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Cast out of Heaven and now the king of Hell, Lucifer is a powerful fallen angel warrior with a heart as cold as ice and soul as black as the bottomless pit. For millennia, he has ruled his realm with an iron fist as he plots the demise of his ancient enemies. When one of those enemies dumps an unconscious mortal female in the courtyard of his fortress and leaves her there, Lucifer finds himself entranced by the beguiling beauty and tempted beyond all reason. But is the enchanting Nina an innocent pawn in the eternal game or part of a plot against him?Amazon iBooks ARe Google Play B&N Kobo
Her Sinful Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: Heaton's Website
“Do you know of any reason why someone might want to harm you?” The man took a step towards her and fear clashed with panic again, welling up to stir the sickness in her belly and bring bile up her throat.
She backed off a few steps, shaking her head in denial even though her heart and head screamed that there might be. It was entirely possible that someone was out to hurt her, and that meant that everything the man said had happened, had happened.
Someone had grabbed her, drugged her, and this man or someone from this house had saved her.
Nina’s back hit a wall and she gasped. The man’s eyes narrowed on her and she looked away, afraid he would see the truth in her eyes. She didn’t want him to get into trouble because of her, at least not any more than he already had.
Had he been the one to save her?
Her throat closed again as she thought about that, sure he must have fought the man off in order to help her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms against the wall behind her, her fingertips clawing at the smooth surface as she tried to anchor herself in the swirling storm of her emotions.
“I want to leave.” She managed to get the words out but they were quiet, lacking the force and conviction she had wanted to convey in them.
Because part of her didn’t want to leave. Part of her feared what was waiting for her out there. If he had sent someone to take her once, he could send someone again. She had known him too long to believe he would just let her go. She should have been on her guard after rejecting him. She should have expected him to pursue her with the same aggressive intent as he had the time she had fallen in love with him.
Before he had crushed her.
The man’s gaze bore into her, commanding her to open her eyes and look at him, to find the strength to say those words with more conviction so he would let her leave.
She had to protect him.
He didn’t know what he had become involved in by helping her and she didn’t want him to pay for his kindness.
Not as she had paid for hers so many times and in so many ways.
“I want to leave,” Nina bit out the words, putting force into them this time.
It had zero effect on the man.
“I am not sure whether the one who brought you here is gone and it is dangerous for you to be out there right now. Once we are certain that it is safe for you, you will be returned to London.” He sighed, the soft sound conveying a wealth of irritation. “It might help if you would tell me why someone wished to kidnap you.”
Nina froze. Would. Not could. He was on to her. Somehow, he was aware that she knew why the man had grabbed her and what he had intended to do with her. The little voice said to tell him, but she bit down on her tongue to stop the words from leaving her lips. The less he knew, the better. She was keeping him safe by keeping things secret from him.
“I don’t know why someone would want to do such a thing to me. I’m just an office clerk. I’m not important in any way and I don’t have any enemies.” Nina tipped her chin up and looked across the room at him.
His expression darkened, his irises turning a full shade richer, more amber than gold, as his lips flattened and his features hardened. He didn’t believe her. Her heart beat a little quicker as she held his gaze, her hands shaking where they gripped the wall beside her hips.
“What happened?” she whispered, a trickle of fear running through her veins as he stared at her, suddenly looking like the sort of man that it wasn’t wise to lie to or cross in any fashion.
Gone was the handsome and charming man who could win any woman with nothing more than a brief smile. In his place was one who looked more demon than angel. A devil made flesh and blood. A man who spoke to her on a visceral level, calling to her primal instincts.
A warrior who was the embodiment of masculinity.
One who answered her question with nothing more than a narrowing of his striking eyes.
“You made the man leave… you didn’t just find me,” she whispered breathlessly, suddenly aware that she was alone with him. The gap between them seemed to shrink and the air in the room felt too thin. Her head turned, her heart labouring as she fought the onslaught of sensation and emotion. “You drove him away so you could bring me to safety.”
He dipped his head, a slow and steady movement that didn’t seem adequate to acknowledge the magnitude of what he had done. Most of the men she knew would have beaten their chests while grinning at her, their male pride on show for all to see.
He would have acted in such a way.
But not this man.
This man was different.
He barely acknowledged what he had done, even though it was worthy of praise and gratitude.
“Thank you,” she said and he turned away from her, fixing his gaze on a door far to the left of the room.
“I will find you something to wear and will see to it that you are given some water and something to eat. Perhaps it will make you feel better.” He strode across the room and was gone before she could respond.
Air rushed back into her lungs and into the room.
It seemed larger without him in it and she couldn’t stop herself from wandering around the luxurious yet gothic and grim room as her panic and fear began to subside. Her fingers danced over polished black wooden side tables, the soft velvet of the chaise longue and the couch that stood facing it across an ebony coffee table. She caressed the cool marble of the black fireplace, lingering a moment to press her hot cheeks to it and savouring the cold before the stone warmed.
Her eyes drifted back to the black door the man had exited through. He hadn’t been the one she recalled, that one had long hair, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. She had to keep her distance from him, no matter how fiercely she felt drawn to him.
