The Demon Hunter (40 page)

Ellie clutched at the duvet. “Please, Devon.” Lord, she couldn’t take the torment much longer. She squirmed against him, urging him to relieve that aching need. His mouth was at her stomach again, his breath ragged against her sensitive skin. He moved up her like a lion on the prowl. Animalistic in his need.

“Please
what
?” he asked, grinning down at her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his hard body to her. “Now you’re teasing me?”

“Indeed.” His lips found hers and as his tongue swept into her mouth, his fingers traveled up her thighs, brushing the sensitive skin between her legs, his touch gentle, yet passionate.

She loved this moment with him. The moment when she could see the need, the vulnerability in his gaze, the moment right before they became one. His fingers slipped between her damp folds and the atmosphere shifted. The teasing was gone.

“So lovely,” he rasped against her lips, his voice rough with emotion. “So very lovely.”

He shifted, his fingers leaving her. Ellie swallowed her cry of protest, needing him to ease the throbbing ache low in her belly. Desperate, she reached for the waistband of his shorts and pushed at the material until his erection sprang free. Unable to keep her hands from his body, she wrapped her fingers around the velvety hard shaft, drawing a startled hiss from his lips.

“Devon,” she demanded, her hands cupping the thickened bulb at the end of his erection. “Now.”

His lips found hers, searing in a desperate kiss. Her hands traveled around to his back, further down to clutch his tight ass and draw him closer.

Devon groaned against her mouth. His hands moved to her hips, his touch more ruthless. A quiver of need swept through her body. There would be time later, so much time, to explore each other at length. For now, she was desperate to have him inside her. As he kissed her thoroughly, he shifted her thighs further apart. She felt the damp tip of his arousal pressed to her entrance and lifted her hips, rocking against him and urging him further.

“Say you’ll be with me forever?” she whispered.

Devon thrust into her, becoming one with her body, heart, soul. “Forever and ever.”

****

He’d lived so many years, yet had seen so little of the world. Standing in the soft sand, watching the waves crash upon the shore, Devon was truly awed. How funny that he, a fallen angel, hadn’t truly understood the miracle of life. He did now. Now… he was free. Free to make his own choices, free to love whomever he pleased. Free to have a life with Ellie. Pure bliss wrapped around his heart, a happiness he’d never known. This is what life was about, the peaceful moments with someone you loved.

Down the beach, other huts held couples, and although there were certainly visitors on the island, few walked the beaches or laid upon the lounge chairs lining the water. No, it was a honeymooners paradise. Perhaps he and Ellie would return once they married, and he had no doubt they would. The thought brought a soft smile to his lips.

Children with Ellie’s green eyes.

He’d thought he’d lost his chance at life, but he’d found it once more in the arms of an empath. He heard the door shut and turned. She wore another sundress that showed off her shapely legs. Lord, how he loved these modern clothes. Although they’d been on the island for two days, they’d rarely seen the sun, barely even dressed. He’d been perfectly content to stay inside. But Ellie had decided they were going for a walk on the beach.

He grinned as she moved toward him, her hips swaying in a mesmerizing fashion he found completely erotic. A large straw hat covered her face with shadows, but her hair fell in soft waves down her back. He sure as hell appreciated the way her dress clung to her curves, outlining her body. And that small bathing suit she had on underneath her dress… Hell, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands from her.

“You sure you want to leave?” he asked.

She laughed, those green eyes sparkling. “They’re going to send someone to check on us soon if we don’t.”

She rose up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. A tingling awareness shot down his body, a heated desire he was helpless to ignore. With a touch, a look, she had him completely at her mercy. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her up closer, her soft breasts crushed to his hard chest. The hat toppled from her head and he slid his hands into her silky hair. Ellie moaned, rubbing her tongue against his, meeting him thrust for thrust. She never held back, there were no games. Ellie’s reactions were refreshingly honest.

“Ah, the lovebirds have decided to make an appearance.”

That familiar Scottish burr had Devon stiffening in surprise.

“You must be jesting,” he muttered against Ellie’s lips.

“We missed ye!” Cristian proclaimed jovially.

Ellie settled on the flats of her feet and pulled back, blinking her eyes wide, obviously as shocked as he. “Did I just imagine that?”

“Unfortunately, not.”

Slowly, reluctantly, they turned. Cristian lay upon a lounge chair, his chest bare, bathing shorts on and an ale in hand. It was the smirk that really annoyed Devon. But he wasn’t alone. Oh no, the entire group had arrived. Ashley sat on a chair next to Cristian’s, wearing a swimming suit that should have been illegal. Even worse, Camile and Miranda stood hand in hand behind the two, in equally revealing clothing. They were all dressed for the beach, as if they meant to stay awhile and all were grinning as if they knew something Devon and Ellie didn’t. Devon had to resist the urge to curse. The thought of picking up Ellie, hightailing it back to the hut and locking the door briefly flashed to mind.

“Sorry,” Ashley said, although she looked anything but. “I kept him away as long as I could.”

“Two bloody days?” Devon snapped. “That’s all we get?” He crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to glare them into shame.

Yet, surely they wouldn’t be here merely to interrupt their trip. Something important must have happened. If not, he would be forced to murder them all. “No offense, but what the bloody hell are you doing here?”

“Tis important.” Cristian lifted the amber bottle taking a drink before answering him.

Devon clenched his teeth, waiting impatiently. Yes, important indeed.

“We have a message for ye.”

“Wonderful,” Devon muttered, slipping his arm around Ellie’s waist and bringing her closer. He felt their peaceful trip slipping between his fingers, much like the sand. “What, pray tell, is the message?”

Cristian settled his bottle in the sand and stacked his hands behind his head, his chest muscles flexing. “I had an interesting visit from Michael.”

