Angel Seduced Read online

  Hayden Invoked his angelic essence, enduring the pain of his wings tearing through his flesh. Since he and Kasabian had been friends since their abduction, he should be able to Leap to him without his express permission. It took a few minutes to get a lock on him. He felt his body transport and prepared for whatever would be at his destination.

  Which turned out to be a gated entrance in a high-end neighborhood. The property had several buildings set way back from the road, hidden by vegetation. Hayden stayed to the side of the ornate gate, out of view of the camera and passersby. He assessed the borders of the property, figuring out the best way to get inside. The yard, with banyans and oaks, was surrounded by a fence camouflaged by hedges. In the distance, a man kicked something on the ground. Vicious kicks.

  Hayden Leaped into the yard but bounced off a barrier. He felt along the edge of it, which went to the property line, sneaking closer to the Caido who was outside the barrier. What Hayden saw tightened his lungs. Lying on the ground was a bloodied Kasabian being pummeled by a Caido who had been on the receiving end of a similar beating, judging by the blood and torn clothing.

  Hayden quickly assessed the situation. No other enemies in sight. The attacking Caido was too preoccupied to notice his presence. Yet. Hayden wasn’t about to let him have that chance before he got the upper hand.

  He shot him with a Light beam that threw him several yards away. Hayden Leaped to that location before the guy could gain his footing. He was fast, though, rolling with Hayden’s punch and landing on his feet again. Hayden used his Light to slice across the Caido’s chest, but it only caused a flesh wound. The Caido sent a concussive beam at Hayden, throwing him back. He landed hard on the ground, twigs scratching his back. The Caido jumped, ready to obliterate him.

  Hayden took the brunt of the man’s weight, but grabbed hold of him and shot him with Light. The Caido kicked as his body convulsed, breaking contact. He fell to the ground, still convulsing.

  Hayden jumped to his feet and ran to Kasabian’s still form. He was in bad shape, unconscious, a gash above his eye, his mouth a wreck. And blood on the ground around him. Hell. Why wasn’t he in angel form? Hayden ducked as a beam of Light shot toward him, searing the tree to his right. He didn’t have time to deal with this moron. He had to get Kasabian out of here now. Hayden put his hand on Kasabian’s chest and Leaped them back to his apartment.

  Chapter 7

  Kye held herself back from pounding on Kasabian’s door. No need to attract attention, but the desperation to see if he was all right screamed through her. The worst of the pain had subsided, but she knew something was terribly wrong. The door opened, and a tense-looking Hayden stepped aside so she could come in.

  Kasabian lay on the floor, curled up on his side. The sight of him sank her stomach. She took inventory as she rushed to him. He was bruised, his lip torn and bloody, face swollen.

  She looked into his eyes. They were open, but he stared at nothing. His body trembled. “Kasabian, talk to me.” His nonresponsiveness scared her. She was afraid to touch him. “Kasabian, please. Say something.”

  “Children there,” he said on a hoarse whisper. “Have to…go back.”

  Hayden knelt down beside him, and it was only then that she saw him. Really saw him. He was in full wing, the beautiful silver essence spread out majestically from his shoulder blades. She had never seen a Caido in wing before, and it should have mesmerized her. But her gaze returned to Kasabian, bloody and broken on the floor. And all he cared about, even now, were the children.

  “Are you crazy? You can’t go back,” she said. “You have to heal.”

  Hayden’s hand glowed as he waved it over Kasabian’s face. The bruises and gashes miraculously healed, leaving only blood and dirt.

  “I felt his pain here, too,” she said, pointing to her ribs. “I felt…everything.”

  Hayden moved his hand over them, and Kasabian exhaled as the Light pulsed along his skin. “Three broken ribs.”

  “Oh, gods,” she said. “What happened?”

  Kasabian’s breathing eased, and his fisted hands relaxed.

  “A Caido was kicking the hell out of him,” Hayden said. “Kasabian had put a hurting on the other Caido, but for some reason he wasn’t angel. Which doesn’t make sense, because you always go angel in a fight.”

