Underworld Lover (A Guardian Angel Romance #2) by haron Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

smile. His eyes did not stray from Josh’s face, as if he needed to soak in every nuance of expression as he delivered his next message.
    “I am requiring a test of your loyalty, strange as that may seem.”
    Josh was careful not to flinch.
    “I am asking for a similar test of every person with whom I might have had a conflict in the past, or could have in the future.” Peter continued his piercing gaze.
    “Go on, I’m listening.” Three hundred years of experience gave Josh a little confidence. But just a little. He knew he would regret hearing what Peter had to say next, and he braced himself.
    “I am the lonely type, prone to melancholy when I am not serviced properly. I require a woman. I want you to deliver her to me. Soon.”
    Josh didn’t have to hear him say it. He knew the name already.
    “I require the human woman Melanie Worthington.”

Chapter 7
     
    I am seriously fucked. Josh had never been pressured to anything like this. Never been pressured anything at all. What was afoot now? The carefree lifestyle he had enjoyed all during this time—the cloak of disorganization that protected him, leaving him free to roam and conduct himself however he pleased—was disappearing each second.
    Dark times coming. His mentor had told him this many times. He just never believed it.
    He noticed his chest was a bit constricted, and it was getting difficult to breathe. He found himself watching crowds of people on his way from the Admin building, looking for the eyes of someone too interested in him.
    Am I being followed? Another first. Summoned. Now followed.
    He knew the director didn’t like him. Josh didn’t think it was necessary everyone like him, they just had to obey his commands. And since Josh had thought he was the only one to possess the vaporization skill, he’d mistakenly believed he was the most powerful angel in the Underworld. But now these recent events indicated that his unofficial title was in serious jeopardy. The title itself wasn’t important. But now Josh was required to submit to a test of his loyalty. Of all the people he would have to deliver up to Peter, it would have to be the one person he hoped he could spare.
    Josh was filled with the strange desire he had not felt before. Yes, he wanted Melanie for his own. Nothing had changed on that score. But he was hoping he could keep her as his secret. Keep her human, untouched by the darkness that would alter her forever. He wanted Melanie to stay alive just as she was created, as a human, and therefore free. He’d never wanted to save a human soul before. His job was to claim them for the Underworld.
    Just my damn luck.
    The thought of Melanie spending any time in the director’s presence nauseated him. He could envision her being tied up, although not for pleasure as Josh was fond of doing with his female conquests. His collection of silk ties, useless to him as clothing since he rarely wore a suit except for funerals, had a place in his closet for only that purpose. Peter, on the other hand, wouldn’t use silk ties carefully chosen to bind a willing participant—he’d hurt her. She would feel pain and would beg for mercy. Josh didn’t like being the one to bring her to her own demise. She would hate him forever.
    It brought a twitch to his right eye, something that had started happening to him lately. He twisted his head, cracking a stiff neck, then shook out the building tension. His arms felt awkward, too long, and his clothes didn’t seem to fit well. His feet hurt. He shrugged off the odd sensations and decided he needed an elixir to take the edge off.
    Down past the transport station was a series of steps that led to Undertown, a dangerous place where any and every manner of sin could be found and was often played out in the streets for the viewing pleasure of casual passersby. He’d go there and find an elixir, maybe a little entertainment. The Underworld didn’t need a movie theater, with Undertown providing all the