the murky waters of the Puget Sound back to the angel in front of her. “What are we going to do?”
“What doyouwant to do, Eden?”
She wanted to sweep the food away, climb over the table and mount him. Mouth suddenly dry, she muttered, “I don’t know.” And she didn’t. Up or down. Right or wrong. She was in the weeds and hadn’t a clue which way to go.
He tipped his chin toward her plate. “Finished?”
She’d demolished the lobster and ate half of the steak. A third of the garlic string beans and roasted potatoes remained. “Yeah.”
He rose and held out his hand. “Come.”
She looked around at the customers paying no attention to them. “B-But the check.” She wouldn’t stiff the server, leaving them responsible for the bill.
A Benjamin appeared on the table, more than enough to cover her meal and a Sprite. His hand waited. Eden took it. A warm palm and strong fingers circled her hand. She hid her shudder. So, money could come out of thin air. Good to know. “Can we swing by the mall?”
He pulled her to her feet. “If that’s your desire.”
She had a different desire. “Just kidding.”
He led her out of the restaurant and intoMiners Landing.
Seren was tense beside her. It could’ve been from the multitude of children running back and forth from the merry-go-round to the arcade. Or, it could’ve been the women stopping in mid-stride, mid-sentence,to gawk at the angel in their presence.
He wasn’t in full angel regalia. He’d hidden his wings and stashed his empyreal armor somewhere. A button-down white shirt, a pair of gray khakis, and black loafers, a simple combination. However, the clothes lovingly hugged every muscle. Pecs, biceps, ass,Jesus, his ass, and thighs. He was beauty personified, even with scorn twisting his perfect GQ features.