Boots kicked over the edge of the parapet, Xander stared down at the eighteen story drop below him, where the cars looked like little Hot Wheels vehicles tooling down Woodward Avenue.

His blood vibrated, skin prickled with goosebumps.

He allowed a hint of a smile, before unsheathing his blade in time to twist around and prop the knife beneath the female’s chin.

The sting of Karinna’s blade poked into Xander’s chest, as her lips slid into a smile. “I could gut you open right here.”

“Quit talking dirty. Turns me on.”

With her fingers digging into his crown, she yanked his head back and slid onto his lap, knocking him backward onto the gravelly bed of the rooftop. Rising to her knees, she slid her blade back into its sheath. “You had to pick a place closest to the heavens, didn’t you? Trying to get me in trouble?”

“If they haven’t figured out you’re a bad girl by now, they haven’t been paying attention, anyway.” Letting his knife drop to the gravel, Xander ran his hands up her thighs, along the edges of her body, and pulled her into him. “Let them watch.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and lifted his head to crush his lips to hers. “Fuck me, you smell like flowers and a craving for filthy sex.”

She smiled against his mouth and sucked his bottom lip into hers for a sharp bite that drew a groan from Xander. “You smell like a cheating bastard. Is that cheap pussy, or eau de whore?”

A chuckle rumbled in Xander’s chest as he grazed his teeth along her jaw. “Doesn’t matter who I fuck, the one I want is sitting on my cock right now. All you gotta do is push those panties to the side and ride it, baby.” He slapped her ass, and her eyes rolled back as she curled her lip between her teeth.

“Mmm. You want me to fuck you?”

“No, I thought we’d cuddle and talk about our feelings. Now show me your tits before I rip your suit.” Xander palmed the perfect mounds sticking out of the slick leather suit she wore, wishing he could suck on the nipples passing beneath his fingertips. A tight grip of his balls had Xander kicking his head back, shooting waves of ecstasy through his veins. “Don’t tease me. If you’re gonna play dirty, get down on it.”

“I need information. That’s why I came to you.”

“I can give you another reason to come,” he countered. “Multiple, in fact.”

Still gripping too damn tight to his nutsack, she dipped her head and dragged her teeth across his throat. “Don’t make me torture you. You know I will. Whatever I have to do to get you to talk.”

“You’re killing me. Fucking killing me, baby. This no sex shit isn’t gonna last. At some point, I’ll be so keyed up that I’ll do something stupid, like throw your ass against the wall and take what I want.”

“Try it.” Her tongue glided along his jaw to his mouth and circled his lips, before she slanted over them in another kiss. “I’m not the weak girl you used to know. I’m stronger than you.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, sweetheart.”

Pain shot up into is groin as her nails dug into his balls, and he groaned, arching into her.

“Foreplay,” he croaked.

“There’s a female. Fallen angel. She’s been practicing black magic. The heavens aren’t taking kindly to the fact that she’s capable of cleansing souls.”

Xander frowned at that, somewhat irritated that she managed to take his mind off her tits for a minute. “What?”

Karinna shook her head. “Glad you’re paying attention. She’s wiping out sins. Cleaning the slate.”

“In other words, doing the job of the angels. What’s the problem? Let her do all the work, purifying souls, and you and I can vacation in Ibiza. I’ll suck tequila from your nipples while I make you come.”

“Xander. Listen to me.” She tapped at his temple. “Use that brain of yours to think, instead of your dick, for a minute. Not everybody is willing to do what they have to do, to keep from burning up in Stygius. That means you’ve got demons walking around who look like saints, but aren’t. That’s like taking away prisons for inmates who refuse to go the straight and narrow.” Her eyes turned serious, perhaps even on the verge of panic beneath her furrowed brows. “The heavens will be forced to step in. It’ll be war.”

He brushed the hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “I don’t like you worrying about shit. Distracts you from important things. So I’ll keep an eye out for this chick. My usual haunts. I find her? I’ll report back to you.”

The crease in her forehead softened again as her gaze dipped to his lips, and she leaned in to kiss him. “Thank you.”

“There’s a finders fee in this, angel.”

With a huff, Karinna tilted her head back and rolled her eyes. “You’ll never give up.”

“I track her down, you give me the one thing in the world that I want more than anything.”

“What’s that?”

“You. Black lace. Stilettos. All chained up, lookin’ helpless on the cross.” Xander dug his fingers into her ass and pushed his jean-clad dick up between her thighs. “You miss that shit, baby?” In slow, taunting circles he ground himself against her pussy. “Remember when I’d punish you all night? Make you wait for it?” At the slow, heavy blink of her eyes, Xander smiled and licked his lips, wishing he could act on the fantasies playing out inside his head—the memories of the two of them before he fell, sacrificing his wings to save her soul. “Remember how fucking wet you’d get with your ass in the air, gag in your mouth, waiting for me to give it to you?”

“Stop.” But the breathy quality of her voice told him he’d crawled beneath her skin. She remembered all of it, judging by the lust-drunk expression on her face.

“No,” he whispered, pinching her nipples, and tugged at the leather barrier. “I find that Fallen angel, you’re mine. Whatever the fuck I want. All night.”

Her tongue slid across her lips, but goddamn it, she shook her head.

Hooking his leg over hers, he flipped her over onto her back and straddled her, pinning her arms into the gravel. “Say yes. Or you’re on your own.” The last thing Karinna would want was having to partner with another angel and use her body to track down Fallen angels. Xander made it easier for her, by going undercover on her behalf. “Say it, beautiful. You’re mine.”

Struggling against him was futile. She was strong, no doubt, but when it came to Xander finally striking a deal with her—one he’d been pining after for a long-ass time, he could damn near take on a half dozen of her kind at once.

“Big bust like this will give you a promotion. Cozy little office in the heavens. Archangels rubbing your shoulders. You avert a war, and they’ll make you a hero.”

After minutes of writhing, twisting, and a piss-poor attempt to kick out at him, she finally stilled. “Fine. You have a deal. And what happens when the heavens find out, huh?”

“They won’t.” Leaning forward, he rolled his hips against her thighs as if fucking her right there on the rooftop. “I didn’t say I’d stick my dick in you.”

“I’m not watching you fuck another woman in front of me.”

He grinned at that and curled his fingers into hers. “I just want one taste of the forbidden. I’m starving for your pussy.” At her shiver, Xander laughed and stared down at her. “We’ll chat in a week.”