“Uh, yeah. Hello. Have you seen your own face?”Damn it, damn it, damn it.
“Women aren’t usually attracted to me.”
“Are you kidding me?” she shouted. Alcohol or no alcohol, that was ridiculous. “You’re like, the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. I’m so freaking attracted to you, I can’t keep it in my pants— Oh my god, I can’t believe I said that. I’m sorry. I’m definitely shutting up now.”
He was staring at her again. “If I kissed you right now, would that be inappropriate?”
“What?”
“Because you’re under the influence of alcohol. Isn’t it considered wrong for a human male to initiate physical contact with an intoxicated female?”
She stared at him. “You say the weirdest shit, Ash. Human male? What are you, an alien?”
“Demon,” he said with a perfectly straight face, and she burst out laughing.
“I get it! Asmodeus. Demon name! Oh my god, that’s funny. Well, if you’re a demon, you shouldn’t care if it’s right or wrong, right?”
“Yes, but you’re human, and I’m trying to—”
“Honey, I may be a little tipsy, but if you don’t kiss me, I’m going to embarrass myself by kissing you first.” Damn, she was bold tonight. Or rather, alcohol was in her blood, making her say the stupidest shit.
But she couldn’t regret it, because the sexiest man on the planet leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
He kissed her like he was starved. Like he’d never kissed before. But not an awkward, virginal kiss either. His hand landed on the back of her neck, and he pried her lips apart and thrust his tongue inside her mouth like he was invading foreign land and staking his claim forever.
She moaned, way too turned on to be in the middle of a nightclub, and clutched weakly at his shoulders. Tugging her against him, he kissed her until her blood was rushing so fast, there was roaring in her ears.
He dragged his mouth away. “Shit, maybe that was too intense.” His eyes were heavy-lidded, burning with intensity.
“Are you kidding?” The rush had cleared the alcohol from her head. “That was amazing. The best.”
He smiled a lopsided grin that melted her insides and then leaned back in to kiss her again—
And that was when the gun went off.
2
Flirting withDisaster
The ear-splitting bang filled the air, obliterating all else. Eva hadn’t exactly been around a lot of firing guns in her lifetime, but there was no mistaking that sound. Lord knew she’d seen enough movies to be able to recognize it.
She heard people screaming, herself included. Instinct had her dropping to the floor. Ash was there, shielding her body, but his head was lifted to scan around him. His expression was so intense, it was nearly as frightening as the gunshot.
He leaned down. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I—”
Another shot fired and then another. Kyle’s goddamn trap was finally silenced. The emergency lights flickered on. Screaming filled the air.
When the shooting stopped, Ash grabbed her by the arm, hauling her upright. “Let’s go.”
They tried to run through the sea of panicked bodies, but they weren’t getting far.
“Ash!” One of his brothers appeared out of nowhere—the dark-skinned one with the gold-colored eyes. He didn’t look afraid. He looked angry.
“Where are Meph and Bel?” Come to think of it, Ash didn’t look scared either. In fact, he was almost too calm to be normal.
“Coming. It’s here for us, but humans could get hurt if we don’t get out of here, and we’ll be in even deeper shit than we already are. Leave the girl and let’s go.”
