Sins of the Flesh

But right now, there was no other way to access the reaper’s life force. He was far too strong and adept to let her feed from him any other way.

Her course decided, she did not allow herself to waver. Holding tight, she fought his efforts to dislodge her, barely hanging on as she pulled a second mouthful of his blood from the wound.

Her knees almost buckled as the power of his life force hit her like a tsunami. Wild. Uncontrollable. Beautiful and terrifying.

Pure, luscious energy from the fount.

Throughout her entire existence, she had fed only from mortals. Never from a supernatural; certainly not from a soul reaper. Had never even considered it.

But only a fool dismissed opportunities, regardless of how repugnant they might be. Calliope’s orders were to bring in Kuznetsov so her superiors could find out how and why a soul reaper and three Daughters of Aset had been murdered. She was willing to squelch her revulsion in favor of a successful outcome to her mission.

She’d worry about the cost later; everything in life, and death, had a price.

His fingers tangled in her hair. He jerked her head back, the pain making her eyes water. Her teeth tore free of his flesh, and her skin tingled where his blood trickled down her chin.

Teeth bared in a feral snarl, he held her at arm’s length. His chest rose and fell. His eyes narrowed to slits.

Gone was the good humor and the bad-boy grin. Here was a beast, a warrior, a predator who was used to being at the top of the food chain.

And she’d just taken a bite out of that.





CHAPTER FIVE



Pay attention, to the decision of truthfulness and the plummet of the balance according to its stance.

—words spoken by He who is in the embalming chamber

THE ENTIRE ENCOUNTER lasted only seconds. Calliope’s actions, and the soul reaper’s, had been fueled by preternatural speed.

“What the fuck?” he snarled. The moonlight cast his features in hollows and shadows, handsome still, but harder, sharper. Now, he looked like what he was, a fearsome creature, dangerous and volatile. One she needed to escape with her prize in tow.

She felt his power in her cells. She tasted his blood on her tongue. And she didn’t let herself think about anything but that.

His blood, his life force, fed hers. She was stronger already. Her vision was sharper, her hearing clearer. Suddenly, she could smell the faint trace of citrus on the soul reaper’s skin, hear the beat of his heart.

His eyes darkened, the pupils dilating. His nostrils flared.

“Did you just feed from me?” he asked, his voice low and flat. Dangerous. The calm before a storm. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners? Wait until you’re invited before you eat.”

With her gaze locked on his, she dragged the back of her hand across her lips then licked his blood slowly from her skin. Waste not, want not. Once the Matriarchs found out what she had done, she would pay a heavy price for this night’s actions. She might as well get full benefit while she could.

He stared at her, eyes glittering, and the way he looked at her made her shiver. There was threat there—which was expected—and interest—which wasn’t.

It was the interest that made her wary.

“Not so nice being the prey, is it?” she asked and then lunged at him, ready to take a final pull if she could.

As though her actions lit a fuse, he thrust her from him with enough force to make her body jackknife so her legs and arms came up straight in front of her. She flew through the air. Her back slammed against the wall with a thud, her head rocking back a second after her shoulders hit. She felt the drywall give. And despite that, she knew he’d been gentle, that he could have used far more force.

His power was so great it made the air hum. She could feel that now in a way she hadn’t earlier on and hadn’t last night. He was incredibly adept at hiding the vast well of energy that cycled through his inhuman cells.

She slid down the wall, got her feet under her and came down with knees bent. And…yes…there was her sword. She dove, grabbed and bounced to her feet to find him watching her, features taut.

As fast as she could, she darted to the right. The air stirred and he was there before her. Undeterred, she moved left, only to find that, again, he was faster. Which told her everything she needed to know.

She’d hoped that with her temporarily enhanced agility and speed, she’d be quick enough to dodge him. Of course, that made no sense because it was his agility and speed she’d borrowed.

Plan B, then. Soul reapers might be nearly impossible to kill, but they bled. They felt pain. She would use that to slow him down. All she needed were a few seconds.

His lips pulled back in a feral smile. He was enjoying the game. He thought he was the sure winner.

“I could have snapped you in two. But what a waste,” he said. “Give it up, darlin’. I’m a forgiving sort.” His gaze raked her. “We can kiss and make up.”

“I’d rather kiss a week-old corpse.”

He waggled his brows. “Don’t say that till you’ve tried it.”