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

when it’s all lost again.”
    Standing behind Brone, Lucifer trailed a finger across his frozen lips. “How passionate and sensual our friend is. He’s always been this way, reveling in the pleasures of the body and mind. How difficult it has been to watch him suffer at their loss.”
    He bestowed a benevolent smile on her, something he’d probably intended to resemble an innocent and harmless grandfather but came off more like a slickly devious used-car salesman. “Would you like to save him from this fate, Evangeline Carr? Would you like to prove your love for this being? Your loyalty, trust and faith.”
    Evie licked her lips. It was tempting to say yes, but she was negotiating with the devil and knew better than to lay all her cards on the table just yet.
    “He lied to me. Why should I trust him — or you?”
    “He didn’t lie to you. He protected you — and your daughter. Are you willing to do any less?”
    Evie shook her head. Brone grunted, forcing a jagged sound through his frozen lips. She stared at his eyes, deep, dark and painfully blue. Silently he begged her. She knew what he was asking. The moment he’d broken the contract, he must have known what his fate would be. And he’d done it anyway. Lucifer was right; he’d protected her and Megan.
    And would she repay that sacrifice by falling straight into the hands of the man he’d been trying to thwart?
    A single tear slipped over her lashes and trailed silently down her cheek. Brone’s eyes shut and stayed that way for several seconds, as if he prayed, before opening again. Relief filled his eyes. Relief and acceptance.
    They were the hardest words she’d ever had to say, but somehow Evie found the strength to push them through her throat. “No, I will not save him.”
    “You would let him suffer?”
    “No, I will honor his sacrifice. I will tell my daughter every day about the amazing creature who gave up everything to save us both. I will pray that one day we’ll find a way through the barriers placed between us. I will have faith and live on hope. And as long as I’m alive, I will love him the best way I know how.”
    “Even if that means you will never see him again?”
    “Especially if I will never see him again.” With deliberate steps, and no longer afraid of the man that stood silently by and watched, Evie closed the space between them. Pressing her lips to Brone’s, she reveled in the flash of heat and warmth that suffused her body when they touched.
    He couldn’t respond, but that didn’t matter. This kiss was a connection of the soul, not of the body. He didn’t need to move for that; all he had to do was accept what she was giving him, just as she’d accepted what he’d given to her.
    It wasn’t until she stepped back that she realized the flash of heat wasn’t entirely due to Brone.
    Another man had joined the party. This one was bathed in radiant light as if the sun itself streamed down across him wherever he went. He snapped his fingers, and Brone collapsed into a heap on the floor.
    A loud sound split the air, something akin to thunder but so much louder. The echo of it rumbled painfully through her chest. No, wait, that wasn’t sound. The walls around them rippled, wood groaning in protest. The floor buckled, and dust rained down across them all. Surely to God the building was going to crumble and bury them all.
    “You cannot do that,” Lucifer screamed, his voice booming through the chamber.
    “He is no longer yours to command. He has requested forgiveness, and I have granted it. Brone is one of my chosen now and will return with me. There is nothing left for you here, Lucifer. Leave.”
    Lucifer howled, the sound full of frustration and rage. It scraped across her eardrums, making her cringe and cover. A loud pop rocked the room. She could feel the wave of power as it pushed out and then sucked back in. A blinding flash of light followed. Her eyes screwed tight, a reflex to protect herself.
    When she opened