Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) Read Online Free PDF Page A

You’ll find he r , ” she whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek .“ Now enough of this shit. Come dance with me . ”
    Xavier tipped the stool back and watched with a look of longing as she and Laurent walked awa y, a rare moment of vulnerability for her demon. The temptation to comfort him was fleeting. Family was the one thing Xavier lacked. Bell remembered Jacque reaching out to him long ag o, only to be shunned by the big brother he admired. Xavier’s strength exuded from him even as a young demon. This was a trait Jacque only recently acquired during his pursuit of Angel.
    “ Earth to Bell. What’s going on with you ?” Laurent strained to be heard above the thumping beat.
    She swayed her hips to the music .“ I’m good .” She glanced in time to see Xavier distracting himself with a cut e, dark-skinned human. The image of crushing the girl’s throat flashed through her mind. Bell dismissed the image as fast as it appeared.
    “ You like hi m, don’t you ? ”
    “ What! Don’t be stupid. I like the look of him. I’ll find out how much I like him later . ”
    Her brother rolled his eyes .“ Seriously. You need a filter on your thoughts. TMI. I’m your brother . ”
    She laughed at the disgusted expression on Laurent’s face .“ Don’t ask and I won’t tell .” As she threw her hands in the air and spun aroun d, she stopped abruptl y, bumping the sparkly fairy behind her.
    Acid churned in Bell’s stomach. Her legs went weak. With trembling hand s, she clutched Laurent for balance and grounding. In the front of the clu b, Jacque and his wife-to-be walked through the door with their entourage in tow. Without hesitatio n, Bell fled the dance floor to the restroom. Out of breat h, Bell cowered. The burning sensation of acid r o il e d in her chest. She never thought seeing Jacque and his bitch would affect her this way. Was she mad? Hell yeah. Did she want to cut the little human’s throat? Fuck yeah. But to run away and hide in the bathroom? That wasn’t Isabella LaCoste.
    She struggled to calm herself. The col d, granite counter counteracted the firestorm raging inside her body. Glowering at her image in the mirro r, she growle d, “ Get your shit togethe r, LaCoste ! ”
    Shoving open the swinging doo r, Bell ventured out into the blaring music of the main club. She scanned the crowded dance floor. It was the last place she remembered seeing Xavier. She needed to make sure he kept his cool. She couldn’t afford him blowing their advantage by reacting before thinking. They needed to plan t h is correctly. If they took the opportunity to kill Jacque and Angel tonight and misse d, there might not be a second chance. Finall y, she located him at the back ba r, his long body stretched out against the wall. The sight of him h a d a remarkably calming effect on her. When his gaze met her s, he nodded at her.
    She squeezed through the sweaty bodies dancing to the intense beat of the song. A hand caught her wris t, sending a cold chill up her arm. Immediatel y, she knew who it was.
    “ He y, Bell. Where ya running off to ?” His smooth baritone a l w a y s ca u s e d h e r p u l s e to f l u tt e r .
    “ I. Uh. My friend’s waiting at the bar for me .” She dare not look back at him. Being close to him exaggerated her emotions. Made her wea k, unable to suppress them from her consciousness. Losing him made her realize she had loved him. No matter how hard she tried not to. This wasn’t her nature. She loathed her failure on all accounts when it came to dealing with Jacque Toussant.
    Bell snatched her arm from Jacque .“ We’re over in the VI P , ” he said .“ You should get him and come over . ”
    “ I’ll see what he wants to do .” She broke through the end of the dance floor. Once free of the mo b, she ra n, slamming into a c h e s t w i t h t h e f o r t i t ude o f a b r i c k w a l l .
    Xavier’s strong hands trapped her to him .“ I got yo u , ” he murmured in her ear. His