Page 85 of Sin

Feeling a little lightheaded from the heat, I forced myself to stand. The second I was upright, the ground lurched beneath me, and I shot my arm out, trying to catch myself on the wall.

“Whoa!”

I stood frozen, heart racing as I tried to figure out what the hell that had been. Just when I’d sensed it was safe to move, the ground trembled again.

And this time, it didn’t stop.

Another scream was torn from my throat as I tried to keep myself from slipping and sliding on the slick floor. Were we having a fucking earthquake in London?

It’ll be over soon.

What was I supposed to do again? Stop, drop, and roll?

No, you idiot. That’s only if you’re on fire.

Get in the damn doorway.

Easier said than done, given that I could hardly keep myself upright.

With a shaking hand, I wiped at the steam-coated door, a terrified squeak leaving me as I watched the door of the spa room swing wildly and the water of the hot tub slosh up and over the ledge. The ground was literally rolling.

Oh my God, is this ever going to stop?

An ominous cracking sound echoed off the walls as tiles began raining from the ceiling. Here I was, naked, sweaty, and about to die in a steam room. I needed out of this tomb before my death became a reality.

The trembling seemed to be dying down, so I used the extra stability as my opportunity to open the door. Before I could turn the handle, a large shudder jerked beneath my feet, sending the shelving unit filled with towels and other tchotchkes crashing down and blocking my escape. The only thing that kept me upright was my death grip on the handle.

“Fuck, no!” I shouted, panic creeping up my throat as I shoved at the door.

Nothing. Not even a little movement.

I couldn’t stay in here. Not with the steam still filling the room and the temperature rising. Surely someone was nearby. They’d let me out.

“Help! Please, somebody, help me!” I screamed, pounding on the glass in hopes one of them would hear me.

The shaking finally stopped, but I wasn’t confident it would stay that way. I’d seenSan Andreas.I knew about aftershocks.

When no one immediately came for me, I stumbled back, intent on running and breaking through the glass or something. Using my body as a battering ram was better than nothing. Seriously, it wasn’t a well-thought-out plan. I just needed out of here.

Instead of a brilliant action-star moment, I slipped and went down hard. Pain burst across my hip and side, and by the grace of God, I just barely managed to keep my head from slamming onto the floor. The last thing I needed was a concussion or to lose consciousness while in here.

On shaky legs, I attempted to get to my feet, head swimming as the steam continued to billow in, the temperature rising to 140 degrees and climbing. The digital thermometer on the wall was flashing red. Red was bad. I’d already been in here too long by the time I’d decided to leave, but now I was in the danger zone, even for a supernatural creature.

I might be a succubus, but our kind was more human than most.

As soon as I put weight on my hip, I knew it was a lost cause. Agony ripped through me, and I fell to the floor again. Dragging myself to the door, I banged and screamed in desperate hope someone would find me. No one heard me. I shouted until my throat was raw, hitting the door over and over until I finally gave up. I pressed my cheek to the smooth surface, breathing heavily in the thick, hot air, knowing it was no use.

“Fuck,” I whispered, my voice ragged.

Of all the ways I thought I might die, trapped in a steam sauna hadn’t even made the top one hundred.

Chaos

Sweat trickled down my forehead,and my arms shook as I placed the fifteen-hundred-pound barbell on its rack with a grunt. The metal groaned in protest, but I knew it could handle the weight. I regularly benched this much, not that you’d ever see my name in the Guinness Book of World Records. The pathetic human who held that title only lifted 1401 pounds. But they had so little. I wasn’t going to take that away from him.

I’d only just sat up, towel in my hand so I could wipe the sweat from my brow, when the ground jerked beneath me.

“What the hell?”

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