“Keep touching me,” he gritted. The fire in his body didn’t come from his wound any longer. It was pure, hot need. Desire.

Lust.

Humans lusted. They needed. They took their pleasure.

I want the pleasure.

Her hands feathered over his back. “What happened to you?”

“I fell.” Truth.

Now both of her hands were on him, stroking over the scars that lined his shoulders and sending pleasure pulsing through his body.

That sweet scent of strawberries filled his nose as she leaned in even closer. Then—

He felt her lips on the scar that cut across his right shoulder blade. “I’m sorry you hurt,” she whispered and kissed the scar.

A dull roar seemed to fill Az’s head. Raw lust and need flooded his body. He spun, locked his arms around her, and pulled Jade close. His mouth found hers and his tongue drove deep.

Her fingers were on his scars, sliding gently over them even as her tongue stroked back against his.

Az’s c**k jerked toward her, so full and thick that he ached. Pleasure.

He shifted their bodies to better bring her beneath him. Az kissed his way down her throat. He liked the way she gasped his name. Liked the lush feel of her br**sts against his chest.

Liked her.

He yanked up her shirt. Her br**sts spilled against the black cups of her bra. Taste.

With a hand that wasn’t quite steady, Az pushed the thin bra straps down her shoulders. Her br**sts pressed toward him. Her small ni**les were tight and dark pink. He lowered his head, and his tongue slipped over the edge of her nipple.

“Az.”

She tasted better than strawberries.

He licked her again. Again. His mouth closed over her breast, and he began to suck her flesh.

No wonder humans enjoyed sex. So far, it seemed pretty damn fantastic.

Her hands were on him. Her hips arching toward him. Her body was silk and sin and he wanted more.

But. . .

Angels didn’t need sex. Angels didn’t crave.

He craved her. Az’s hands were on her jeans. He yanked the button loose. Eased down the zipper.

Temptation.

He should fight the temptation. He should—

A thin scrap of lace.

Az shoved down her jeans. His fingers slipped under the edge of her lacy panties.

Touch her. Take her.

So much temptation.

“I want you,” her voice, whispering to him. His head lifted. Her lips were red. Full. He kissed her again. Drank her in and wanted more. His c**k was so heavy with arousal that he felt like he’d explode any minute.

In her.

But her hand caught his. “I want you, but Brandt destroys everything—everyone—I want.” The memory of pain darkened her words.

Az grabbed onto his control and held tight. Take. Touch.

Jade shook her head. “This isn’t a good idea. They’re already after you because of me.” Now she pushed against him. “Let me go, Az.”

He didn’t want to let her go. Not then, not—

What am I doing? Az yanked his hands away from her and rolled to the other side of the bed. He stared at the ceiling as he sucked in deep, heaving breaths.

Jade didn’t leave the bed. She stayed there, just inches away. “He killed the last man that I slept with—Brandt killed him right in front of me.”

Bastard. Az turned his head and gazed at her. Jade’s eyes were on him.

“They’re gunning for you now, because you helped me that first night,” she told him. “Brandt . . .” She swallowed and her eyes were sad. “He likes to play with his prey.”

He didn’t really gave a damn about Brandt right then. Not while his body was hard and tight with need for her.

She sat up and climbed from the bed. Her body . . . perfect. “Having sex with me will just make him want to hurt you more.”

He watched her walk away, and the rage exploded.

In an instant, Az was across the room, in front of her. Reaching for her arms and hauling her up against him. All that sweet flesh. “Do you think I care at all about what some panther bastard thinks he can do to me?”

Her eyes widened. “Um, no?”

“I am a Fallen. I fear no one or nothing on this earth.”

“A-a Fallen?”

“I’ve seen heaven. I’ve seen hell. I’ve been the hand of death.”

She swallowed.

“The panther can hunt me, but in the end, I will be the one to kill him.” As he’d killed so many others. Thousands of souls—taken.

What’s one more?

Her pink tongue snaked across her lower lip. The lip he’d kissed. He could still taste her.