I roared the last chorus of the song, raising my voice and singing loudly enough so On High and Hell heard me. Amazingly enough, once I had the microphone in hand, I’d actually enjoyed myself. Which was… weird. But, they didn’t kick me off stage for modifying the songs, so all was good in my singer-ly world. It was good in their worlds, too. Had they voiced a single objection to my freestyle substitutions… It would have been Hell on Earth.

I tilted my head back and released the final, off-key and horribly flat note. Panting from exertion, I lowered the mic and finally let my gaze move from the ceiling to the crowd.

The non-clapping, non-hooting, non-woo-hooing crowd. I glared at them, letting the heat of my anger rest on each man and woman in turn. I forgave Tori for her fury, I stole Sam after all, but the rest… I sneered at them, one final warning before I opened up a can of hellfire whoop ass.

Sam jumped to his feet, hands clapping loudly and a whistle escaping his lips with a shrill screech. That seemed to shake everyone from their stupor and I at least got a few half-hearted claps.

Barbarians. Didn’t they know expertly crafted lyrics when they heard them? Cyndi Lauper hadn’t been popular in the eighties for no reason.

One last glare for the crowd and I shoved the microphone at the MC before walking to the edge of the stage and hopping down without a hitch in my step. The patrons parted for me, some even stumbling out of my way as my anger smacked into them. Heathens.

My anger hovered around me like a dark and dangerous fog, but…

Cyndi Lauper. C’mon, man, that was a classic.

I stomped the last few feet toward a grinning Sam and didn’t voice a single protest when he hauled me into his arms and laid a rough kiss on my lips. It was short and hard and… delicious.

“That was…” he chuckled. “Something.”

“Amazing. The word you’re looking for is amazing.” I arched an eyebrow, daring him to disagree with me.

“Aww, amica.” Another kiss, this one gentle and lingering. “You’re amazing.”

“No one else appreciated it,” I grumbled.

“No one has ever heard Girls Just Want to Have Fun quite that way before.” He lowered his head, mouth against my ear. “Big penis, Caith?”

I shrugged. “I have fun with a big penis. So, I tacked that on.”

Girls just want to have fuuuuunnnn… with a big penis. The melody still floated through my mind and each repetition had me easing toward releasing a smile.

I turned my head, my own lips brushing him. “Be thankful I made it family friendly.”

Sam snorted. “Right.”

“I could have said nine-inch cock.” I rocked my hips against his, a slight movement that had his breath catching. “But I didn’t want to tell all the women how big you are. They’d try to take you, I’d have to kill them, and it’d be Chicago all over again.”

“Caith,” he groaned. “Quit moving.” He gripped my hips. “Please.”

I huffed. “Fine. Ruin my fun.”

Sam brushed his lips over my neck and stepped back. “Take a seat. I’m up after this guy.”

He scooted around me and I sat in his chair, breathing in his scent as I watched him weave his way through tables and past patrons. Damn, the man looked as good going as he did coming. Not coming, coming. Just, like, walking toward me. I really needed to get sex off my brain because now I was thinking about him hardening and our hips meeting and…

The rough scrape of wood over concrete alerted me to my new companion. The chair beside me was yanked away and then Tori—the whore—sat beside me.

“I don’t know why he’s with you,” she snapped.

“And yet he is.” I rolled my eyes and gave Sam a reassuring smile when he stared at them. “So, run along.” I made a shooing motion with my fingers. “Should I throw a ball for you, puppy?”

“Did you just—”

“You are chasing after him like a small dog. And you yap a lot.” I focused on the annoying woman. “Is that on purpose or is just instinctual? I haven’t really made a study of your people.”

Now I sounded like a speciesist. Which, I was a tiny bit, but Jezze always told me it wasn’t nice to act like I was better than others. Even if I was. Because, really, half-demon werewolf on one side and skinny human on the other… The choice was pretty obvious.

“Are you serious?” Tori’s eyes were wide, the whites shining brightly in the dim light.

