I didn’t know if I was a Devil damned saint, or the worst fucking piece of shit in her life right now. No, I couldn’t be the worst. Laran now held that title, thanks to his little excursion tonight. A low growl slipped from my throat before I could cut it off. Even in her sleep, she arched into me. Wanting something I very much planned to give her.

Soon. Just not tonight.

She wouldn’t remember everything the white lotus brought on, but she would remember enough. I was not taking advantage of her when she was high. That would be fucking despicable, even for me.

My cock twitched as she moved closer, completely unaware of the effect she had on me. Well, not completely. She thought she was keeping her distance this past week. Ignoring me as best she could. What she didn’t realize was that I could see that glint of need in her eyes every time she looked at me. I could feel it, as sharp and painful as I felt my own.

The only difference was that I wouldn’t make her suffer because of Laran’s fuck up. Even if it made it harder for me to stay away and keep my hands off of her. Julian’s rules could go fuck themselves.

He could spout honor and duty as much as he wanted, but I knew the truth.

He wanted her just as bad as the rest of us. He just wouldn’t give in.

I wasn’t nearly as selfless, or stupid. It’s what kept me here, in her bed. When I knew I should have left. She was a temptation; not quite forbidden, but entirely unexpected. When Lucifer brought us forth from the flames and gave us our purpose, I never imagined that I would want to fuck her like I do now.

I was supposed to protect her from men like me. Like Laran. Like Rysten. Especially Julian.

She wasn’t a child though, and I never knew the child she was. The babe I saw all those years ago was gone. A week ago, I thought I hated myself for it because I missed out on knowing her. What I really hated was that I wanted her. If I’d been here when she was a child, that would have never come to pass. I wouldn’t be in her bed right now, contemplating all the ways I was going to fuck her.

There was no going back now, not when her lips had my mind painting pictures of her on her knees. Putting her smart mouth to much better use.

Her dark blue hair slid across my chest as she twisted around in her sleep. So beautiful. So unique. She thought that we had the wrong girl, but never before have I met someone with hair the color of the flames. Not even Lucifer. I slid my hand through the slippery strands, mesmerized by the color change. The blue was dark enough to pass for black, until the light reflected the most stunning of azures.

“Where is she?” Laran’s presence brushed against my mind, uninvited.

“She’s at home. What do you want?” I replied tersely, brushing my fingers across the curve of her neck. The skin was so soft. Supple. A breathy little moan escaped her lips.

“I’m going to stop by and check on her. Can you tell Jul—”

“There’s no need. I’m here with her.” I sent back, focusing on the girl before me. They would call me away soon, but I didn’t want to move. Not yet. Not when tomorrow was already coming.

“Why are you still with her?” There was a challenge in his tone. I frowned in annoyance, running my hand over the curve of her hip.

“Because she was so fucking high on white lotus, she may have hunted down the first man on the street to sate her if I hadn’t made her go to sleep,” I snapped back. There was no need to mention what happened before she went to sleep. Not even I would have been strong enough to calm her had I not given her what she needed first. She was the strongest succubus I had encountered pre-transition. The oldest, too. She was using powers she shouldn’t have before the change, and starving herself while she did it, no less. I don’t know what went down in her past, but something happened that made her hesitant with men. Male demons even more so. Her body was begging to be touched and fulfilled, but her mind wanted no part of it.

Not consciously anyway.

“Meet me back home. Rysten is on his way to watch her.” A sudden flash of anger boiled within me at his blatant attempt to get me away from her. He even went so far as to call in Rysten, who he hadn’t bothered with at the bar. The fucker needed to remember it was his carelessness that caused this, and I had just as much right to her as he did.

“Feeling a bit heavy-handed, War?” I mentally growled back, sending my displeasure along with it. Ruby winced against me, pushing back. Her mind lashed out with power like an iron lifted right out of flame. It speared through my shields without effort, and took a sharp stab at the innermost part of myself. Attacking, where no demon had ever held the power to before. I recoiled from her, catching myself as I toppled out of her bed.

Had she felt my displeasure? Had that made her lash out? Or was it something more?

Even more curious, was where that power came from when she’d never given a hint of it before. I knew that something lurked inside her, as it had her father. I was almost certain that was not it, but something else entirely.

I watched her for a moment longer, the blood in my veins calling me back to her bed. As much as I didn’t want to, I needed to get back and report what just happened.

It appeared our girl had more to her than meets the eye.