Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) by Rosalie Lario Page A

thirty.
    Being in Solara’s presence reminded Asmodeus how much he cared for her. In his own way. Too bad that wasn’t enough for her. Why couldn’t she accept what he was prepared to offer her? Loyalty, faithfulness, undying love: none of those things she insisted on really mattered. All that mattered was power. And he had the power in this relationship.
    His lips curved into a sneer. “Perhaps she’s tired of being your self-appointed protector and has simply decided to run away.”
    “She would never do that,” Solara replied, bristling. “Besides, it’s not as if you would let her go, is it?”
    The hint of despair that colored her final words brought a chuckle to his lips. “No. She’s my best whore. And I have you to thank for that, don’t I?”
    Her mouth tightened but she didn’t reply. What could she say? She couldn’t deny it.
    When her chest rose and fell on her next breath, he let his gaze drift down to her breasts. “You’d better hope she returns soon. Because you know what will happen if she doesn’t.”
    Solara glared at him even as her body responded to his allure. “Fuck you.”
    “You begged me to do that once,” he reminded her. “As I recall, you would have killed for my touch.”
    When her eyes closed and her limbs softened, he allowed the fingers of his free hand to nestle through the short curls between her thighs, finding her bud and stroking it. Hmm...it had been quite some time since he’d had her, and she’d always been an enthusiastic lay.
    Solara made a growling sound deep in her throat and shoved his hand away, breaking free of his grip. “Don’t touch me. That was part of your agreement.”
    “Indeed.” Fighting back the burst of anger her words elicited, he adjusted his erection through his slacks. “Don’t forget, she made an agreement, too. And if she’s broken her pact, mine falls as well.”
    She said nothing in response, only glared at him, her chest heaving.
    Asmodeus leaned in toward her, whispering into her ear. “I may have agreed not to touch you, for the time being at least, but I will never let you go, Solara. You are mine. From the moment you slid that band on your wrist, you belonged to me. I always keep what’s mine.”
    He turned his back on her and headed for the door.
    “What are you going to do?” she called.
    Asmodeus didn’t bother to respond.
    It would take some time, but with the band, the one she could never remove without his consent, it was possible to track her. If Amara had betrayed him, if she thought to run away when he needed her most, then both she and Solara would pay dearly.
    This was one distraction he couldn’t afford, not if he was to appease Belpheg.
    While part of Asmodeus wished he could tell the dark fae to go to hell, he knew he never would. Thanks to Belpheg, he no longer suffered hallucinations or the irrational fear that he would be hunted down the way he’d been in the past. The dark fae had had given him power he’d never dreamed of.
    He would do anything to keep it.
    §
    Tiny rays of sunlight filtered in from the thick wall-to-wall shades Ronin had drawn over the windows before he’d left her in his room. Amara would like to blame her inability to sleep on that, but she couldn’t.
    Staying here wasn’t an option. Not when that meant subjecting Solara to Asmodeus’s whim. He’d probably hold off a day or two, but he’d hurt her again, and not merely physical pain. Worse than that—he knew how to wound her heart. As strong as Solara liked to pretend she was, Amara knew she wouldn’t be able to survive another heartbreak. And if Amara didn’t return at all...
    He would kill her. She knew that without a shadow of a doubt.
    Her eyes flickered over the modern, dark-wood computer desk directly across from the bed and her thoughts traveled to Ronin, who’d retreated to sleep in the living room. That he’d survived their encounter made her far happier than it ought to. If only she could be the coldhearted