“Not so fast, huh?” He rubbed my hips. “That wasn’t a problem before. We both felt it. Fast wasn’t nearly fast enough. It was like…”

He rested his chin on the top of my head. “I can’t even describe what it was like. I’m at a loss for words. Can you believe that? It’ll be like that again, Hope. I know, right now, you’re probably thinking ‘fat chance, you son-of-a-bitch,’ but you’ll see. We’ll pull this off and I’ll serve you the Cortez Cabal on a platter.” His arms slid around me. “Yours, mine and Sonny’s. All the power you’ve ever wanted. All the power you deserve. It’ll be…” A shiver ran through him. “Perfect.”

For just a moment, feeling that rising lick of chaos, I saw his dream glittering before me.

He was right. We did have something. I was a half-demon starving for chaos, and he was a chaos feast. Maybe if I was what I feared I was, I’d hear the rumble in my belly, urging me to partake.

I did feel a rumble, but it was only my stomach churning. Minutes to go. Could I pull this off? I had to.

I glanced around, searching the shadows alongside every darkened building. Looking for Karl, even as I hoped he wouldn’t risk coming so close.

Paige had agreed to meet me. She’d been smart enough not to give anything away on the phone, in case Jaz or Sonny was listening, just like she’d been smart enough not to press for details. But I could tell by her tone that she understood.

And so, as we waited for her, the Cabal SWAT team would be taking up position two blocks away, near the meeting site.

Jaz gave another low laugh, and his fingers traced a line under my left breast. “You do feel it. Your heart’s racing.”

His voice dropped, breathing accelerating as his fingers slid over my breast. He squeezed my nipple. I wrenched out of his grasp and wheeled. He backed up, hands raised, palms out.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean that, Hope. I’ll never—I won’t push. I swear it. I just…”

His gaze traveled down me, eyelids half closing as his lips parted. Then a sharp, full-body shake.

“Damn, damn, damn. We were so close. It would have made a difference. I know it would have. I wanted you so badly and you—” Another shake, harder, then a roll of his shoulders. “Okay, okay. Not the time, I know. Right now, we need to…”

His lips pursed as if he’d lost his train of thought.

“I need to meet Paige in five minutes,” I said.

“Duh, yes. Sorry. Let’s get moving.”