  “Check his back.” She started to turn him. “That’s where I felt the worst pain.” She sucked in a breath at the sight of his raw skin. It was as though someone had branded angel wings on his back.

  Hayden waved his hand over the bloodied, broken skin, but it didn’t heal. He tried again, and still, nothing. “I can’t heal it. Kasabian, can you Invoke?”

  Kasabian managed to shake his head. “Gone. Stripped.”

  “Your angel essence?” Hayden asked, disbelief in his voice.

  Kasabian nodded.

  “What does that mean?” Kye asked.

  Hayden stared, shock and outrage in his eyes. “It’s the Essex on steroids. The Caido sucks all of another Caido’s essence in at once. I’ve heard rumors of Caidos with dark powers who can do that, but I’ve never encountered one. Who did this to you?”

  Kasabian managed to sit up, and his gaze locked onto her. His eyes were no longer empty, but they were filled with a soul pain. He turned to Hayden. “The other Caido who was in captivity with us, the one who sucked up to my father. Silva.”

  “Is that who was beating the crap out of you?” Hayden asked.

  “No.” Kasabian got to his feet, using a chair even though Kye held out her hands. He braced himself on the back of it. “Silva is Daniel. He’s been posing as my friend at Harbor, keeping an eye on me. For my father.” Kye could feel his sense of betrayal.

  “Son of a bitch,” Hayden said. “And he’s one of these dark Caidos?”

  “He could use his Light in ways I’ve never seen. Snakes. Birds.” Just when Kye thought Kasabian had suffered some mental damage, he elaborated. “He created a coil of energy that bound me like a damned python. Then he threw a net of bird-like things that attacked my back.” He tried to turn and look but swayed slightly and gripped the chair again. “After that, I could feel the absence of my essence.”

  “There has to be a way to get it back,” Kye said.

  “I don’t know enough about being Stripped to know how to undo it,” Hayden said. “But from what I’ve heard, it sounds like Silva is a Wraithlord.”

  “Wraithlord,” Kasabian repeated slowly, as though he were trying out the word. “Why haven’t I heard of them?”

  “Because they’re a mystery. They stay hidden even in the Hidden, and, fortunately, there don’t seem to be many of them. They’re some kind of Caido aberration. No one knows exactly what they are or how they came to be. They were dubbed Wraithlords because they can control wraiths.”

  “Ghosts, you mean?” Kye asked.

  Kasabian turned to her with a grim expression. “Ghosts in a way, but they’re vicious. And they have fangs. It’s what Caidos become if they die and aren’t interred properly.”

  Hayden rolled up his sleeve, revealing a V tattoo on his arm. “What I do know is that Wraithlords can use their Light in crazy-ass ways. I’ve heard stories about it becoming anything from a spear to a monster. I’ve never fought one, but I heard a retired Vega talk about encountering one. He barely escaped, but his partner did not. There was a brief mention in our class manual of a Vega being Stripped by a Wraithlord.”

  “What happened to the Vega?” Kasabian asked.

  Hayden glanced away as he rolled up his other sleeve. “Every situation is different.”

  “He died, didn’t he?” Kasabian’s voice was low. “Because we can’t survive for long without our essence.”

  Kye’s heart tightened into a hard ball. “There has to be a way.”

  “Exactly,” Hayden said. “We can’t make assumptions.”

  Kasabian didn’t look at all hopeful. “I will get weaker and weaker until I fade completely. And without my essence, I can’t Leap t
o my father. And you don’t have a connection with him to use as a touchstone. I didn’t see enough of the neighborhood to recognize it. Did you?”

  “I was too busy looking for you to notice any landmarks or street signs.” Hayden pulled his phone from the holster at his hip and read the screen. “I’ve been summoned to headquarters. Kye, can you stay?”

  “I just want to take a shower, and crash for a few hours,” Kasabian said. “Alone.”

  Kye felt rooted to the spot, watching him. Hayden mouthed, Stay. She knew she should leave, but human decency dictated that she not leave a man in pain alone. She nodded.

  Kasabian gripped Hayden’s shoulder, his eyes wide. “As Daniel, Silva is involved with the Harbor. He has access to the kids.”