She jumped as the door opened again and the man entered, carrying a silver tray on one upturned palm. The ease he did it with stirred her suspicion that he was a butler, a servant in this house, together with his practiced smile and the way he spoke to her.
“Did you ask someone to take me home?” Nina eyed him as he set the tray down on the coffee table and poured her a tall glass of icy water from a pitcher. “Can you get me out of here and take me home?”
He paused and looked up at her through long black lashes. “I cannot do that. I cannot leave this place.”
A brief flicker of something suspiciously like sorrow crossed his handsome face before he forced a smile, set the glass jug down and straightened. He smoothed his jacket down over his trousers in a manner that only strengthened her belief that he was a servant. It had to be the reason he couldn’t help her leave, and couldn’t leave himself.
“How long have you been here?” Nina eyed the water, her parched throat and aching head screaming at her to gulp it down. It might be poisoned. Laced with a drug that would knock her out again.
The man sighed, poured a second glass of water, and lifted it to his lips. He took a mouthful from it and nodded towards the other glass, a clear gesture for her to do the same now that he had shown her that it wasn’t poisoned. Nina shook her head.
The water might not contain the drug. It might lace the glass.
He offered his glass to her with a smile, one that held a little more warmth this time, humour that seemed sad to her somehow. “I would not trust me either.”
Nina took the glass from him, her fingers brushing his as she wrapped them around the icy tumbler. Heat shot up her arm and she almost dropped the glass when he snatched his hand away. Had he felt it too?
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as he paced away from her. She stared at the tumbler, at the spot on the other side where his lips had pressed, leaving an imprint on the polished glass. Her stomach heated. Flipped. She crushed the ridiculous urge to turn the glass around and press her lips there too and drank a mouthful from it instead. The cool water was bliss as it ran over her tongue and down her throat, instantly soothing her. Heaven.
“How long have I been here?” His rich voice swirled around her as she took another few sips and she felt his eyes on her again, burning her with their intensity and stirring the heat in her veins.
Nina slowly lifted her gaze back to his face and paused with the glass at her lips, the ripple of heat in her veins becoming a flood of wildfire as she found him staring at her mouth. The dark abysses of his pupils devoured the gold of his irises before he pulled his eyes away from her lips and raised them to lock with hers.
“I have been here a very long time.”
She stared at him as those words sank in. He didn’t look much older than she was, maybe just a couple of years closer to forty. Had he been working here his entire life?
Had he grown up in this grim place?
It would explain the edge he had about him at times, the dark and cold side of him that made her nervous.
That made her feel he had secrets locked deep in his heart.
Secrets as painful as the ones in hers.
She backed off a few steps, shaking her head in denial even though her heart and head screamed that there might be. It was entirely possible that someone was out to hurt her, and that meant that everything the man said had happened, had happened.
Someone had grabbed her, drugged her, and this man or someone from this house had saved her.
Nina’s back hit a wall and she gasped. The man’s eyes narrowed on her and she looked away, afraid he would see the truth in her eyes. She didn’t want him to get into trouble because of her, at least not any more than he already had.
Had he been the one to save her?
Her throat closed again as she thought about that, sure he must have fought the man off in order to help her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms against the wall behind her, her fingertips clawing at the smooth surface as she tried to anchor herself in the swirling storm of her emotions.
“I want to leave.” She managed to get the words out but they were quiet, lacking the force and conviction she had wanted to convey in them.
Because part of her didn’t want to leave. Part of her feared what was waiting for her out there. If he had sent someone to take her once, he could send someone again. She had known him too long to believe he would just let her go. She should have been on her guard after rejecting him. She should have expected him to pursue her with the same aggressive intent as he had the time she had fallen in love with him.
Before he had crushed her.
The man’s gaze bore into her, commanding her to open her eyes and look at him, to find the strength to say those words with more conviction so he would let her leave.
She had to protect him.
He didn’t know what he had become involved in by helping her and she didn’t want him to pay for his kindness.
Not as she had paid for hers so many times and in so many ways.
“I want to leave,” Nina bit out the words, putting force into them this time.
It had zero effect on the man.
“I am not sure whether the one who brought you here is gone and it is dangerous for you to be out there right now. Once we are certain that it is safe for you, you will be returned to London.” He sighed, the soft sound conveying a wealth of irritation. “It might help if you would tell me why someone wished to kidnap you.”
Nina froze. Would. Not could. He was on to her. Somehow, he was aware that she knew why the man had grabbed her and what he had intended to do with her. The little voice said to tell him, but she bit down on her tongue to stop the words from leaving her lips. The less he knew, the better. She was keeping him safe by keeping things secret from him.
“I don’t know why someone would want to do such a thing to me. I’m just an office clerk. I’m not important in any way and I don’t have any enemies.” Nina tipped her chin up and looked across the room at him.
His expression darkened, his irises turning a full shade richer, more amber than gold, as his lips flattened and his features hardened. He didn’t believe her. Her heart beat a little quicker as she held his gaze, her hands shaking where they gripped the wall beside her hips.
