Right. After the wine, she thought. He did say that. Handsome Donovan said those exact words. Wow, he is so good-looking.
“I enjoy meeting fallen angels,” he breathed in a very sexy way that made her entire body tingle. “But very rarely are they delivered right to my doorstep.”
For some unknown reason, her hand had moved to his thigh. Strange, that.
“How do you know I’m a fallen angel?”
He moistened his full, sensual lips with the tip of his tongue, and smiled. “I wasn’t positive, but now you’ve just admitted it to me, haven’t you?”
Val heard herself giggle. “Oh. Yeah, I guess I have.”
He ran a hand down the front of her top, between her breasts, and then circled it around her waist to pull her body fully against him. “Also the fact that you’re incredibly, sinfully beautiful.”
Okay, that worked for her.
“Kiss me, Val. Then hand over that annoying little tank top.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
He touched his lips to hers and she tried to kiss him as best she could with the limited amount of experience she had. The only other kiss she’d had was with Nathaniel. Just last night. In her motel room. Was this better? She wasn’t sure. But the fact that she was able to think during it was probably a giveaway to the fact that it wasn’t.
Val’s mind hadn’t been working at all when Nathaniel kissed her.
Donovan wasn’t waiting for her to take the tank top off, he already started working it up her body. She felt his warm hand slip underneath and move up toward—
Wait a minute, she thought suddenly. What the hell am I doing?
Luckily she didn’t have to push Donovan away. He was pulled away. Forcibly. He landed on the black shag carpeting a few feet in front of her.
Nathaniel stood next to the couch. There were two broken glasses of wine on the carpet next to him. Val looked up at him but couldn’t see his eyes for all the flames that they held. His mouth was set in a thin angry line. He glared at her and she felt like she wanted to shrivel up and fade away. His furious gaze moved down to her stomach and she hurriedly pulled the tank top down to cover her bare skin.
Reggie waddled into the room from the kitchen. He looked so small on the floor, struggling to move through the thick carpet. He surveyed the damage.
“So, what did I miss?” he asked.
Val opened her mouth to say something, some sort of explanation for why Nathaniel had had to drag Donovan off her after being alone for only two minutes. But she came up blank.
Besides, Nathaniel wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was looking at the other demon.
Donovan laughed as he glanced up from the floor at Nathaniel.
“This is funny to you?” Nathaniel said.
“Of course it is. I had no idea you were so possessive. You told me that you weren’t together.”
“We’re not. She’s just another assignment”—he eyed Val—“who, by the looks of things, is well over her head cold.” His gaze returned to Donovan. “Stop laughing.”
Donovan got slowly to his feet and brushed himself off. His amusement gradually died down.
“Then what’s the harm in having a little fun?”
“Show her.”
Donovan’s sudden frown chased away the remaining traces of amusement on his handsome face. “What did you just say?”
“Show her.”
“Nathaniel—” Val began.
“Show her what you really are.”
Donovan looked worried now. “There’s no need for that. Don’t take your job frustrations out on me. Unlike you, I enjoyed being a Tempter. How else would I get the chance to meet such beautiful women? Let’s just say this was a misunderstanding and leave it at that, shall we?”
“There is a need. Show her and we’ll see if your charm still works on her. Consider it a little experiment.”
Donovan stared at Nathaniel for a long moment. Then he looked at Val and smiled. “Very well. I’m quite confident in my natural abilities, anyhow.”
Val glanced at Reggie who was still on the floor and they shared a “what the hell is going on?” look.
Donovan closed his eyes and after a moment something began to shimmer on the surface of his perfect dark skin. An aura of some kind. Underneath it he seemed to shrink and change into something different, but she couldn’t quite see what it was until he was finished. Then she could see all too well.
“Oh,” she said, taking in the sight before her. “See, that’s much, much different.”
The demon now stood a foot shorter than she was. He was stocky. His skin was still dark, but it was more of a gray color now instead of the rich chocolate hue from before. He had a single strip of silver hair going down the center of his head. His eyes were huge, taking up the entire upper half of his face, still green . . . and definitely his best feature now. But they were overshadowed by the fact that he didn’t have a nose.
He grinned. “How do you like me now, baby?”
Val looked at Nathaniel who seemed barely able to control his amusement. He shrugged at her. “Other than his charm skills, Donovan is very adept at personal glamour. One of the best
I’ve ever known. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Donovan still wore the silk pajama bottoms. They were tight around his now ample waist and pooled at his ankles.
She forced herself to say something to the troll-like demon. Anything. “Still a hottie. You just can’t help it, can you?”
Donovan shrieked with delight. “See! I told you, Nathaniel! Ha! Now, Val, why don’t we spend a little more time getting to know each other, gorgeous. I have another bottle of wine on ice just waiting for us.”
She nodded. “Wow. That sounds great. But first, why don’t you tell us about Julian? Seen him lately?”
Donovan absently scratched his butt. “Nah, not lately. But I think they were talking about him the other day down at the one of the faery pubs. The one called the Rosebud. Yeah. I was in there with a lady friend of mine”—he waved a hand at her—“Nothing serious. Don’t worry, baby, you’re the only one for me now. Anyhow, I thought I heard somebody mention his name. He’s a regular there. Maybe that’s where you should check.”
“Faery pub?” she said skeptically.
He nodded, then grinned lasciviously. “Now how about that glass of wine?”
They exited Donovan’s apartment so quickly that Val left her coat and sweater behind. But it didn’t matter. It was too hot for them anyhow. Besides, she wanted out of there. She also wanted the last half hour of her life back.