I took a sip of my whiskey, enjoying the burn as it slid down my throat. I licked my lips, catching any hint that remained. I kept my eyes trained on Sam, watching desire fill his features when I lingered on my lower lip.

“Excuse me,” Tori nudged my forearm.

Oh, Hell no. I slowly panned my attention to the annoying human and slid my fiercest glare in place. It was the look that sent thelacs running and my uncle’s most dangerous demons scattering. “As serious as On High striking you dead.”

The chick screwed up her face and poked again. “What are—”

“You’re gonna remove your hand, stand up, and walk away.” My wolf disagreed. It urged me to tear our competition to shreds and be done with it. Sam was beginning his song at any moment.

The woman frowned. “Sam—”

All right. Enough. I turned toward Tori. “You know those homicidal women who get all jealous and kill their boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend because the woman still has the hots for her guy? You following me?” Tori nodded. “I’m that chick. I will straight up cut you and feed you to my best friend’s gators.”

Tori gulped, her face suddenly pale and expression filled with fear. “Uh…”

“Run along, now.” I tried the shooing motion again and Tori stumbled to her feet.

“You’re crazy.”

I nodded and took another burning sip of my drink, hissing with the sting. “Yup, pretty much.”

With one last glare, the woman stomped off.

Good riddance.

Just as I lost sight of Tori, the opening stirrings of a song filled the air and I turned my attention back to the stage. Sam stood beneath the spotlight in all his dark and sexy glory, and not for the first time, I hated the fact he wasn’t ready to throw his angelic—literally—life away for me.

All in due time, I supposed.

The guitar kicked it off, the notes telling me exactly what my guy was about to belt out and I rolled my eyes. Because, really? Summer of ‘69?

I sighed and ignored Sam’s singing. I was too enthralled by the shake of his hips and the way his shirt stretched over his chest. That had me thinking of stripping the fabric from his body and…

I needed to get laid. Bad. Except I only wanted Sam and I knew that wasn’t about to happen.

I sang along in my mind. Back in the summer I learned about ‘69…

Sue me. The original lyrics weren’t that fun.

His gaze locked on me, I figured teasing him wasn’t out of the question so I lifted my glass to my mouth and licked the rim, running my tongue along the edge. His expression turned even more heated, but he continued singing. Huh. Next I took a small sip and lowered the tumbler so he could see my mouth. I once again licked my lips, lingering on the lower lip and then capturing it between my teeth to nibble lightly.

Oh, that had him stumbling a little, but he continued his song.

When his attention was diverted, I eased my chair over, giving him a clearer shot of me. Specifically, my legs and the way my skirt slid a little higher over my thighs.

Ooh, he mangled that verse. I almost felt bad.

But I was half-demon, so that feeling didn’t last.

When he still continued singing, I fingered the hem of my skirt, sliding my fingers beneath the fabric and nudging the cloth a hint higher. And that did the trick.

Sam gave up every pretense of singing and simply shoved the mic at the MC and jumped from the stage, the jarring of the hop not slowing him a bit. He closed in on me, racing between tables and customers until he was at my side. He snared my hand and pulled me to my feet, careful despite his obvious need.

“We’re leaving.”

I poked out my lower lip in a fake pout. “Already? I was going to sing—”

He snarled at me and spun, forcing me to trail after him and I couldn’t suppress the grin that jumped to my lips. Sure, karaoke had been interesting, but an evening surrounded by Tori and a bunch of random humans paled in comparison to private time with Sam.

Besides, I ached to kill them all and be done with it. Humans were so, so… annoying.

I kept pace with him as we raced through the night, dodging parked cars and random humans we came across. In seconds we were behind the bar, our vehicle still tucked in the darkness. Sam dragged me to the borrowed car and spun me around until my back was pressed against the cool metal.

“Tease,” he growled and then he was against me, surrounding me, consuming me with his need.

