Free Flame Unleashed (Hell to Pay) by Jillian David Page A

firsthand. Somewhere between charity and lust, the tightness in his groin distracted him until he forgot the debate.
    He had to stay focused. She needed his help, not his uncooperative dick.
    Resisting the urge to cover his mutinous groin, he shifted his stance to relieve pressure. “So, when did he start acting this way?”
    “Ah, around 1875, when I was trying to live a normal human life with my family.”
    “But you were Indebted then, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Staying with your family is against the rules.”
    “Thanks, I know that now. Apparently, he did, too. It didn’t stop him from becoming much too interested in me and my family.”
    “Your family? Did he kill them?”
    Somehow his hand had curled into a fist. He forced it to relax. He knew all too well about Jerahmeel’s manipulation of families. A brief vision of Odie’s own two dark-haired daughters floated before his mind’s eye.
Mon dieu
, what he had sacrificed—and for what?
    “No. But he might have interfered in the lives my family members.” She shook her head, the dark tresses luminous in the streetlight. “Who knows? I’m still not certain what to believe. That was a long time ago, and everyone I’ve known has long passed on.” Her tone turned flat. “It doesn’t matter.”
    “But it does.”
    “No. It does not.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.
    Subject out of bounds. Message duly noted.
    “So are you all right after tonight’s ... events,
chère
? Did he hurt you?”
    “I’m perfectly fine. Let’s get these bodies cleaned up.”
    “That’s not necessary.”
    “Why? Oh.”
    A gust of wind blew, and like burnt newspaper, the pieces drifted away on the breeze. Bizarre didn’t even begin to explain the scene. A human life reduced to ash in a split second.
    Two citizens stepped outside their house two doors down. One of them was on her cell phone and pointing.
    “We should get out of here,
madame
.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Can you run?” He tilted his chin and winked. “You know, run, run?”
    “Of course.”
    “Can you keep up?”
    When she smiled, her entire face glowed like the light of the sun. “Don’t hold back on my account.”
    “Then follow me.”
    He took off at preternatural speed, Ruth right behind him. They flew by homes, their feet barely touching pavement. He glanced back. Her hair streamed behind her like a glorious copper-glinting flag as she easily kept pace with what he knew humans would perceive as a blur or a rush of air. After a few minutes, he slowed to a walk, and Ruth followed suit. Neither of them panted, a side effect of their unhuman state.
    “Where are we?” she asked.
    Her wind-swept hair tangled around her shoulders. How good would it feel to draw a brush through those long luxurious waves, have those silky strands draped all over his naked body. Or over her body. Or spread out on a bed, like the rest of her?
    His groin tightened. Again? He was like a teenager with his first crush. Ridiculous.
    All day, he’d been distracted. When he’d held her in his arms earlier today, she had smelled like mint and lavender, tasted more delicious than anything he’d ever experienced, and those curves had fit perfectly against him.
    And now she might be the key to his plan to destroy Jerahmeel.
    With the unpleasant visitation from the Lord of Hell fresh on her mind, maybe he could press her for help. And if he got to run his tongue over her curves along the way? More the better. Right?
    “I thought we might share a meal?”
    He gestured toward the front door of a small restaurant where they had stopped. The scents of garlic, spice, and cooked meat wafted out into the street, and a warm glow spilled from the wavy glass windows onto the sidewalk.
    “Do you always grab a bite to eat in stressful situations?”
    One side of her full mouth quirked upward, and suddenly, he had little interest in restaurant dining and a heightened interest in tasting her lips.
    He grinned. “After getting away from