“What happened?” she whispered, a trickle of fear running through her veins as he stared at her, suddenly looking like the sort of man that it wasn’t wise to lie to or cross in any fashion.
Gone was the handsome and charming man who could win any woman with nothing more than a brief smile. In his place was one who looked more demon than angel. A devil made flesh and blood. A man who spoke to her on a visceral level, calling to her primal instincts.
A warrior who was the embodiment of masculinity.
One who answered her question with nothing more than a narrowing of his striking eyes.
“You made the man leave… you didn’t just find me,” she whispered breathlessly, suddenly aware that she was alone with him. The gap between them seemed to shrink and the air in the room felt too thin. Her head turned, her heart labouring as she fought the onslaught of sensation and emotion. “You drove him away so you could bring me to safety.”
He dipped his head, a slow and steady movement that didn’t seem adequate to acknowledge the magnitude of what he had done. Most of the men she knew would have beaten their chests while grinning at her, their male pride on show for all to see.
He would have acted in such a way.
But not this man.
This man was different.
He barely acknowledged what he had done, even though it was worthy of praise and gratitude.
“Thank you,” she said and he turned away from her, fixing his gaze on a door far to the left of the room.
“I will find you something to wear and will see to it that you are given some water and something to eat. Perhaps it will make you feel better.” He strode across the room and was gone before she could respond.
Air rushed back into her lungs and into the room.
It seemed larger without him in it and she couldn’t stop herself from wandering around the luxurious yet gothic and grim room as her panic and fear began to subside. Her fingers danced over polished black wooden side tables, the soft velvet of the chaise longue and the couch that stood facing it across an ebony coffee table. She caressed the cool marble of the black fireplace, lingering a moment to press her hot cheeks to it and savouring the cold before the stone warmed.
Her eyes drifted back to the black door the man had exited through. He hadn’t been the one she recalled, that one had long hair, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. She had to keep her distance from him, no matter how fiercely she felt drawn to him.
She jumped as the door opened again and the man entered, carrying a silver tray on one upturned palm. The ease he did it with stirred her suspicion that he was a butler, a servant in this house, together with his practiced smile and the way he spoke to her.
“Did you ask someone to take me home?” Nina eyed him as he set the tray down on the coffee table and poured her a tall glass of icy water from a pitcher. “Can you get me out of here and take me home?”
He paused and looked up at her through long black lashes. “I cannot do that. I cannot leave this place.”
A brief flicker of something suspiciously like sorrow crossed his handsome face before he forced a smile, set the glass jug down and straightened. He smoothed his jacket down over his trousers in a manner that only strengthened her belief that he was a servant. It had to be the reason he couldn’t help her leave, and couldn’t leave himself.
“How long have you been here?” Nina eyed the water, her parched throat and aching head screaming at her to gulp it down. It might be poisoned. Laced with a drug that would knock her out again.
The man sighed, poured a second glass of water, and lifted it to his lips. He took a mouthful from it and nodded towards the other glass, a clear gesture for her to do the same now that he had shown her that it wasn’t poisoned. Nina shook her head.
The water might not contain the drug. It might lace the glass.
He offered his glass to her with a smile, one that held a little more warmth this time, humour that seemed sad to her somehow. “I would not trust me either.”
Nina took the glass from him, her fingers brushing his as she wrapped them around the icy tumbler. Heat shot up her arm and she almost dropped the glass when he snatched his hand away. Had he felt it too?
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as he paced away from her. She stared at the tumbler, at the spot on the other side where his lips had pressed, leaving an imprint on the polished glass. Her stomach heated. Flipped. She crushed the ridiculous urge to turn the glass around and press her lips there too and drank a mouthful from it instead. The cool water was bliss as it ran over her tongue and down her throat, instantly soothing her. Heaven.
“How long have I been here?” His rich voice swirled around her as she took another few sips and she felt his eyes on her again, burning her with their intensity and stirring the heat in her veins.
Nina slowly lifted her gaze back to his face and paused with the glass at her lips, the ripple of heat in her veins becoming a flood of wildfire as she found him staring at her mouth. The dark abysses of his pupils devoured the gold of his irises before he pulled his eyes away from her lips and raised them to lock with hers.
“I have been here a very long time.”
She stared at him as those words sank in. He didn’t look much older than she was, maybe just a couple of years closer to forty. Had he been working here his entire life?
Had he grown up in this grim place?
It would explain the edge he had about him at times, the dark and cold side of him that made her nervous.
That made her feel he had secrets locked deep in his heart.
Secrets as painful as the ones in hers.
Her Sinful Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.
Find all the links, a fantastic 5 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/her-sinful-angel-romance-book.php
Books in the Her Angel paranormal romance series:
Book 1: Her Dark Angel – FREE in ebook at selected retailers
Book 2: Her Fallen Angel
Book 3: Her Warrior Angel
Book 4: Her Guardian Angel
Book 5: Her Demonic Angel
Book 6: Her Wicked Angel
Book 7: Her Avenging Angel
Book 8: Her Sinful Angel
 Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too. If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Her Angel series. If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places: |
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