Oath-Breaker
River Starr
(Angel of Death & Demons , #1)
Publication date: May 5th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
No one survives their meeting with the Angel of Death—except for me.
After being accused of rallying citizens to revolt against him and breaking the rules of engagement with demons to save my best friend—guilty as charged on both accounts—the Angel of Death demands to personally oversee my sentencing in his obsidian castle of demons and death.
I’m done for. This is the end. But my death won’t be in vain—I’ll die a martyr to the Paladins Order’s cause, and I’ll rescue my best friend at the same time. She’ll be safe and the paladins will pick a new leader. They’ll thrive and continue the fight.
Or so I think. When judgment day arrives and I’m knelt before the Angel of Death, with his onyx eyes, his ebony hair, and his seductively imposing stature, my soul doesn’t leave me.
It soars.
Because when I dare to look the Angel of Death in the eyes, everything changes. And what unfolds in my anger and vengeance’s stead is a thread of events I never could have foreseen.
I survived my meeting with the Angel of Death. But can I survive his love?
OATH-BREAKER is the first of a M/F paranormal demon romance duology full of steamy goodness.
Author Bio:
River Starr writes books that help you escape, especially fantasy romance full of magic and supernaturals. Favorite things: coffee, wine, chocolate, and a heavy dose of books to chase away the dark… or invite delicious darkness in.
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Excerpt
I made my way wordlessly toward the table, scanning the room as I went. We were alone, which surprised me. But I supposed someone as powerful as the Angel of Death could handle themselves against someone like me while their magic was bound.
And powerful, he was. After being isolated all afternoon, I’d almost forgotten the feel of Lucius’s magic. It was a cold emptiness that washed over me and stole breath from my lungs. And just when I thought I had recovered from the feel of being drawn beneath a freezing ocean, nearly blown over by the force of his magical aura, something more powerful barreled into me.
I froze, a hand on the back of the chair I was to sit in, using it as an anchor for the force that coiled around me. Our mate bond curled my stomach into knots and made my skin tingle and warm. My eyes were drawn to Lucius, not of my own accord, but from the force of this magnetism pulling us together. Closer. To make us one. Meeting Lucius’s gaze, and the wonder and curiosity in his eyes—about me or this mate bond, I wasn’t sure—nearly brought tears to mine.
I’d expected hate. I’d expected loathing and frustration—for being a paladin, for being their leader. For killing or being responsible for giving the orders to kill hundreds of demons. But it wasn’t hate I found or even anger. Just that quiet wonder and curiosity.
I wanted to slap it off his face. But that would require touching him. And in this very moment, despite all the animosity that should have existed between us, I had a feeling that touching him even innocuously might lead to something more. Something I had no desire for.
Or, didn’t I?
A flash of my bath earlier came to mind. And then the closeness between us before that. Lucius was intimidatingly handsome. His strong jaw. The way the hard angles of his face gave way to lush lips and enticing, dark eyes. I couldn’t help but draw my gaze over him now, only to find him doing the same to me.
My cheeks warmed as he licked his lips, his gaze settling on mine before moving up to my eyes. “You are exquisite.”
Those words brought reality crashing down around me. I held up my bound wrists. “I am a prisoner.”
Lucius blinked, seeming to also come back to himself. “There’s no reason you can’t also be beautiful and cared for.” He gestured to the chair. “Sit.”
“Why?” I asked, and it was a fair question, I thought. “Why go through all of the motions, wining and dining me?”
“You know why, Ayla,” he replied without missing a beat.
Gods, why did he have to say my name? Every time he did, it was like honey rolled over me, warming parts of my body that had no right heating to the sound of his voice.
“If you’re just going to kill me,” I said as I tried to push down feelings I wished were harder to ignore, “then don’t bother with all of these pleasantries. I’m your enemy.”
Lucius stood, pulling my attention with him like gravity, and drew out the chair. “You are my mate. Now, sit.” He hovered behind the chair, waiting for me.
The way he’d said it with a growl, more like an order than a suggestion, snapped something taut inside of me, deep and low. If for no other reason than to defy the way my body reacted to everything about this demon king, I met his hard gaze and said, “Make me.”
It seemed childish. It was childish. But it made something flash in Lucius’s. He grabbed my waist quicker than I could stop him, and pushed me down toward the chair.
“Hey!” I shouted as his strong hands brushed the dress. They might as well have touched my skin for the warmth there. Sparks danced along my skin beneath the dress where his fingers touched, where his thumbs dug down into my hips. My core clenched at his touch, although it had been anything but gentle.
With a deft move, Lucius moved my feet out from under me so I had no choice but to lean into his hold and go where he wanted. With my hands bound, I couldn’t have caught myself quick enough if I tried.
Lucius then pushed in the chair and retook his seat. “There,” he said, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Now eat.”
I relished the way the corner of his mouth twitched. That satisfaction had come at the cost of frustration, and knowing I could get under his skin so much made me want to do it more.
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