“Michael, as in, the angel?” Ellie asked.

Ashley nodded.

Ellie stiffened beside him; he could practically feel her pulse speed up and knew she expected the worst. “Tell me the demon isn’t back.”

“No,” Ashley said, standing. “Nothing so horrible.”

“Then why are you here?” A sea gull cried out in outrage, hovering over the water’s edge, demanding answers much like Devon wished to do. “What is it?”

Cristian settled his bare feet into the sand and stood. “We’ve been invited to be reinstated.”

Surely he had misheard Cristian. Devon glanced down at Ellie and read her confusion. “Reinstated?”

“Seems there are too many dark ones and not enough help on earth.” Cristian shrugged. “We’ve been invited to help maintain control. Powers reinstated and all.”

The shock was almost more than he could contemplate. Devon sank onto a lounge chair, Ellie settling next to him. Her warm hand rested on his thigh, her touch comforting. She watched him, studying his face as if looking for answers. Become a warrior again? And just when he was used to being human. He wasn’t sure how to feel.

“So much for retiring,” Miranda said.

“What about us?” Ellie asked, looking toward Ashley. “How do we fit in? We’re not fallen angels.”

Cristian winked down at her. “Ye’ll be our sidekicks.”

Ashley shoved her elbow into Cristian’s gut. “As if. We’ll all be on equal footing.”

He was barely aware of their conversation, barely cared. His gaze found the sun, a brilliant ball of light in the sky. The waves roared toward the shore, shells tumbling onto the beach. He wanted to help, needed to help this beautiful world, this planet, these people. But he didn’t want to give up what he had with Ellie.

“Like the Scooby Doo gang?” Miranda asked.

“As long as I’m not Shaggy,” Cristian muttered.

“What about Miranda?” Ellie asked.

She laughed. “I’m very happy with no powers. I’ll answer phones, thank you very much. After what we’ve been through, I’m perfectly happy being human.”

They all turned toward Devon and Ellie, awaiting their response. What the hell to say? The thought of having powers once more thrilled him, he couldn’t deny it. But he would give up every ability to make Ellie happy.

“It won’t be exactly the same,” Cristian said. “We’ll still, for the most part, be human. We decide what powers we want. Who we fight. How we age. When we die. Everything.”

Devon’s gaze found Ellie’s. He wanted a family with her, a life, but would she be willing to head back into the fray?

“Can we have a moment, if you please?” Devon asked, keeping his gaze locked to Ellie. He could read nothing in her emerald eyes and it worried him.

“Aye, of course. We’ll be at the bar.”

The small group headed toward the Cantina located up the beach. Their conversation faded and all that was left was the soft crash of waves and cry of birds. The wind swept from the sea, gently ruffling Ellie’s hair.

“Well?” Devon squeezed her hand. “Do you really want the stress? We’ve been through so much already. If you prefer this, peace and quiet…”

“Peace and quiet is good…sometimes.” She shrugged, looking thoughtfully toward the ocean. “You told me once that I’d been given these powers for a reason. It’s a gift. I’ve only just started to understand them. I want…I would like to know more.”

Devon smiled, drawing his fingers down the side of her face. “You miss it, don’t you?”

She slid him a glance and grinned. “A little.” She threw her arms around his neck. “A lot.”

“My little warrior.” Devon stood, pulling Ellie to her feet. “Then I say we start kicking some paranormal arse.”

“Indeed,” Ellie whispered against his mouth. “Indeed.”

The End

About Lori Brighton

Lori has a degree in Anthropology and worked as a museum curator. Deciding the people in her imagination were slightly more exciting than the dead things in a museum basement, she set out to become an author. She sold her first book,
Wild Heart,
to a New York Publisher and has since started self-publishing.

To find out more about Lori visit her at: www.LoriBrighton.com

Interested in more? Read an excerpt from Lori’s Young Adult novel,
The Mind Readers
below!

The Mind Readers

Lori Brighton

Chapter 1

The man sitting across from me at the cafe was thinking about murdering his wife.

He imagined stabbing her and pretending like it was a robbery. Or perhaps, he thought, he’d take her hiking, push her off a cliff and say it was an accident; that she’d slipped. I wanted to tell him it wouldn’t work, that in those CSI shows on T.V. they always suspected the husband first.

Instead, I huddled deep within my down jacket, the diner booth pressing uncomfortably hard against my back. I didn’t dare move for fear of drawing attention to myself. I didn’t want to know his thoughts. I wished he’d keep them to himself. But I suppose he couldn’t help it. The thoughts seeped from his mind like the fog currently drifting in from the harbor.

Slowly, I slid him a glance out of the corner of my eye. With his thinning brown hair combed neatly into place, and his blue button-up shirt free of wrinkles, he looked like a normal suburban dad. But if there was one thing I’d learned early on in life it was that normalcy, as we thought of it, didn’t exist. It was amazing and frightening what humans were capable of.

His pale blue eyes met mine. My heart slammed frantically against my ribcage. I dropped my gaze, my long, dark hair falling around my face like a curtain. He’d noticed me looking at him. He was wondering if I was a virgin. He hoped I was.
Pervert
. Bile crawled up my throat. I wrapped my hands around my cup of Chai tea, hoping the heat would warm my insides. It didn’t.

But the guy sitting at the table next to me who’d been imagining killing his wife and was now imagining seducing me wasn’t the problem. No, it was the guy sitting across from me, the man with his bright orange hunting cap pulled low over his eyes, the guy waiting for the right moment to rob the cafe… he was the one who worried me.

For a second I thought about alerting the owner. Common sense and years of warning got the better of me and I remained stubbornly silent. With a trembling hand, I latched onto the strap of my bag, gripped my cup and slid from the booth.