Hell's Phoenix by Gracen Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

sickens me.”
    “If I believed that, it would anger me.”
    “If you believed that? If ?” She would punch him in the nose for his arrogance if the movement wouldn’t hurt her leg. “I assure you—”
    Micah dragged her upward against his body, squelching her rant with the sting of movement. His hand delved into her hair, and slanted her head back to kiss her. Breathing through the pain, she didn’t think to stop his embrace. She jerked when his tongue flicked across hers, the contact snapping her out of the pocket of agony and straight into ecstasy.
    “Oh!” Alessa gasped. Was her friend shocked or horrified? Madison claimed both emotions.
    She dug her nails into his thighs to keep from pulling him closer. Confused by her reaction, she whimpered.
    I knew you weren’t immune to him. Pandora’s smug accent filtered through her mind.
    He terminated their kiss. Peering into her eyes, he grazed her bottom lip with his thumb. “I could feel how sickened you are.”
    “Pandora….”
    “Has nothing to do with your reaction.”
    “Um…I hate to break up the creepy lust party, angel-jelly, but we gotta stop Madison’s bleeding. Like pronto.”
    Alessa’s interruption came at the perfect time. Being brought back to reality, she realized the lower half of her leg had grown numb. Madison tried to inspect it, but Micah’s hold on her head refused movement.
    “Your friend irritates me,” he said and released her hair.
    “She needs a tourniquet.” Alessa compressed Madison’s thigh with both hands. Agony bombarded her, but she managed to stifle any sound between clenched teeth. “Give me your belt, angel-jelly.” Micah’s eyebrows elevated and her friend made a ‘come here’ motion with her hands. “You prefer she bleed out? The blood’s already past her knee and pooling on the floor in case you haven’t noticed, Einstein.”
    “I’ll do it,” he said, tugging his belt off. Madison grunted as he elevated her leg just enough to feed the leather beneath her thigh. Good thing her shurikens were strapped to her other leg. “Do you need some of my blood to stem the pain?”
    Yes, we want !
    “I want your blood like I wanted to be shot with golden bullets.” Not true, but she couldn’t confess that in front of Alessa. Neither would she give Micah the satisfaction of knowing she enjoyed his intoxicating sanguine fluid.
    Micah chuckled. “I’ve missed your droll humor, kitten.” Madison bit the inside of her cheek as he slipped the end of the belt through the buckle and pulled until it met her thigh. “You’re demon is stronger than I realized if you could see Phoenix’s magical weaponry.”
    He jerked hard on the belt and Madison’s half-scream spawned angry curses from Nix. She groaned as Micah cinched the leather above the wound. Voice scratchy, she talked through the pain. “I want Alessa gone.”
    “No.” Micah peered at her friend. “Alessandra stays as leverage. However, she’d be wise to cease the sarcastic quips. I’m neither angel-jelly nor Einstein. I’m much more dangerous than either.”
    “You’re just like Zen. You have no sense of humor,” Alessa shot back. “FYI, Madison, I’d have gulped the Micah Kool-Aid, too. Would’ve skipped into Hell with him wearing a big grin.” That is a creepy image . “Sorry I called you a pathetic fool.”
    “When did you do that?”
    “I thought it after you told me what you were and that you’d married a King of Hell.”
    Ah…the first day they’d met on Alessa’s horse ranch, she’d shared that monumental news with the horsewoman.
    “Comparing me to Zen and calling my Queen names guarantees your death, Alessandra D’Angelo.”
    “Bring it, wing-boy!”
    Sheesh, her friend was too much like Nix. Too much bravado in the face of danger. Taking her into Hell would probably get them both killed.
    “Touch her, Micah, and there will be war.” Madison rolled her head to gauge Nix’s progress. He cut open a shirt, placed his hand over