by Scott, J. S.
What if he hurts her? Talia felt ill at the thought that anyone could hurt Pumpkin.
She finally gave up searching, and flopped onto her couch, twisting a lock of her hair nervously as she thought about the note again. He said he was a Sentinel. So this demon was like Hunter, trying to protect humans. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t harm her cat. Hunter had rescued her, but he was in no way what Talia would call kind or nice. Although Talia had never been afraid of him, or sensed true evil in him, he hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy either. He’d been angry, disagreeable, and rude.
But he did save my life.
Whatever was pursuing her now was evil. Not all of the time, but often enough to send her hiding out until its essence disappeared. Thinking back, there may have been times when she actually didn’t feel malicious intent, but she’d felt the presence of a demon, and that had been enough to make her flee.
The house was quiet, and Talia looked around her home, already feeling the gloom and emptiness without Pumpkin. The Sentinel had taken the one thing in the world that meant something to her, the one thing that brightened her solitary life. And she hated him for it.
“I want my cat back, you bastard,” she screamed at the ceiling, as though the demon could hear her.
She didn’t care if the Sentinel was a vile beast; she’d wait him out, and then she’d take his damn head off for taking an innocent animal to get what he wanted.
Talia looked over at her desk in the corner of her living room. Jumping up suddenly, she ran to her computer, searching through the stacks of neatly printed out papers next to it.
“Is everything here?” she muttered anxiously, sifting through the papers to check her research. Breathing a sigh of relief that the Sentinel probably hadn’t come inside her home, Talia realized that it was all there, the stacks of research on demon history all in order.
Research. Learn. Discover.
“Damn it.” Talia tried to fight the compulsion that drove her to find out more about the demons and their history, discover every detail she could about them. “Is there nothing that’s under my control anymore?” she spat out, disgusted.
She’d started experiencing the compulsion to study demon history a few months ago, and she rarely got any relief. Her own ancient history projects had been put to the side, waiting until she got over these weird, uncontrollable urges to gather data on the demons. It wasn’t that she wanted to do it; she had to do it. Personally, after Hunter had rescued her from the Evils, she’d never wanted to think about or see another demon again. But the overwhelming drive to find out about the demons wasn’t her choice. Sometimes the obsession lasted for an hour or two, sometimes an entire day or days. The need to gather more information consumed her, beating at her mind and body until she had to go back to researching the demons or lose her mind.
In a daze, Talia brought her computer up and started to flip through her papers.
I need more information.
Really, what she wanted was to find her cat, but the urge to research was hitting her hard this time, and whatever she wanted was wiped out of her mind, her total focus centered on finding missing information on the demons.
She worked frenziedly, her fingers flying over computer keys, like a crazed woman who either had to find answers or face dire consequences.
It was two hours later when Talia finally got control of herself again, her delirium calming as she documented some of the information and conclusions she’d made on the demons during the last few hours.
Talia got out of the chair, still feeling dazed, and walked to the kitchen while shaking her head to try to clear her mind.
She looked at the clock, realizing that she hadn’t missed an entire day. Just a few hours this time. Taking the cat food from the bag of groceries on the counter, she put it away, her hands still shaking.
What the hell is happening to me?
She didn’t want to research demons, but it was like her mind and body were being controlled by something or someone else a hell of a lot more powerful than her. It was terrifying, unsettling, and the urges were getting closer and closer together.
Popping a low-calorie dinner in the microwave, Talia thought about the reasons this was happening, but she couldn’t come up with anything other than it being something supernatural.
I thought I shut all that down years ago.
It wasn’t that she didn’t see paranormal entities anymore; she just didn’t react to them. It had meant intense struggle and discipline to teach herself not to respond, but she’d finally been able to separate her emotions from seeing and feeling the otherworldly beings.
Taking her dinner into the living room, she sat on the couch, putting her food and a soda on the coffee table. Usually, Pumpkin would be right there, trying to discover if Talia had any food she wanted, and then turn up her kitty nose when she smelled nothing appetizing.
She wanted her cat back.
She wanted to not feel so damn alone.
She wanted to be normal and not feel compelled to research demons.
“I hate demons,” she whispered fervently, a lone tear trickling down her cheek.
Her sorrow over losing her only loyal friend swamped her, along with the delayed reaction of her compulsive research frenzy.
For the first time in a very long time…Talia Maris buried her head in the pillow on the couch and wept, finally sobbing out all of her loneliness, unhappiness, and despair into the tattered pillow from her couch, wondering, now that she’d started, if she could ever stop.
Meow. Meow. Meow.
Drew scowled down at the pathetic creature at his feet, wondering what the hell the feline needed now. Its cry was plaintive and pleading, but he’d already opened his last can of tuna, and he didn’t know what else to do.
Christ! He really did hate cats.
Several hours had passed, and he wondered if he could finally take the cursed feline back to the woman who owned it. Maybe the cat was homesick. Did that happen to cats?
Drew felt a pang of sympathy in his chest, and the thought of putting the animal back into the cage wasn’t sitting right with him. He, of all creatures, knew what it was like to be caged and unable to escape. It was a Sentinel’s greatest nightmare, and although he disliked this cat immensely, even he couldn’t bring himself to be that cruel again.
