Page 38 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“You’re so much better. I highly doubt any angel would give evil black eyes of doom to some diner asshole.”

Judge raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Evil black eyes of doom?”

I nodded with a shrug. “Whatever you want to call it, it worked.” After a moment, I added, “I think I’m starting to like this arrangement.”

That made his steps falter.

Heart pounding, I pushed on a little. “I’m just saying, you could stay with me a little longer, you know. After the deal is done.”

“Justine…”

“Only if you bring Cerberus, though.” My words were rushed, falling like water from my nervous lips. “You don’t have to. I’m not making it some kind of protection requirement.”

Judge pulled me closer until our bodies rested against each other. My throat was tight and exposed as I kept eye contact with him. I was afraid to look away. If I did, this moment would be over. Both of us would be forced to fall back into our usual roles.

Me, the loner human. Him, the demon with other priorities.

Under my palms, I could feel the steady pounding of his heart. And something wistful filled me, so full that I could barely focus on anything else. I wanted to press my ear there to see if his heart raced like mine did every time we got close.

His nose brushed mine, our breath white puffs in the cool evening air as we breathed each other in.

“I’d like that, Justine.”

“What? Really? You don’t have to.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “When will you learn, little thief, that I never do anything unless I expressly want to?”

Then his lips were on mine, the sweet bite of coffee and apple pie that I’d left at his table filling my mouth, coupled with the distinct and equally delicious taste of just him. Just Judge.

I moaned, and he took advantage, his tongue slipping its way into my mouth to stroke and play alongside mine. With a soft, strangled noise, Judge swept me up, higher, moving until he could press my spine against the back wall of the diner. My body bumped against it, but before he could stop to check on me, I whispered “More,” and pulled him close again.

And there, hips driving between my thighs, he pressed me close. His mouth and tongue tangled with mine, coaxing my pleasure out, making me whimper and moan against the heavy weight of him. He was power and quiet dominance, cradling me as I gave in to the furious heat that arced through me.

And when he started to pull away, I couldn’t let him. I wasn’t ready to let go of this pleasure, this moment with him where it could only be the two of us, consumed in each other. His hand was at my lower back, protecting me from slamming into the harsh exterior wall when he rolled his hips against me.

“Yes, more,” I whispered, only parting from him for a second as he responded to my words with a broken growl then granted me my wish. My hands were in his hair, the silken strands leverage against the roll of our bodies as we devoured each other.

I broke away from him with a soft cry as the hand tight on my hip pressed forward, the seam of my body grinding down against the hard length of him. My head fell back, and his mouth dropped to follow the line of my jaw straight to my throat, where he found a sweet spot that made my legs clench around him.

“Judge, oh God, right there,” I groaned as he moved me against him again, his lips still torturing that spot against my pulse. Lips. Tongue. Teeth. I dropped my hands to his shoulders so I could get better leverage, arching back into his touch as his mouth moved lower still, to the junction between my throat and my chest, his tongue tracing the lines of my collarbone.

“Fuck,” Judge groaned against my skin, the heat of his beath making me squirm even harder. “You taste so good.”

The muscles in his arms leaped as he slowly lowered me again so that we were eye to eye, mouth to mouth, breathing in each other’s air.

I panted, every part of me hoping he would kiss me again. “You are not what I expected.”

His gaze was warm on my face. I saw the flash of something else there. “You are everything I expected.”

My hands found the back of his head and pulled him in for another kiss. This one was sweet and slow and made my chest twist for a whole other reason.

14

Nephesh

This was a confusing place, that much was certain. But her, this little human who had so boldly captured me and placed me into her life… She was everything.

And now I had her, her delicate body wrapped around me as I kissed the lips that had been torturing me since the moment I first saw her. Sucking at her tongue, I swallowed the sweetness of her pleasure as she moved against me. Her taste was divine. The feel of her body against me, even through our clothes, was enough to send the sanest man to his wit’s end. And I’d given up on my sanity a long time ago.