Angels of Darkness
her teeth.â
Noel rocked back lazily on his heels. âBeen bitten?â
The angelâs wings spread a fraction, then snapped tight. âInsolence will only be tolerated so long as you warm her bed.â
âThen I better warm it for a long time.â Noel shot him a cocky grin, figuring he might as well play the part to the hilt.
âIs Christian giving you a hard time?â The question came from a long-legged female dressed in a tight black knee-length skirt and white shirt that flattered a slender figure with graceful curves. Paired with those legs and uptilted eyes of a deep impossible turquoise against sun-golden skin, it made her a stunner. Not an angel, but a vampire old enough that immortality had worked its magic on what had surely been a spectacular canvas to begin with.
Noel deepened his smile in response to her flirtatious wink. âI think I can handle Christian,â he said, holding out his hand once again. âIâm Noel.â
âAsirani.â Her fingers closed over his own. He allowed it but he felt nothing. Heâd felt nothing ever since heâd been taken . . . except for that odd, unexpected ember of sensation stirred awake by Nimraâs laugh.
Releasing Asiraniâs hand, he looked from the vampire to the angel. âSo, tell me about this court.â
Christian ignored him, while Asirani twined an arm through his own and led him across the huge central room that appeared to function as the audience chamber when necessary, but was otherwise the center of the court. âHave you eaten?â Thick black lashes lifted, turquoise eyes looking meaningfully into his.
âIâm afraid Lady Nimra doesnât like to share,â he murmured, thinking of the sealed bags of blood that had been left in the small fridge in his room. âI thank you for the offer.â Whatever her motive, it had been a considerate question.
Fact was, taking blood from a human or vampiric donor wasnât something heâd had any inclination to do since waking from the assault. The head healer at the Medica, Keir, had been very good about providing him with stored blood without question. Maybe Nimraâs courtesy, too, was as a result of Keirâs influence. The healer seemed to command a great deal of respect from angelkindâeven the archangels themselves.
âHmm.â Asirani squeezed his arm, her fingers brushing his biceps. âYou are a surprising choice.â
âAm I?â
A throaty laugh. âAh, cleverer than you look, arenât you?â Eyes dancing, she stopped beside a window, her face to the room. âNimra,â she said in a low tone, âhas not taken a lover for many years. Christian always believed that when she chose to break her fast, it would be with him.â
Noel glanced over at the angel, who was now talking to an older human male, and found himself wondering why Nimra hadnât invited Christian to her bed. In spite of the appearance he gave of being a stuffy aristocrat, the man was clearly sharply intelligent, and he moved in a way that said heâd had training in how to fight. No useless fop, but an asset.
As Asirani was no vacant hanger-on.
âDo you all live here?â he asked her, intrigued that this court appeared to be made up of the strong.
âSome of us have rooms here, but Nimra maintains a wing that is hers alone.â Leading him to the long table set with food to the side of the room, she released his arm to pluck a plump grape from an assortment of fruit and pop it into her mouth. Though vampires couldnât gain the nourishment they needed from food, they could digest and appreciate the tasteâAsiraniâs hum of pleasure made it plain she enjoyed utilizing every one of her senses.
Noel had no interest in such sensuality, but he was moving to pick up a couple of blueberries so as not to stand out, when the hairs rose on the back of his neck. Not fear, but an instinctive, primal awareness. He wasnât the least surprised to turn around to discover that Nimra had entered the room. The others receded from his consciousness, his eyes locking with the power and intensity of her own.
âExcuse me,â he murmured to Asirani, crossing the gleaming wood of the floor to come to a halt in front of the angel who was proving to be an irresistible enigma. âMy lady.â
Her gaze was impenetrable. âI see you have met Asirani.â
âAnd
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