SKIN (Demon Chaser 4)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Were you turned on by me?”

  There was a moment’s silence. “Um yes,” he cleared his throat.

  “How bad was it?”

  “It was bad, really bad, even with the mask,” he paused. “I’m really sorry Gaby. You know I view our relationship as strictly business and all that. I would never...”

  “I know, Devlin. Chill.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the Gods. I’ll call you.”

  “Thanks.” She dropped her phone on the seat next to her. There was no reason to feel so upset about this. She’d had fantastic sex with a gorgeous demon wolf, so what if he was only there because she was excreting something from her skin. Who was she kidding? She dropped her head onto her steering wheel. The thought left her feeling depressed. What was wrong with her? Men couldn’t keep their hands off her to the point of wanting to rape her, she was about to become sick for the first time in her life and all she could think about was Phoenix and the fact that he’d only wanted her because of how she had smelled. Best she suck it up, she only had ten minutes to make it home. The first minor pang of nausea hit.

  Chapter Four

  Phoenix pushed his way through the doors at the entrance and walked straight up to the reception desk. This was his first time at the Demon Control Agency Operations Department. It was the base for all Demon Chasers in this region. He took in the vinyl floors and tacky finishes. Not what he expected and yet it made sense since the front of the building portrayed just another government office.

  “Is Gabriella in please?”

  “Miss Elliot is not in today. May I take a message?” The receptionist was an older woman. Slightly overweight, not unattractive.

  “Please, can I get her number?”

  She smiled at him shaking her head, “I’m sorry, sugar. It’s company policy not to give out employee numbers.” She handed him a small square of paper and a pen. “Write down your details and I’ll make sure she gets it.” The receptionist winked.

  He believed her. Phoenix knew that this woman would give Gaby the message, but he also knew with a fierce certainty that she wouldn’t call him. Damned if he was going to wait around until she showed up. For four months he’d tried to get her out of his head and had failed. He hadn’t been able to so much as look at another woman let alone date one. There had been something there. It had been more than just sex. He wanted to ask her out, get to know her, explore what he was sure was more than just a strong attraction. No more waiting, he had made up his mind.

  “No thanks, I’ll come back another time.” He had an acquaintance that worked for the Agency. Although he’d been tempted to call in a favor right off the bat, he’d been reluctant because Jessica was definitely interested in him and would probably expect dinner in return. Right now, he needed to find Gaby. Phoenix turned to leave, he’d call Jessica the moment he got to his car. He’d find a way to deal with it if she asked him out.

  “Hey, wait up.” A human woman took a step towards him. She had big blue eyes and blond hair. “You’re looking for Gaby?”

  “Yeah. We’re old friends, I lost her number and would like to catch up with her again.” Not a complete lie.

  “How long have you known her?” She cocked her head up at him.

  “Only a couple of months, but I swear she’ll want to see me.”

  “She’s not working in this building anymore.”

  Strange, Gaby seemed to love her job. Why wouldn’t she be working out of the ops building?

  “She’s at head office on...”

  “Are you him?” A big human male walked from the elevator lobby towards them.

  “Him who?”

  “The wolf?” His hands were fisted at his sides and his jaw was tense, in short, he looked pissed.

  “I’m a wolf but...” The human clocked him, square on the jaw. The blow was surprisingly strong, so much so that he grunted on impact and even took a small step back to rebalance. Impressive...for a human.

  “This would be an unfair fight.” Phoenix put up his hands. It wouldn’t be a good idea to hit a Demon Control Agent in DCA. “Can I at least know what it is that I did?”

  “You need to turn your dog ass around and get the fuck out.”

  “Hang on, Jack.” It was the little blonde. “What if Gaby wants to see him? Shouldn’t this be her decision?”

  “How is you telling him where to find her making it her decision?”

  She looked down at her shoes and shook her head. “You know what, I’m out of it.” She turned and made her way to the lobby.

  “I don’t want to cause trouble. I just want to see Gaby. Five minutes is all I need, if she doesn’t want to see me again then I’ll be out of her life forever.”

  The human made a sound of disbelief. “You fucked her and left her. You have no right to want to see her.”

  Phoenix was fast losing his patience with this male, but he was clearly a friend of Gaby’s so it would be better to keep his cool and talk his way out of this. “Not that it’s any business of yours, it was no strings attached sex between consenting adults,” Phoenix shrugged. “I left but I need to see her again.”

  “Why?” Jack folded his arms across his chest.

  Then it dawned on Phoenix that there could be something between Gaby and this human. Come to think of it, the male did look jealous. The thought of this man touching Gaby made his heart pump faster. “Who the fuck are you?” It came out in a vicious growl. His canines had distended and his nail beds tingled meaning that his claws had distended also.

  The human just stood there, his eyes had narrowed slightly. No scent of fear, which much to his irritation impressed him. Most humans would have pissed themselves by now. This was a Demon Chaser he reminded himself, but the guy had better not have touched her or Phoenix would take him down.

  “I’m her friend you demon fuck. You hurt her.”