Talk to the woman first and bargain with her. Leave the cat here. She can come and pick it up.
Meow!
He pulled another truffle from his pocket, stripped it, and put it in his mouth, ignoring the look of longing the cat was giving him. After chewing and swallowing, he looked down at the animal and told it adamantly , “Chocolate isn’t good for you. Not something you want, believe me. You’re better off sticking to fish.” He’d read that somewhere, that chocolate was bad for cats and dogs. And the damn giant kitty had already devoured every can of tuna in his house. Certainly it couldn’t possibly be hungry after its gluttonous orgy on several cans of fish.
Disgusted that he was actually talking to a cat, he transported slowly back to the woman’s house, hoping to God that she was back and would take her behemoth pain-in-the-ass animal back to her home where it belonged.
He stopped outside her door, reading the note in front of his face with a grin.
Demon Bastard!
If you return, you’d better have my kidnapped cat, and she’d better be well and healthy or I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to the wolves.
Yep. Obviously, the woman really loved her cat. He grimaced a little and put one hand to his groin over the comment about his balls. Obviously that was never going to happen, but he found it pretty gutsy that she’d even written those words to a demon.
Drew’s hand stopped in mid-air as he reached for the note, his smile turning to a look of remorse as his attention was captured by the muffled, gut-wrenching sound of a woman sobbing. He
listened for a minute, squirming on the doorstep, wondering if he was the cause of her distress. Really, could losing a wretched feline make a woman that unhappy?
The house went silent, and a moment later the door was swung open by a furious female, her face still damp from tears that she’d obviously tried to wipe away.
“Where’s my Pumpkin?” she demanded, outraged.
Drew stepped into the wide open door, gaping at the woman in shocked surprise. “Pumpkin?” he croaked. “Please don’t tell me you named your enormous spawn of Satan after a vegetable.”
“A pumpkin is not a vegetable; it’s a fruit. In fact, it’s actually a berry. Pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds,” Talia answered indignantly. “And I named her that because she’s the same pretty orange color as a ripe pumpkin. Where is she?”
Okay, the cat was a female. Drew hadn’t had any desire to find out. “Safe. In fact, she’s just finished cleaning out my stock of tuna. How did you know I was here?”
He flinched as the female slammed the door behind him.
“I felt your slimy demon presence,” she informed him with loathing in her voice.
“I’m a Sentinel,” he replied indignantly.
“Same difference,” she challenged. “A demon is a demon. You’re obviously the type of beast who hurts an innocent animal to get what he wants.”
“I didn’t hurt your damn cat, woman,” he answered, getting irritated. He was a Sentinel, and he wasn’t evil. Maybe a little underhanded, but he hadn’t exactly had nefarious intentions.
“You stole her from the only home she’s ever known. I’ve had her since she was a kitten,” she answered hotly.
Drew watched Talia as she strode across the room. She wasn’t swaying her hips seductively or moving in any sensual way, but his eyes surveyed her regal walk, her tall, statuesque frame accentuating the sexiest, longest legs he’d ever seen. Her curvy hips were the type that a man wanted to grasp onto as he was slamming his cock inside her.
She turned and he met her fiery green eyes. Yeah, she was angry, but she chewed on her full bottom lip nervously, the whole package bringing to mind a woman of fire and ice, a fierce female who was also vulnerable. And he suddenly wanted nothing more than to protect her, take away the pain he could sense inside her.
Tapping her foot impatiently, she crossed her arms in front of her. “Well, are you giving me Pumpkin or not?”
Bloody hell! Drew felt a spark light in his soul, and he cringed at the pain it caused, almost like the eye’s reaction to a bright light suddenly being turned on in a darkened room. It was jarring, and he was more than a little stunned.
He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again, realizing exactly what was happening. His eyes narrowed on Talia, mesmerized by her every feature. Even the glasses perched on her nose looked adorable.
His cock hardened like a rock, and the light in his soul grew even brighter.
Oh, hell no.
His mind tried to deny it, but he couldn’t ignore the reaction happening in the rest of his body.
The woman he’d been tracking for over a month, the woman who avoided him like the plague, Dr. Talia Maris, was his radiant.
The Sentinel was staring at her, saying nothing, and Talia was looking right back at him, but his intense scrutiny was starting to unnerve her.
As she returned his stare, she admitted to herself that Drew was far from being a vile beast. He was more like a supercharged sexual fantasy. His slightly lilting Irish accent wasn’t heavy, but it was there, making him even hotter. And he was plenty hot enough already. His eyes were dark and broody; his midnight-dark hair was neatly cut, but messy enough to conjure heated thoughts of disheveling it even more. And God, he was tall. Talia had spent her entire life being as tall as or taller than most men, but Drew towered over her in a way that made her feel almost dainty. He had a build to match his height, powerful shoulders filling out a black leather jacket to perfection, and a massive chest, every inch of him appearing to be solid muscle. Talia could see a pair of shiny black boots peeking out from under a pair of jeans that molded to him like a well-fitted glove.