He tasted, nipped, bit, and caressed me everywhere he could reach. There wasn’t a hint of exposed skin he didn’t encounter, sensitizing my nerves with his nearness. When he hooked a hand behind my knee and encouraged me to lift my leg and wrap it around his waist, I snarled, causing him to freeze in place.

“Caith?” I sensed the worry in his tone.

“This fucking skirt is too fucking tight to fucking do this fucking fuck fuck.” I wanted him touching me, dammit. Touching and rubbing and making me come and I didn’t give a fucking fuck fuck that we were in the middle of a human-laced parking lot.

Sam released my leg, his hand smoothing the fabric back in place yet still teasing me with his caresses. “This isn’t the place anyway. You just… you make me forget.”

I hummed. “I like forgetting. Lots of it. All of the forgetting and much fucking.”

“Caith.” I caught his grimace despite the darkness.

“I know, I know.” I did even if I hated him a little bit. “I’m good.” I took a deep, calming breath. “I’ll be good.”

“Caith! This way!” The strange male’s shout yanked my attention from Sam and my body’s reaction was instinctual.

My wolf rushed forward, anxious to protect us from whatever threat lurked, and my fangs dropped. They extended and sharpened in a stinging rush and the light coppery flavor of my blood dappled my tongue. My hellfire was next, the heat enveloping me while my vision reddened as the fire filled my eyes.

I was Caith Belinha Morningstar, Princess of Hell, and nobody fucked with what belonged to me.

Samkiel, Angel of Destruction, belonged to me. He just hadn’t accepted it yet.

“What the—” Sam’s question was cut off by the rapid click and sudden flashes of light that told me the enemy wasn’t an individual but a machine.

A small bit of metal and plastic that had the power to destroy everything I’d built.

“Fuck. Snatch him.”

One date. One night. One snippet of time. That’s all I wanted. Just a chance to be a normal demon girl going out with my gel boy. But no, some dick with a camera had to hunt me down and snap pics.

“Caith?” Sam still hadn’t caught on, but I didn’t have time because the fucker was already racing toward a car on the other side of the lot and he couldn’t get behind the wheel. The second he got the thing roaring down the street, I’d have to hunt him. Which would probably take all damned night and I had a date to finish.

Those thoughts had me hating the stranger even more. If my makeup got messed up… Or my shoes. My shoes.

I knew there’d be scuffs. I just knew it.

The lights on the vehicle flashed, telling me the male managed to get it unlocked.

He so wasn’t getting away. I put on a little additional speed, careful to keep it slow enough for human standards, but still quick enough to catch him.

Ten feet separated us. Then five. Then two.

“Gotcha,” I hissed as I tackled him.

Our momentum destroyed his grip on the car and sent us rolling into the grass and out of the low light cast by street lamps. Darkness enveloped us and I fought my hellfire to retreat. Lighting up like a bonfire wasn’t exactly circumspect.

The camera clattered across the ground, thumping over the hard surface and bouncing off the occasional rock. I really hoped that’d demolished whatever pics he’d managed to snare.

“What the fuck, Caith?” Sam’s hiss filled my ear, but I didn’t have time to be all answer question-y.

“Grab the camera. Destroy it.” I wrapped my hand around the human’s throat. Because he was human. No tweener, dem, or gel would risk pissing me off. Green-eyed fuckers excluded. I really needed to figure those out.

But for now…

“Caith?” Sam again.

“Grab the camera.” I jerked my chin toward the right. “It’s over there somewhere. Destroy it.”

“Wha—”

The man beneath me squirmed and fought to get free, so I tightened my hold on his neck. “You will stay put or you will never get up again. Got it?” The stranger stilled and the stench of fear burned my nose. “Good.” I jerked my head in a quick nod. “He had a camera, Sam, and he surprised me. While you simply gasp when surprised, I do a hell of a lot more. Which he took a picture of. Grab it. Destroy it. Period.”

