He stared at her. Didn’t risk touching her again, couldn’t. He knew a lie when he heard it, and if he touched her with rage, his control might slip. When his control slipped, people died. “Bullshit.” Was she still setting him up? Was this all just some trick to get under his guard?

Sam caught the faint narrowing of her eyes. “It’s true,” Seline said.

“An angel would never take in a succubus.” And sure as sin not one as freaking rule-oriented as Rogziel. Rogziel was old school. Sam had heard his spiel plenty of times. Demons were abominations. Angels shouldn’t have sex with humans. Do your duty. Punish the guilty.

Blah, f**king blah.

She grabbed for the sheet, and he missed the view when she covered herself. “For your information, I’m only half-succubus.”

Right. Which begged the question . . . “So what’s your other half?”

Her lips clamped together.

Fine. It didn’t really matter to him. She could be some new breed half-vamp, half-demon miracle, and he wouldn’t feel differently. If the little hybrid didn’t want to share, he sure wouldn’t lose any sleep. “He kept you for thirty years.” Now that part actually did piss him off, more than it should, and the rage pumped hotter.

“He didn’t keep me, okay? I was a baby.”

Shit, she was only thirty? Talk about robbing the cradle. A succubus could easily hide her age—or just not age at all. He’d never suspected she was so young.

Seline huffed out a hard breath. “I didn’t even know—” she began as red stained her cheeks.

“That Rogziel was a sadist with his own twisted sense of right and wrong?” She’d worked with him. So much time—enough time for Rogziel to twist her. “Tell me, how many men did you kill for him?” Don’t touch her. He could never touch her with this fury fueling him. “How many did you seduce?”

She spun away and grabbed her clothes. The sheet dropped, he got one fine view of her ass, then she yanked on her clothes. “Screw you!”

He raised a brow. “You already did.”

Obviously, that wasn’t the right thing to say. A blast of psychic power hit him and tossed him across the room. When Sam picked himself off the floor, he glared at her. The woman was definitely stronger than she’d been before.

But, wait, if she was stronger, then shouldn’t that mean he was weaker?

Hell. A succubus only got stronger when she took power. He’d been so busy drinking her in that he hadn’t even realized what she could have been doing to him.

If she’s trying to set me up, I gave her the perfect opportunity.

The fire . . . had it been a trap? A way to get to him? He’d burned and would never forget that pain, so he hadn’t been able to just stand there and watch the fire ravage her skin.

Then she’d told him sensual energy was the only way for her to heal . . .

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Seline demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You deserved that shove. You’re lucky I didn’t slam your head into the wall.”

Sex equaled strength for her.

Weakness for him?

He waved his hand.

Seline yelped and her body lifted up into the air. Then wind rushed against Sam as she fought back, but this time, he was ready for her push of power.

In the face of her psychic blast, he didn’t move. Interesting. So she hadn’t taken enough to weaken him, not yet.

One more reason to leave the pretty succubus behind. Because if he stayed with her, he’d have her again.

He couldn’t afford any weakness.

She swore as she bobbed in the air. He skirted around her.

“Sam! Dammit, let me down!” Her feet came close to kicking his face.

“No.” He would though, eventually. But right then, he had a bastard brother to hunt, and he couldn’t have her slowing him down.

He also couldn’t trust her. Not if she’d been working with Rogziel. So she’d stay put, for now.

Sam opened the door.

“No! You can’t leave me like this!”

He looked back at her. Seline’s face was flushed with fury. Her eyes couldn’t have burned darker. “Don’t you do it!” She yelled as she thrashed helplessly in the air. “Don’t—”

“Sorry, sweetheart, but Az is out there.” He’d already lost too much time, but he hadn’t been able to turn away from her when she needed him—or when he needed her. “He’s still weak from the fall, but he won’t stay that way for long.” Sam would take any advantage he could get in the battle to come. “But don’t worry, I’ll send a demon to take care of you.”