“But—” The sputtered protest came out against her will.
He glanced at her, and the corner of his mouth curved. There was an evil glint in his eye reminding her that even in human form, he was still very much a demon.
His next words proved it. “I know when to bide my time, angel.”
He turned away and kept washing, and Sunshine stayed rooted in place until she realized she was staring at his muscled shoulders, at the indent of his spine and the subtle arch of his low back where it curved out to the most spectacular ass in all the worlds.
She’d never particularly cared for the backside of a man until right this moment. Now she was obsessed.
A moment later, he looked over his shoulder again. “You’d better stop staring at me like that, or I’m going to pin you back against the wall and finish what you started.”
“I didn’t—”
“You’re the one that came running into the shower.”
“You tripped and fell!”
He just looked at her, one eyebrow arched.
Gather your wits, woman!She fled the shower, closing the glass door in a cloud of steam, and stood on the bath mat, her wet clothes creating a small lake around her. They were filthy too, and she had no desire to clean them. Any clothes that had been to Hell and back were ready to be repurposed as rags.
She needed a shower too, in fact.
She glanced back at Raum and nearly cried at the dark outline of his body discernible through the condensation-fogged glass. Surely this was a test harder than any the Dominations could think up for her. Surely she deserved some reward for her resilience.
For an angel who’d once thought herself not tempted by flesh, she was a wreck.
She left the bathroom, water trailing behind her. Thank the Spheres her apartment had two bathrooms.
She must have stayed in the other shower for half an hour, scrubbing every inch of herself and washing her hair, repeatedly reminding herself of her good intentions so she didn’t run back to Raum and take him up on his earlier offer. When she was done, she blow-dried her hair, running the comb through it while she stared unfocused at her reflection in the mirror.
Despite her conflicting arousal, she was exhausted and emotionally charged from everything that had happened in Hell. Facing her fear and revealing herself to the demons in Murmur’s lair was a big step, one she hadn’t thought she was ready for.
What shocked her the most was that she didn’t think she’d ever have been ready if it hadn’t been for Raum. Not even her need to find the book had provided sufficient motivation, but the minute Raum was in danger, all else ceased to matter.
What kind of angel developed such affection for an underworld enemy? How had her priorities shifted so drastically in so short a time?
And when had she stopped caring about the answer to those questions?
When she finally emerged from the bathroom, a fluffy towel wrapped around her middle, she tiptoed back to the bedroom and found Raum fast asleep in the bed.
Her heart softened at the sight of him sprawled across it, somehow taking up the majority of the queen-size mattress. His dark skin against the crisp white sheets was unbelievably enticing, and the voice reminding her such desires were forbidden faded a little more into the background.
She went into the walk-in and donned black-lace panties and a slinky satin nightgown that fell to mid thigh. She could have chosen a baggy t-shirt or flannel pajamas, but she didn’t. When she finished dressing, she could have gone to the guest bedroom, but she didn’t. She could have flashed to her chambers in Heaven or even slept on the couch. But she didn’t.
She padded across the room, pulled back the covers, and slipped into the bed beside the superheated body of the demon she was coming to care for far more than she should.
In his sleep, he turned to his side and instinctively pulled her against him. One hand got a surprisingly tight grip around a fistful of her hair, and the other reached around her body to cup her breast.
She snuggled into him, a smile stretching across her face. Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly, feeling the tension bleed out of her muscles in a way even the hot shower hadn’t achieved.
Raum’s hand slid down the curve of her waist and over her hip, and then he cupped a possessive hand over her core, fingers trapped between her thighs.
She fell asleep loving the feeling of being held by him. Never wanting to give it up.
* * *
It washis seventh and final day at the inn.