  “I’ll swing by on the way to headquarters and let them know to ban Daniel from the premises.”

  “He’s been hanging around me, biding his time for…what? Preying on the kids?” Kasabian’s face went red at his words.

  Hayden said, “Harbor keeps a constant guard over the children in their custody. I can’t think of one who’s gone missing. If they return to their homes, or go to a new one, Harbor’s involved in the process from beginning to follow-up visits for a year afterward.”

  Relief calmed Kasabian’s visible rage. “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, go now, warn them.”

  Hayden closed the door, and she locked it. Not that it mattered. Caidos could friggin’ Leap.

  Kasabian stared at nothing. “I can’t even wrap my head around it. Someone I trusted, thought was my friend, has been spying on me. Working with the man I consider my worst enemy.” Kasabian looked shell-shocked. Distraught. She had no idea how to comfort him.

  She came close, afraid to touch him like she wanted to. “You’ve gone through a lot. You should rest.”

  “I need a shower. You should go. I’m not the best of company right now.” He headed toward the hallway with careful steps.

  She checked the shadows in the corners of his living room, then the kitchen. The sound of the shower propelled her toward the hallway. He shouldn’t be alone in there, not as off balance as he seemed.

  “Kasabian,” she called out softly, warning him she was coming.

  She followed the hum of water to his bedroom, a tropical oasis of palms, the moss-green walls and dark mahogany furniture he seemed to prefer. It felt strangely intimate being in here. Unlike the first time when she’d been so focused on breaking their bond.

  The bathroom door was partially open, and steam wafted out. She walked to the side of the opening and tried not to look inside. But her gaze went right to the reflection of his back in the mirror.

  She wished the sight of his back was the reason for her sudden intake of breath, but her eyes followed the lines of his hips, his ass, and the muscles of his thighs. He bore no tan lines, just the same tone of golden skin all the way down his muscled legs.

  A rush of both desire and compassion overtook her, and she turned her face toward the wall. “Kasabian,” she pushed out. “Are you all right?”

  “You really need to leave.”

  “You shouldn’t take a shower alone. You’re off balance.”

  “And that’s why you should go.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, she should go. Just as he’d warned from the beginning. “I can’t leave you alone like this. Since Hayden couldn’t stay, I am. Just…” She swallowed hard. “Just to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Kye.”

  She curled her fingers against the wall, her nails grazing the paint. “I know.” Her heart was thrumming like a rabbit that had just darted across the road in front of a car. She knew it was from being alone with him. Did she like it…or fear it? Maybe a little of both. “I’m staying until you’re done and settled in bed. Then I’ll go.”

  She heard him step into the shower, the way the sound changed as the water hit his body. And she now could visualize that body very well, thank you. Of course, she knew he’d be gorgeous, perfection, other than his back. How was he going to wash those wounds? They needed to be cleaned and treated.

  No, don’t do it.

  “Where do you keep your first aid supplies?” she called.

  “Kye, you don’t have to—”

  “Just tell me. I know I shouldn’t, that I don’t have to. The only way I’m going to get any peace is if you are not in pain. So consider it selfish. Where are your damned supplies?”

  “In the hall bathroom.”

  She made quick work of finding disinfectant and antibiotic cream, returning to Kasabian’s room. She caught a glimpse of him inside the glass enclosure, his hands braced on the stone wall and water sluicing down his back.

  She made herself move away and waited. The shower cut off a few minutes later, and she heard the door open. Then the sound of him drying off. A few minutes later, he stepped out into the hallway, a towel wrapped around his waist. His eyes looked more green than hazel. “So you staying with me is about you then?”

  “Yes. Go lie down. I’ll treat you and leave.”

  His pain was evident as he stiffly laid down and spread his arms to the sides. The towel molded to the curve of his ass, and she thought how terrible she was to notice that when he was in such bad shape.

  “Did you find a way to break our bond?” he asked, his voice muffled by the mattress.

  She laid out the supplies on the bed and gingerly sat next to him. The mattress sank invitingly. “I have a call in to the medium who allows me to talk to my Babs. She might have an answer.”

  “Your Babs?”

