Touched by Death: (Sins of The Fallen book 3)
Touched by Death: Chapter 28

He shoots up from the seat with his hands held out in front of him, but that’s the only sign of distress. Everything else about him is calm, as though he’s resigned to his fate.

He’s dead.

That’s what he is.

Fisting his T-shirt, I haul him close. “Cover yourself,” I growl at Aurelia, keeping my eyes locked on my cousin. To Dmitriy, I say, “See the cum on her face? See how she’s covered in my brothers?”

When his brown eyes slide in her direction, I jostle him. “Don’t fucking look at her.”

“Daemon.” Aurelia speaks up from her spot near the fire where she’s putting her dress back on. “Don’t hurt him.”

A snarl rips from my lips, and I bare my teeth at Dmitriy. But then the little witch adds, “Please,” in a soft, vulnerable voice that gives me pause. Looking in her direction, I’m met with her big eyes and ruined perfection. “You don’t have to accept him, but please don’t hurt him.”

My gaze sweeps over her face and body—the majestic black wings that seem to frame the fireplace behind her. “If you think I’ll ever let him lay a single finger on you, you’re wrong, little angel.”

“He’s been there for me,” she says, slowly rising to her feet while keeping her gaze locked on mine. Her voice is stronger now and more determined. Behind her, the flames seem to grow taller in response to the strong emotion that pours from her. She takes a step closer, and I snarl in response, tightening my grip on Dmitriy’s T-shirt.

“Careful, little angel. I will hurt him.”

“Please, don’t.”

“Why?”

“He’s my friend.”

“Friend…” I chuckle humorlessly before shoving Dmitriy with enough force to send him flying across the room. He knocks over a couch, causing Aurelia to startle at the loud crash.

Walking over and grabbing her in a chokehold, I snarl in her face, “You think my cousin wants to be your friend?” I spit the word. “Wrong! Can’t you see that he wants to feast on your sweet pussy until you come all over his tongue?”

Her defiant eyes stare up at me, glassy with cock-stirring tears and attitude, but she keeps her lips pressed shut. It doesn’t matter. That look in her gaze speaks a thousand words.

“Let her the fuck go!” At the sound of my cousin’s deadly threat, I stiffen. “I won’t warn you again.”

Aurelia’s teary eyes fall shut as I slowly release her to turn around. “Daemon,” she whispers, sniffling pathetically.

Ignoring her unspoken pleas for me to not hurt him, I level him with a murderous look that’d bring a lesser man to his knees. When I feel my little angel peer at him from behind me, hellfire ignites at my fingertips. The concern that oozes off of her pisses me the fuck off. “Are you challenging me?”

A muscle clenches in his jaw as he stands tall in front of me with his wings carefully tucked. It doesn’t matter; the challenge is clear as day in his eyes and the defiant tilt to his chin.

I cock my head to the side, studying him closer. “I’m the devil’s son.”

“I’m his nephew.”

Silence settles in the room. We stay locked in a stare-down, each measuring the other as the seconds tick by.

Dariana shifts somewhere to my right while Ronan and Alaric watch the scene unfold with bated breath. One wrong move on Dmitriy’s side, and they’ll tear him to pieces at my command—contract or no contract.

“What exactly is it that you want?” I ask, fisting my hands at my sides.

Dmitriy never takes his eyes off me as a small smile spreads across his lips. “You know exactly what I want.”

“Just let us kill him,” Alaric growls, and I hold my hand up to silence him.

I take a single step closer to Dmitriy, and he notices, tracking my every move with eyes that miss nothing. “I’m intrigued enough to let you live for a few precious seconds longer. Tell me, cousin, what do you want with my little angel?”

“I want a turn at marking her,” he says boldly.

Pausing, I frown and let my attention trail from him to Aurelia and back. A humorless laugh climbs up my throat. “You have some fucking nerve.”

That small smirk of his never falters. “Let me mark her.”

“Let me set one thing straight,” I growl out as I step into his space. “You. Will. Never. Touch. Her.”

