The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters, #1)

by Amber V. Nicole

The man was ridiculously beautiful.

I was too busy fighting the urge to peel him out of those clothes that fit so well.

You said I needed to blend in. Am I not doing it right?”

I didn’t want that. I preferred this Liam. He had talked to me through the night, and he cared what I thought of his outfit.

“So forceful.”

I didn’t know what he liked, so I’d gotten almost every breakfast item on the menu.

Anger burned in me on Liam’s behalf, and I lowered my lashes so that he wouldn’t see it.

“You swore with a small finger that you would not leave me behind

How can I trust you if you keep things from me, but ask me to bare my soul?”

The intensity in the depths of his gray eyes awakened something feminine and needy in me.

A pang fluttered in my chest. This powerful and indomitable male was worried about what I thought of him. I had no idea how that was possible.

For the second time, he smiled. It was just a brief flash of his stupid perfect teeth, but it undid me. It was the simplest thing, and I hated it.

He smiled, and gravity shifted, pulling me toward him as if he were my anchor.

“Are you okay?”

You promised you would not leave me.

“Talk to me.”

I held my breath, almost desperate for him to trust me.

but the part of me that had reveled in the intimacy knew I would take his secrets to my grave.

“You are not a beast.”

He could have worn a trash bag, and people would have still broken their necks to look at him.

“You need a friend, and lucky for you, I’m here.”

He looked at me. “Lucky me, huh?”

That strange sensation of being anchored in him overtook me as I stared up at him. Something had changed last night. It didn’t make sense, but I knew once this was over, I wouldn’t leave.

“I have never heard you laugh like that,”

I ignored the fact that I immediately felt bereft at the loss of his touch.

My thoughts derailed as Liam placed his jacket over my shoulders and pulled it closed over my chest. It draped me like a denim blanket, and I looked up at him in surprise.

“I saw someone do this before you forced me into those tiny, aggressive cars.”

They’re staring because they think you’re gorgeous.”

“Is this the part where we pretend you’re not?”

“Yeah, you know. Attractive, good-looking, desirable.” That seemed to click in his godly brain, because the corner of his mouth twitched. “Especially when you smile.”

“Hey, at least I am honest.” “That you are.”

“Pity. I wouldn’t share.”

“If I had the choice, and I had to choose, I would want an equal. A partner in every aspect of my life, like what my father and mother shared.”

there had been moments when I’d enjoyed myself. I would never admit it to her, but the presumptuous dark-haired woman strolling in front of me may have had something to do with that.

I might not want to admit it to myself, but I enjoyed her companionship.

I wasn’t as trapped in the past when she was near.

“Must you pay so much attention to me?”

I stepped in front of Dianna, shielding her body.

I wouldn’t allow anything to dim her spirit.

“He will try,”

“I will not let him have you.”

I decided then and there that this woman should never beg.

I also promise that he will never lay a hand on you again. If he even tries to take you away, I promise I’ll make him regret ever being born.”

“You’re sweet when you’re homicidal.”

“I don’t know if you listen to me half the time.” “I always listen.”

“My friend.”

“I like this one because it reminds me of how much I try to force you to listen,” she said with a laugh. I decided that was my favorite, too.

but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.

When she had turned into me and wrapped her arms around my chest, the world had slipped away. It was a brief reprieve as I held her body curled against mine. It was a moment of peace—until the ...

“You already consume my every waking thought. Must you consume my dreams as well?”