Page 70 of White Hot Kiss
Good God, what was I doing wanting him to kiss me earlier?
Roth sighed as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Say you had something I wanted? I can’t just take it from you.”
I shook my head, confused. “Why not? A succubus takes energy without the person knowing.”
“That’s different. The succubus isn’t killing the human. Just tasting their essence, and for the most part, the human doesn’t mind.” He winked. “But I’m old-school. Just like the Boss. Humans have to have their free will and all that nonsense.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in free will?”
“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean the Boss doesn’t.” He shook his head. “Look, we’ve gotten way off topic here. You know that I work for the Boss and that I’m here on a job, so to speak.”
Even though I knew there had to be a reason why Roth popped out of nowhere and started following me, sour disappointment still curdled in my stomach. What was I thinking? That he saw me chowing down on a Big Mac and just had to know me? “I’m your job?”
His dark gaze flickered to mine and held. “Yes.”
Slowly nodding, I let out a low breath. “Why?”
“I’m here to keep you safe from those who are looking for you. And by those, I mean demons a lot bigger and badder than what you normally deal with.”
I stared at him so long that I think my eyes crossed, and then I burst into laughter. So hard, tears tracked down my face, blurring his scowl.
“Why are you laughing?” he demanded. “It better not be because you doubt my ability to keep your ass—a very lovely ass, by the way—safe. Because I think I’ve proved that I can.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that you’re a demon.”
His expression turned bland. “Yes. I know I’m a demon. Thanks for the clarification.”
“Demons don’t protect anyone or anything.” I waved my hand dismissively, still chuckling.
“Well, obviously they do, because I’ve saved you multiple times.”
Wiping a few tears off my face, I quieted down. “I know. And I appreciate it. Thank you. But it’s just so...so ass-backward.”
Impatience flashed in his eyes, darkening them until the brown flecks almost disappeared. “Demons will protect just about anything if it’s in their best interest. Or namely, Hell’s best interest.”
“And why would protecting me be in Hell’s best interest?”
Roth’s eyes narrowed. “I was going to try to break this to you gently, but screw it. I told you what your mother could do. I even told you her name.”
My humor dried up right then and there as I stared at him.
A bit of smugness seeped into his face. “And I bet you went through every stage of denial and then some, but Lilith is your mother.”
“You mean a demon named Lilith.” I still refused to believe anything else. It was just some random demon with an unfortunate name.
“No. I mean the demon named Lilith,” he corrected. “She’s your mommy.”
“That’s not possible.” I shook my head. “She’s chained in Hell!”
Now it was Roth’s turn to laugh like a demented seal. “And who started those rumors? The Wardens? Lilith was in Hell, but she broke loose seventeen years and nine months ago, give or take a week or two, which by the way, corresponds directly with what?”
I did the quick math, which put that date right around my birthday. My stomach roiled.
“She went topside, engaged in a little naughty action, got pregnant and popped out a pretty little baby that looked just like her.”
“I look like her?” My head got stuck on the wrong thing.
Roth reached over, picking up a strand of my hair, twisting the pale locks around his long fingers. “She had your coloring from what I remember. I only saw her once before she was taken care of.”