  “My grandmother, Ekaterina. My mother’s family is from Russia, so she is—was—my babushka. She’s the one I inherited my abilities from, much to my parents’ chagrin. She was a master of fertility but could also diagnose a sex problem at thirty yards. She called herself a sex witch, which I could tell made my mother bristle. Babs did it on purpose. I loved her spunk and wish I had it where my parents are concerned. She died before I learned I had her ability. My mother is a medium, so in theory I could talk to Babs through her. But I don’t want to get into our situation with my mother.” It was times like this when she needed her Babs. “In fact, I never talk to Babs through her.”

  “It sucks to be alone in the world, doesn’t it? Even when you’ve got people around.”

  Not only was he picking up her isolation, but he also felt the same. “Hayden doesn’t know about your Shadow, does he?”

  “No one but you knows.”

  Great. Something else that bonded them. Kye opened the disinfectant, then decided not to put him through that pain. “I’m going to put on the cream.” She shuddered at the thought of touching that raw skin on his back. Please don’t let me hurt him much. “Did the Shadow leave with your angel?”

  “No.” He dropped that word as though it were a heavy weight.

  She put a thick layer of cream on her fingers and very gently left a trail of it across those terrible lines. His hands tensed, gripping the wrinkled sheets. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to be as gentle as possible.”

  “I live with pain all the time,” he said. “So don’t sweat it.”

  “And there’s a part of you that likes it.” She sat back, capping the tube.

  He came up on his hands and knees, facing her. “The Shadow part of me likes pain but it craves sex.” Like a cat, he prowled closer, until his face was only inches from hers. In his eyes, the Shadow flashed, dark and seductive. “Bloodshed.” He moved even closer, forcing her to lean back. “And you, Kye. It craves you.”

  Her heart pulsed at his nearness, his words. “Is the Shadow in me, too? Because of the bond? Ever since we did the Cobra, I feel…different.”

  “Hungry? Horny? Afraid? Afraid is good. You should be pushing me away, heading to the door. But you’re not.”

  She knew she should be, but the Shadow in his eyes held her. “No. I’m not.”

  His mouth came down over hers, crushing hers. She lost her balance and f
ell back on the bed, and he followed. He plunged his tongue inside, sucking at her. The power of him enveloped her. He captured her—mouth, body, and soul. Because even as her logical brain screamed in warning, her mouth melted beneath his, and her tongue sparred with his.

  She clutched at his biceps, kneading the hard muscles that held him hovering over her. Her heart hammered in her chest. He drew one hand down the side of her neck, her collarbone, and over her breast. She arched into his touch, needing his hand to squeeze her. Oh, gods, what was happening to her? She’d never wanted like this before. No, craved, his word.

  His thumb moved across the silky material of her blouse and circled her hardened nipple. A needy sound escaped her mouth, right into his. She slid her hands up over his shoulders. Her fingers drove into his damp, thick hair.

  He moved to her other breast as though he knew it ached for the same kind of touch. Maybe he did. Because he knew her, felt her. He made love to her mouth, brutal and devouring, waking something primal in her. The hunger she’d repressed, the same way Caidos repressed their emotions. Kasabian triggered her own bombardment, except it was all sexual.

  He pulled her shirt out of her waistband and slid his hand beneath it, across the heated skin of her stomach. When his hand moved under her bra and touched her skin, she shuddered. His fingers directly touching her nipple, pinching it gently, driving heat down the center of her core. She was having trouble pulling in a breath. A thought. Anything.

  “Not…the Thrall,” she managed.

  “What?”

  “This, what’s happening to me. Not some angel hypnosis.”

  “I’m no angel.” He took her mouth again, claiming her, then finishing the kiss and sucking on her lower lip. “Love, it’s dangerous, you being here in my bed,” he said between kisses. “Letting me touch you like this.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I can’t seem to make myself leave.”

  “The more I touch you, the more I want.” His hand now rested on her stomach. “I’ve always felt the Shadow was dangerous, but since the Cobra, it’s growing stronger. It spoke to me when I was fighting the Caido. The first time I’ve ever heard it speak.”