Free Into Temptation (A More Than Men Novella) by Kira Sinclair

better. She saw the signs. Could look into his dark, churning eyes.
    “I sold my soul to the devil for nothing.”
    “No. He has no claim to your soul now. What happens when one party to a contract does not fulfill their obligation?”
    “It’s void.”
    “Exactly.” He took a single, halting step toward her. His arms reached, but before she could reject him, his hands fell empty back to his sides. His jaw tightened. “I couldn’t let you do it, Evie. You do not belong in Hell.”
    The gentle softness in his eyes. The pain that echoed deep inside her own chest.
    Emotions bubbled up inside her, screaming for an outlet, and she found a voice for them. “So Megan will pay the price instead.”
    Her shrill words bounced around the emptiness of the room. Brone flinched. One moment he was several feet away, and then he was holding her, his powerful arms unbreakable bands forcing her own down so that she couldn’t flail at him.
    His face buried in the crown of her head as he held her, whispering over and over again, “I would never do that. I would never hurt her. Or you. Trust me.”
    Trust a fallen angel? A demon? She’d be stupid to do that. And yet her body sagged in his hold. A sob escaped from her throat, a nasty sound she couldn’t hold back.
    “Well, isn’t this a touching scene.”
    The voice was lazy and smoky, somehow seductive, although all Evie felt was panic. But that was possibly more because of Brone’s reaction than anything else. His entire body jackknifed as if he’d been hit by another bullet.
    She caught no more than a glimpse of the anxiety and revulsion in his eyes before the indolent mask slammed back across his face. She hadn’t seen it for days and didn’t like that it was back.
    His fingers were hard against her skin as he pushed her behind him and held tight. She would have bruises tomorrow, but something about the way his body vibrated with tension kept her from protesting.
    “Come, come, at least let me see the woman who has laid one of my strongest soldiers low.”
    “No.” Brone’s voice brooked no argument. “You have no agreement with her now.”
    “Yes, clever boy. I should have anticipated your ability to manipulate the single loophole in the contract. Don’t worry, you will be properly punished, but that is for later. Now I want to meet the creature that slipped through my fingers.”
    All she could see were the powerful muscles in Brone’s back. She had heard the soft rustling of his wings enough to recognize it now, although she couldn’t see them. Placing her palm flat against his back where she knew the spine would be, Evie stroked.
    His response was immediate and the shudder that racked his body difficult to miss. A surprised chuckle, full of temptation and mischief, floated from the other side of the wall of flesh.
    “Interesting and enlightening.”
    “It’s fine,” she whispered even as she shifted so that she could peer around the edge of Brone’s arm.
    Lucifer wasn’t what she’d expected, although after meeting Brone, she wasn’t sure why. Instead of burning red eyes, black, scaly skin and a forked tongue, he was gorgeous. Breathtaking. His skin appeared sun kissed. Golden hair shimmered at the crown of his head. Blue eyes as clear as a summer sky glittered jovially at her. His mouth was perfectly sculpted, along with every other visible part of his body.
    And still, there was something about him that was wrong. Maybe it was the way he watched her, his head cocked to the side as if he was studying her every move, not because he was curious but so that he could exploit it. There was a ruthlessness about him, a dangerous temptation to the beauty.
    It would be easy to be blinded and drawn in by this man. Evie suddenly understood just how he’d convinced so many to follow him in his uprising.
    “Hello, Evangeline. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
    “I don’t think I can say the same.”
    His warm chuckle rippled through the air, settling across her