AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once he locked himself inside of his suite, Raze turned to the well-stocked bar he kept. He’d never really considered himself much of a drinker—he made it through all of Prohibition without a single sip, after all, if only because Sam took a liking to one of the teetotalers—but a whiskey here or there never hurt. Down at the bar, he’d only had the one drink. Up in his suite? He finished off the bottle, his celestial metabolism burning through the alcohol before he really got a good buzz going.
And, still, he had to fight the instinct to return to her.
That was ridiculous, right? A female he had spoken to for maybe twenty minutes tops—well past his initial five—she shouldn’t have this much control over him? He was an angel, for God’s sake. Even if Lucifer’s blasted curse had stolen his powers bit by bit, he should be the one calling her to him, not the other way around.
One of an angel’s less revealed abilities was the power of suggestion. He couldn’t quite make a lesser being do what he wanted them to do without any consequence, but if Raze or one of his brothers put some effort into it, there were few who could resist falling under his sway. Lore said that it wouldn’t work on a soulmate, though Raze wasn’t willing to test that theory. He was trying to avoid Becca, not use his power to make her fall for him.
Even if, he admitted the next morning, he was already lost.
Raze blamed it on the bond. He’d heard it was a powerful thing, that stronger males than him had tried—and failed—to fight it. Soulmates, especially when it came to the angelic faction, were basically inevitable.
And he told himself that once he made the reckless decision to check on Becca in time for her second shift that night.
In the end, the stubborn angel gave himself credit for waiting a whole twenty-four hours. It was enough time for Becca to settle in, to learn her duties, to have spent a night—it better have been alone, grumbled Raze—in the room Cael set up for her on the thirteenth floor of the hotel. As her new boss, it was only fair that he saw that she was getting on okay.
And if this was the first time ever that he interfered with one of the staff, Raze refused to acknowledge it. Because while Becca was now an employee of House of Sin, she was also his soulmate and Raze couldn’t deny that no matter how hard he tried.
Just so it wasn’t that obvious, Raze sought out Cael first. The moment he stepped onto the casino floor, he felt the yank leading him to the north side and instinctively knew that that was where he would find Becca. Purposely turning his back on it, he flagged down his floor manager instead, making small talk about the evening’s events before he just… just couldn’t stand it any longer.
Clapping Cael on the back, telling him to keep up the good work, he left a visibly stunned angel behind as he intently marched to where Becca had just finished dropping off a pair of cocktails to a married pair nickel-and-diming a neighboring set of slots.
She accepted the singles they passed her way, a beaming smile lighting up her face. Raze nearly missed a step when he caught the quirk of her lips even from her side profile.
Or maybe that was the outfit she was wearing.
Oh, Lord, help me.
As if she could sense his approach—or his sudden arousal as his body immediately reacted to her presence—Becca turned. To his surprise, she blinked, momentarily stunned, before her smile actually widened.
For him, Raze thought in a daze. She was smiling at him.
Too bad it didn’t last.
“Hi— uh.” Her smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”
Shit. Was he drooling? He was definitely fucking staring, and he corrected that by quickly blinking. With a swipe of the back of his hand against his chin, he was relieved to see that he’d managed to keep his saliva inside of his mouth, before he smoothly ran his fingers through his styled hair.
Raze shook his head, trying to keep his composure. It was one thing to see Becca with her hair loose, her body covered, her face free of make-up. But this? Between the expertly applied lipstick and eyeliner, the short skirt and cropped top, and her beautiful red hair curled up and clipped out of her gorgeous face?
Oh, yeah. It was a near miss that he wasn’t drooling.
The server’s uniform was revealing on purpose. The males went around shirtless, while the females left their legs and their shoulders on display. It was a distraction for the patrons as well as a way for the servers to use any advantage for their tips. Anyone uncomfortable with the cut could wear something that covered more of their skin, but very few did.
He wasn’t sure if he was happy or pissed that Becca went along with the same uniform.
It was her choice, he reminded himself. Even if she was his soulmate, he could never control her. What she did, what she wore… that was up to Becca.
But, hell, he wished she’d keep that delicious little body hidden to everyone except for him.
And that tattoo…
Vaguely, he remembered the way she wore a rosary around her wrist. Glancing down if only for a second, Raze noticed it was still there. An odd accessory for a demoness, but even odder when he reveled in the elaborate design on her skin.
Roses. From the top of her shoulder, down to the crook of her elbow, covering her arm, her side, and part of her back, Becca was covered in deep-red roses mingled with thorny vines and—holy shit—was that a cross nestled in there?
Rosary… what was another name for a rosary but a wreath of roses? And she wore it proudly on her left side, near her heart.
Huh. Perhaps the rosary wasn’t just an accessory after all.