“If you had stopped running away from me, I wouldn’t have had to steal your cat just to have a conversation,” Drew told her huskily.
“Why do you need to talk to me? I haven’t seen a demon in years, not since Hunter rescued me and put me under Sentinel protection. I haven’t even felt anything except the guardian Sentinels since then. Until recently. Now it’s like every Evil in the western United States is after me.” Talia sat down on the couch, feeling emotionally drained.
“How do you know it wasn’t me? And how do you feel demons, anyway?” Drew questioned hoarsely. “Incidentally, Hunter just happens to be my brother.”
Talia was a little startled that Drew and Hunter were related. Yeah, Hunter was attractive in an angry kind of way, but other than the dark coloring, they didn’t look anything alike. “I’m sensitive to all things paranormal. I have been as long as I can remember. I’m a freak, a woman who can sense otherworldly beings. I can sense the Evils. I know if they’re malevolent or not. The guardians feel peaceful. Other demons don’t. When you arrived just now, I sensed your demon presence, that you weren’t a guardian, but I could tell you weren’t an Evil.” Talia sighed and hugged the wet pillow she’d been crying on to her chest. “I guess I just started ditching any demon except the guardians in the last few months. I didn’t stop to consider whether you were evil or not.”
“You’re being pursued by Evils?” Drew asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Yes. I don’t know why. I’m under Sentinel protection. I nearly made a bargain with the Evils to try to save my mother’s life. Hunter got to me just in time.”
Drew sat on the other end of the couch, bringing them eye-to-eye. “Bastards,” he muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, “You have to stop your research, Talia. That’s why I was looking for you. It needs to be destroyed and I need your promise that you’ll stop. What do you think would happen if the general public learned about our existence?”
She knew very well what would happen: hysteria, chaos, mayhem, and panic of epic proportions. It wasn’t as if Talia didn’t know that, but she wasn’t doing this to out the demons to the world. “I can’t stop,” she answered desperately. “And you can’t destroy my research. I’m not going to tell anyone. Please.” Just the thought of Drew destroying her research was putting her into a panic.
Drew got up and sauntered over to her desk in the corner. “Is this it?”
Talia sprang off the couch, slamming into Drew in an effort to keep him from touching her work. “No, dammit. You can’t do this.” She started to hyperventilate, sweat starting to run down her face in tiny rivulets. She scooped up the tall pile of documents, holding her research to her chest protectively. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I’m not doing this for anyone else but myself.”
“Calm down, woman,” Drew said calmly. “It’s just information.”
“It’s more than that to me. I hate demons. I never wanted to see one ever again after the incident with Hunter. But a few months ago, I started getting compulsions, painful episodes that made me research, made me document. I can’t explain it to you, but it’s something I have to do. I can’t stop or I would. I have my own projects I need to get done.” Her chest heaving, a death grip on her research, she stared at him pleadingly. “It’s something I can’t control, and if you destroy it or stop me, I think I might just lose my mind.” Talia couldn’t believe she was actually sharing this information with Drew, but she didn’t see any other way to explain.
“Painful?” Drew asked, confused. “It actually hurts you?”
She nodded reluctantly. “Physically and emotionally. I zone out for a while, lose time. Sometimes I come out of it in an hour or two. Sometimes it takes a day. Or
longer. I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing it because I can’t not do it. I think it’s something supernatural, but I don’t know what.”
“What does it feel like? What’s driving you?” Drew asked, his brows drawing together in concern.
“I don’t know,” Talia answered dejectedly. “But it scares me. I used to be very normal, very boring. I worked on my ancient history research and wrote my text for work. But I wasn’t obsessed; I wasn’t crazy. Now I feel like I’m losing it.”
“Put the papers down, Talia. I wouldn’t do anything that would hurt you. Trust me.” Drew’s eyes turned dark and intense, but his voice remained reassuring and warm.
Her grip on the pile of data loosened, but she didn’t put it down. “I don’t trust anyone,” she answered honestly.
“Except Pumpkin?” Drew teased, a small dimple appearing on his cheek as he grinned.
“I’ve found animals to be very reliable,” she answered defensively. “People other than my deceased mother? Not so much.”
Drew approached her slowly and pried the documents out of her hands, putting them back on the desk and leading her over to the couch. “Sit,” he demanded.
Talia sat. She didn’t know why, but for some unknown reason she really wanted to trust Drew. There was something about him that drew her to him, and it wasn’t just the fact that he was a hot male with a sexy dimple. “I can’t lose my research, Drew. I won’t.”
“Something tells me you won’t need it,” he replied roughly, crouching down in front of her.
“Of course I will,” she answered, ready to jump up again to grab her papers, but Drew blocked her with his massive body.
“Listen to me,” he insisted gruffly. “I don’t know why this is happening to you, but we’ll figure it out. I can’t hurt you, Talia. It isn’t possible. You’re my radiant.”
In all of her research, Talia had never heard that term before. “Your what?” she queried, confused.
“My mate,” Drew clarified. “Every Sentinel has a chosen mate, one woman who can lighten their soul. You’re that woman for me.”
