Guild Hunter 01 - Angels' Blood by authors_sort Page B

amuse yourself with. I’m not in the market.” She pulled away, and this time, he let her go.
    Wary, she spun around to face him. She expected anger, perhaps fury, at being denied, but Raphael’s face was a mask, watchful, unbreakable. She wondered if he’d been playing with her all along. Why the hell would an archangel take a human lover when he had a harem of stunning vampire beauties to pick from?
    Say what you would about the dietary requirements, vampirism sure did do great things for the skin and body. Any vampire over five decades old was svelte, with flawless skin. Their allure, too, grew with each passing year—though the intrinsic force of it depended on the individual. Elena had met very old vampires who remained more prey than predator, but the truly powerful ones . . .
    Some, like Dmitri, were good at hiding their strength, their incredible charisma, until they wanted to use it. Others had gone too far along the timeline and leaked power almost continuously. But even the weak ones, the ones who’d never be anything close to what Dmitri was now, were stunningly beautiful.
    “I get the lesson,” she said when he remained silent. “I should be more tolerant of other people’s sexual practices.”
    “An interesting way to put it.” He finally lowered his wings, folding them neatly behind his back. “But you’ve only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.”
    She wondered if the TV anchor had his fingers in the vamp’s panties by now. “I’ve seen enough.” Her face grew hot at the sense that all sorts of erotic things were going on behind her back.
    “A prude, Elena? I thought hunters were free with their affections.”
    “None of your damn business,” she muttered. “We either leave or I accept Dmitri’s offer.”
    “You think that matters to me?”
    “Sure.” She met his eyes, forced herself to hold her ground. “Once that vamp sinks his fangs into me, I won’t be able to walk or work.”
    “I’ve never heard a man’s cock described as a fang before,” he murmured. “I’ll have to share your estimation of his skills with Dmitri.”
    Elena knew her blush was burning up her cheeks but she refused to let him win this verbal skirmish. “Fang, cock, what’s the difference? It’s all sexual to a vampire.”
    “But not to an angel. My cock serves a highly specific purpose.”
    Lust—sharp, dangerous, unbidden—squeezed her chest so tight she could barely breathe. Her blush receded as all the heat in her body shifted. To low, damp places. “I’m sure it does,” she said sweetly, standing firm even as her body betrayed her. “Servicing all those vampire groupies must get tiring.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Your mouth could get you into more trouble than you can handle.” Except he was looking at that same mouth with anything but censure. He was looking at it as if he wanted it wrapped around him.
    “No way in hell,” she croaked out past the thickening in her blood.
    He didn’t pretend not to understand her out-of-the-blue comment. “Then I shall make sure we are very much in heaven when it happens.” Eyes darkly indigo with challenge, he turned to open the door.
    She stalked out—after sneaking a last, guilty look at the festivities. Dmitri was staring straight at her, his lips brushing the milk-and-cream skin of the blonde’s arched neck, his hand lying perilously close to the soft rise of her breasts. As the door closed, she saw his fangs flash bright. Her stomach twisted in a vicious shock of hunger.
    “Would you go to his bed sweetly?” Raphael asked against her ear, his voice an unsheathed blade. “Would you whimper and beg?”
    Elena swallowed. “Hell, no. He’s like double-frosted chocolate mud cake. It looks good, you want to eat the whole thing, but in reality it’s too sickly sweet.” Dmitri’s sensual nature was suffocating, heavy, a blanket that repelled even as it attracted.
    “If he is cake, what am I?” Cruel, sensual lips against her cheek, her