Free Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden

demons. Others who needed what he could give them. Others who were weaker, and so easy to control.
    Demons came in every size, color, and power. Some barely tipped the scales, those with powers between one and three. Those poor bastards might as well be humans. A power scale of ten was supposed to be the strongest. A level ten, or L-10, was the alpha of the demon land. So the stories said.
    The stories were bullshit.
    He glanced back up at the sky and all those glittering stars and he began to whistle.
    It took a while for a Fallen’s powers to come back. The crash and burn wiped out an angel. This new opponent wouldn’t be at full strength yet.
    It was the perfect time to play.
    And time to see just how attached the “guardian” truly was to his charge.
    Would he kill for her? Bleed for her? Die for her?
    One way to find out ...
    A star fell, blazing a trail across the sky.

C HAPTER F OUR
     
    N icole lunged across the truck and grabbed the wheel. She jerked it hard to the right and the truck careened across the road.
    Keenan fought to push her back, but he’d been totally unprepared for her attack. “Nicole, what are you—”
    The truck plowed into a wooden fence and fought to hurtle forward.
    Keenan shoved his foot down on the brake and the vehicle bounced twice, then steam exploded from the engine as the truck finally stopped.
    Of course, Nicole had already flown from the truck by then. Her door hung open, swaying in the breeze, and he caught sight of her curving, come-get-me hips as she ran away from him.
    Again.
    He jumped out of the truck. Yeah, that piece of crap wasn’t going anywhere, but if he didn’t hurry, Nicole could easily vanish.
    “Nicole!” He shouted. Great. He couldn’t see her now. With a vamp’s speed, she could be anywhere. “I’m trying to help you!” Keenan called out into the night.
    The hit came from behind. A hard, fast tackle that sent him slamming into the ground. He rolled, moving in a blink, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Nicole pinned his hands to the ground and loomed over him.
    “Why do I need help from a demon?” She demanded and her teeth lengthened as he watched.
    She straddled his body. Her hips and sex pushed down onto him. Keenan had never been in this particular position with a woman. He rather ... liked it.
    A lot.
    His cock began to swell. “I don’t ... I’m not here to hurt you.” He didn’t bother letting his eyes change back to blue. She’d see him as he was. Probably would be better that way. Keenan could break from her hold in an instant, vampire strength or not, but he lay on the ground beneath her and let his gaze slowly rise to her face. “If I’d wanted you dead, I could have killed you back at the hotel. You couldn’t fight back in your sleep.”
    “Maybe killing me isn’t the plan.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Death is the easy part.”
    He’d always thought so. Until her.
    “If this is all some trick that you and your demon buddies are working, think again.”
    Now she was starting to offend him. “I have no demon friends.” Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure that he actually had any friends.
    She leaned closer to him, and her thighs slid against his hips.
    Like it.
    “What’s so special about me, huh?” The darkness shone in her eyes. To fight or fuck. He’d heard the whisper before. A vamp’s eyes changed to black when she was either getting ready to battle or to screw.
    “Tell me, Keenan ... Why do I get a guardian? You don’t know me. You know nothing about me.”
    Her scent surrounded him. Her hair brushed his cheek. If he wanted, he could lunge up and reverse their positions in about two seconds. Maybe one.
    If he wanted.
    I want.
    He put a stranglehold on the beast that was growing inside of him. A beast he hadn’t even known about until her.
    Lust.
    “You’re not special,” he managed to grit from between his teeth.
    She blinked at him. “Uh, I—”
    “You’re just like every other human out there.”