DMITRIY

Daemon shoves me back a step, turns around, and grabs Aurelia by the arm. Her eyes replace mine over her shoulder as they sidle out. Alaric and Dariana leave the room, too. Ronan lingers, looking over at the door before turning to me. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

Scoffing, I reach for the nearest object I can replace—a candle on the coffee table behind me—and toss it full force at the fireplace. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious. You’re breathing, for one. If it were anyone else, they’d be in pieces by now. Daemon has killed for less.”

Sucking on my teeth, I stare at the crackling flames. Defeat weighs my shoulders down.

Ronan takes a step closer with his hands in his pockets. “You should look at it like the glass is half-full.”

The humor in his voice doesn’t go unnoticed, but I’m in no mood to crack a smile. “I want to challenge him for her,” I admit, chancing a quick look at him as he moves across the room with the grace of a lazy lion.

“That’d be a very bad idea.”

I scoff. “You don’t say.”

“So what’s the plan?” he asks as he stops beside me, but I don’t reply.

Staring intently at the flames, I slide my hands into my pockets and draw in a deep, tired breath, unsure why I’m so affected by the angel.

“You gonna hang around until you wear Daemon down?”

“Something like that.” I look at Ronan. The humor and heat in his dark eyes. “Wouldn’t you?”

With a shrug of his broad shoulders, he stares at me for a beat before stepping closer and letting his gaze drift from me to the fire. “I think you have one heck of a fight on your hands if you want Daemon to let you anywhere near her.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Not while there’s a stalker out there.”

“I appreciate that.” His eyes return to me, sweeping over my face as if he’s intrigued by the similarities between his leader and me. “You’ll have to submit to him.”

I’ll die first. Grinding my teeth, I bite back my retort.

Ronan notices, amused by the tic in my cheek. “He’ll never accept you otherwise.”

“I’ll kill him before I submit.”

Ronan chuckles appreciatively, a hint of fang gleaming in the firelight. “I’d love to see you try.” He moves even closer, and I hold my ground. His masculine scent mingles with mine. “In fact, I replace the thought of you going head-to-head with Daemon quite intriguing.”

“Intriguing or arousing?” I arch a brow, and his smile broadens in response, as if my response delights him.

“Maybe I’m intrigued because the thought is arousing.”

When I don’t reply, he leans in close. So close I feel his breath on my lips. “I like the taste of your jealousy in the air.” My gaze lands on his lips, and he whispers, “It’s fucking delicious.”

“I’ll paint Aurelia in cum soon too,” I reply, my cock straining against the denim. “I don’t care what it takes.”

“Interesting,” he muses, showcasing his lethal fangs with another predatory smile that makes my heart thud heavily inside my chest. “I don’t know how to feel about your threats.”

“I don’t care how you feel.”

The heat from the tall flames barely registers. Ronan lets his wings slowly unfold from his back in a subconscious display of power. Though he’s not the alpha of the pack, he’s loyal to his leader. And while he can sense this sexual tension between us, he won’t hesitate to defend Daemon. “Be careful,” he whispers, eyes swirling with a deep red mist that’s reminiscent of blood. “I’m intrigued by your threats, but I won’t hesitate to kill you, Dmitriy, if you threaten my family.”

“Kill me or fuck me?”

“Fuck and kill.”

Now it’s my turn to whisper, “Interesting.”

We’re so close that his heat burns my chest, and his breaths tickle my lips with his every deep exhale.

“Careful,” he warns when my wings unfold behind me. “I’ll tear into you like a damn shark until there’s nothing left but fleshy remains.”

“Vicious.”

His amused chuckle, which is pure sex, licks across my lips like a tempting promise of trouble. “You have no idea.”

With a look at the flames and back, I smirk. “Just wait, Ronan. One day soon, my cum will coat yours on Aurelia’s pretty face.”

His tongue darts out to trace across his bottom lip as he lets his predatory gaze drop to my mouth. “A part of me wants you to be right.”

“And the other part?” I ask.

His dark eyes flick up to mine, and with a dirty smile, he says, “The other part wants to watch Daemon tear you to shreds.”

He walks out, and I stare after him before calling out, “Challenge accepted.”

His broad shoulders shake as he exits the room, but he never turns around to see the filthy smile on my lips.