Still frowning, Sam left me and I ignored his censorious look. The man didn’t know what it was like to be me, to be responsible for keeping our kind under wraps amongst humans. Sure, he destroyed things, but under orders. I had to think for myself to ensure everyone’s safety and more often than not, that involved violence. Staring down at the male who’d interrupted my date, I decided it’d involve a lot of violence.

I focused on the non-descript human. He was brown from head to toe. Brown hair, brown eyes, brown clothing…

“Who are you? Who sent you?” When he didn’t immediately answer, I squeezed harder, cutting off his air until his face turned a bright purple-red. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

I relaxed my grip enough to let him drag in a harsh breath. He panted, fighting for air, but he didn’t answer my question. So, I repeated the process. Squeeze, question, release. It took three tries, my tightening lasting longer and longer each time, before he finally answered.

“Nobody. I was paid to take some pictures.”

“Uh-huh.” I did it again. Now my wolf was in on the fun, enjoying the various colors of the man’s face. He scented like that cabbie, a friend? Was this his “cousin”? There was also a hint of Tori.

My wolf didn’t give a damn about the scents. It wondered if I’d let the human go so we could hunt him down as a wolf.

No.

It pouted.

“Try again.”

“I-I-I swear.”

“Caith?” Sam interrupted. “I think he’s telling the truth,” he murmured.

I turned my attention to him, spying the camera in his hand. The whole camera.

“I told you to destroy that,” I snapped.

“Won’t…” The human gasped for air. “Matter.”

I glared at the man beneath me. “What do you mean?”

“It was connected to my phone. Every picture got sent to the cloud.”

“Fuck.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The human smiled, his eyes filled with joy at ruining my plan.

I took a soothing breath, fighting my wolf back into its cage. I couldn’t think about killing the guy now. I had to fix my growing problem. Fast.

“What the hell is going on?” Sam again. “The cloud?”

“You cannot be that behind the times.” I shook my head. “Watch him. Don’t let him get away.”

“I really think—”

“No.” I held up my hand. “I have no problem with you being a part of my life, Sam. There are hardly any areas where we’ll really bump heads. But this is one of those times where I need you to let me do my job.” Time was of the essence. “So, give me your phone and the camera. Watch him while I make a few calls and we can leave once I have my people on it.”

“Hey, I don’t know anything. I didn’t see anything, really,” the human pleaded, but I didn’t give a damn.

“As an FYI, On High doesn’t like liars, so stopping right now would be a good idea,” I dryly drawled. “Sam?”

Still obviously confused, he did as asked and moved to stand over the human while I stepped away. Sure that the prisoner was secured, I went into action with the phone. A few button pushes had my call going through.

“Hey, Jezze, can you call Manon and Drek?”

“Uh, Caith?” Jezebeth sounded unsure, but I didn’t have time.

“Yeah, one of the neuts stumbled across me and Sam and I got a little hot. Pics were sent to the cloud, Jezze. So I need you to find them while Manon and Drek interrogate the piece of shit.” I glared at the asshole who’d ruined my evening.

“You sure it’s a good idea to get a vamp near a human? I mean, Drek is threatening enough with his muscles.” I didn’t miss Edzard’s muffled shout. “But a vamp…”

“Manon is under control.” Now, anyway. “And we could use her ability to capture the guy’s mind.” My heart still raced and I fought for control. I did not like being second-guessed. “I need it done now, Jezze. I don’t have their numbers with me.”

“Right, right. One minute will get them there. Do you know what storage site he’s using?”

I glanced at the cracked camera. “No. Once Manon gets here, I’ll send her to your place with the camera.”

Jezebeth’s objection sprung to her lips. “Mom’s not gonna let a vamp in the house. Especially not that one.”

A vampire kills an entire village one time…

“Fine. But I need this done, Jezze. Now.”

Without waiting for confirmation, I ended the call and turned back to the man whose body I craved. Then I looked at the male whose blood I’d love to bathe in.

“What’s going on? What are we doing?” Sam pounced on me the second the call ended.

“Now, we wait.”