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Sam hauled me to my feet, her fingers like a vice on my upper arm. “Look, we’re gonna call you an Uber and you’re gonna go the hell home. Or get the fuck out of town, preferably. I’m not about to have everything ruined because the Hadleighs’ next sacrifice is ready to just lay herself at the altar.”
She nodded to Zane, who shook his head at me and opened the door—
Only to find our way blocked by a man dressed in black.
Dazed with the remnants of the roofie in my system, for a moment I thought I was staring down an assassin who was about to kill me. The man glared at me, his gaze furious from the eyeholes of the balaclava obscuring his face. But that glare was as golden as the sun, and the moment realization dawned on me, I yanked myself out of Sam’s grasp and flung my arms around him.
Leon’s scent enveloped me, soft citrus and smoke. Comfort. Safety. I never would have imagined feeling a demon’s arms tighten around me would provide that feeling, but I could have cried from relief at seeing him again. He was dressed entirely in black: cargo pants, boots, and some kind of tight military jacket. The perfect costume to completely obscure his identity.
“I was beginning to think you’d forgotten me, doll,” he growled, holding me close with his hand gripping tight on the nape of my neck. “It was a cute little show you put on grinding between these two, but it gave me a feeling you’ve forgotten who you belong to.”
Zane chuckled, but Sam was glaring. “Maybe if you’d paid a little bit closer attention, it wouldn’t have been necessary.”
Leon cocked his head curiously, his fingers toying with my hair, tugging at it lightly as if he was resisting the urge to pull. The only parts of his face that could be seen were his eyes and his mouth, which was twisted into a smirk. “Juniper Kynes...so grown up now.”
I gasped at her name. Juniper—the last sacrifice. Thefailedsacrifice.
She remained grim-faced. “I’m not a scared little girl anymore. I’m much better armed than I was at fifteen.”
“So glad you remember me.” Leon glanced cautiously down the hall. He was no longer holding me against his chest, but he kept his arm around my shoulders as I stood beside him. “Hold on to that anger. It keeps you strong.”
I’d never seen a person move so fast. Juniper whipped out a knife she’d had tucked beneath her jacket and pressed the blade up against Leon’s mouth. Zane groaned, and I felt Leon stiffen just slightly as I sucked in my breath.
“You’re lucky Zane has any affection for you,” she hissed. “Because you were first on my list.”
My fingers tightened on Leon’s jacket, my hand balling into a fist. If this bitch thought she could threatenmy—
“Easy, girl.” I wasn’t sure if Leon was referring to me, her, or both. The tension went out of him. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
When she didn’t immediately move the knife away, Leon ran his forked tongue along the blade. Blood welled up as he tasted the knife’s edge, and dripped over his lips, staining his teeth as he gave her smile.
“Enjoy the party,” he said, gave Zane a quick wink, and kept me close as he walked away.
But he didn’t walk me back toward the party. He headed the opposite direction, further down the hall, where the house was quieter and the music was a subtle beat that rumbled the floor. The wall to our right was all glass, giving a view over the lawn toward the trees. He didn’t say a word, but I felt his tension building up again, heat and hardness under his skin. We turned a corner, near a stairway leading to the upper floor, and in a move so quick it left me dizzy, he yanked me from his side and pinned me to the wall.
His kiss tasted of iron as his hand wrapped around my throat, the tightness of his grip barely restrained as his bleeding tongue played over mine. He’d asked if I’d forgotten him, but my body would never forget. His kiss was like firecrackers going off in my head, an instant hot rush that tingled all the way down to my toes. His blood stained my mouth like a wicked offering, my belly tightening up as his body pressed to me, and I felt the hardness of his cock against my hip.
His taste was violence, his blood the sweetest sin I’d ever consumed.
He squeezed my throat, urging a whimper out of me as our mouths parted for a brief moment and he gave me a bloody grin.
“Fuck,” My voice cracked as I gasped. He extended his forked tongue, blood still slowly welling from the cut across it, and I couldn’t resist. I tasted his tongue with mine, caught it between my lips and sucked until our mouths met again: bloody and vile, perverted as hell.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here, Rae?” His voice was rough, exasperated. “Already trying to hop on the next demonic dick you encounter?”
“We were just dancing,” I muttered. “I—”
“Oh, don’t worry, doll.” His fingers caressed my cheek, and he used his thumb to wipe his blood from around my mouth as he kept his grip on my throat. “I’m not jealous. It’s cute how desperate you are. But I think you know that no one else will fuck you like I can.”
I gulped, looking up at him as he loomed over me. “You left,” I said softly. “You left me.”
He shrugged. “You didn’t make me stay.”
“I’ve been so fucking scared, Leon.”
His hold softened, a wince flickering over his face. He didn’t give me any distance, as if he was afraid I might slip away. “Fucking hell, Rae. Why the hell did you come here?”
“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” I said, frowning despite my arousal. “I need a way to protect myself and I thought maybe I’d find something here.”