  It didn’t make any sense. They had agreed to one night. How had he hurt her? Phoenix lowered his eyes. “I didn’t mean to.” He spoke more to himself than the human and Jack must have believed him because he relaxed somewhat, his arms dropping to his sides. Phoenix continued, “I think that there was more there than just sex and I want to ask her out. I want to get to know her better. Give us a chance.”

  “You did hurt her. I don’t think she’ll want to see you, but I do think you guys need to talk. Once you’ve said your piece and if she doesn’t want to see you again you disappear or I will come looking for you. For the record, I still think you’re an asshole.”

  He ignored the comment. “She’s at DCA Head Office?”

  “Yeah. Don’t ask for her at reception. The code for the elevator is 7726. She’s on the sixth floor. The only reason I’m doing this is because...forget it...if you don’t leave her alone after this...”

  “Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

  “I’m not doing this for you.” Jack paused and shook his head taking a deep breath. “She doesn’t look the same.”

  “I’ll find her.”

  Phoenix could sense that the human wanted to say more so he waited. Jack finally added, “She’s changed.”

  “Yeah you said that.”

  “No, I mean she’s not as”—he paused—“not as attractive.”

  Phoenix only just managed to rein himself in at the last millisecond so that the fist that connected with the human didn’t do any permanent damage. Again the human impressed him by managing to stay on his feet. Sure he staggered back and almost fell, but didn’t.

  “Don’t you ever say such a thing about Gaby again.”

  The human squared his shoulders, already his right eye was almost swollen shut. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that...go and see her and you’ll know what I mean when you do.”

  ****

  Phoenix keyed in the code that activated the elevator and waited for the doors to open. He was nervous as hell. Once he was there she would have to give him a chance, the worst that could happen was she’d shoot him down but at least he�
�d have closure.

  The elevator arrived and the doors opened, he pushed the button for the sixth floor. It still puzzled him why she was working here. The only thing he could think of was that she’d been injured on duty. Maybe that was what the human had meant when he said she had changed and was less attractive. It was possible she had scars, when he had left her she was a susceptible human. It wasn’t important though and wouldn’t change anything.

  The elevator doors opened, the scent of cherries smothered in chocolate caught him deep in the nose. Gaby was here. There was also a subtle hint of a human scent attached, but the scent was not entirely human which meant that her demon was back. Sort of. Phoenix let his eye scan the open plan office area. It was spacious with clusters of desks at periodic intervals. Not every desk was filled, but there had to be at least fifteen people in the room most of which were females. None of them sprang out at him as being Gaby.

  Phoenix sniffed as he strode forward trying to hone in on her scent. One of the women came to her feet, she was holding a stack of files. She didn’t seem to notice him as she turned and faced the other direction. She made for the far side of the room and disappeared through one of the doors taking Gaby’s scent with her. His heart hammered in his chest and his legs threatened to buckle out from underneath him. There was no way that woman had been Gaby unless...unless she was undercover or something. She was a skin after all wasn’t she? Able to look like anyone or anything? He had to force himself to take a step forward, but once that first step was taken he found himself racing to the closed door she’d just entered.

  The door led down a hall, she was in the room at the end of the passage. So busy with her filing that she didn’t notice him enter. She was exquisite. Not in the supermodel beautiful way that Macy had been. More like the home grown girl next door who you didn’t notice till you gave her a second look and then it was impossible to stop staring once you did. Her skin held an olive tone. She wore a dress which showcased a pair of amazing legs that seemed to go on for miles. Her hair was just past her shoulders and had the color of vanilla sprinkled with cinnamon.

  It was her distended belly that kept and held his attention though. Her rounded abdomen had his mouth gaping and blood rushing to his ears. It could not be. Yet, he knew that it was more than possible. They’d had unprotected sex and now she was pregnant. Gaby had promised him she’d take something to prevent herself from falling pregnant. She’d assured him that demon skins hardly ever came into heat and that there was nothing to worry about. He’d been such a God damned fool and had believed her.

  He was angry at himself for having sex without a condom in the first place, something he’d never done before. Gaby had made him completely lose his mind which was no excuse. Another thought wormed its way into his head, one that had his blood boiling even though it should have left him feeling hope, potential relief. What if the child was not his? Her belly was well rounded, there was even a possibility she‘d already been pregnant when they were together. This didn’t add up though because she was clear that she hadn’t had sex in a long time. It was possible she was lying.

  “Is it mine?”

  Gaby shrieked as she spun and dropped all the files. They went down in a haphazard flurry of pages. Her eyes were wide. They were beautiful. He could only describe them as hazelnut threaded with just enough green to pass as green instead of brown. She looked...afraid. He had his answer, it was written all over her face.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Is it mine?” He had to hear her say it.

  “I’m at work. You shouldn’t be here.” Gaby was trying to brush him off, which irritated him. He would have his answer one way or another. Phoenix dropped to his knees in front of her, she gasped when he gently took hold of the sides of her belly and put his face to her dress. He sniffed. The unmistakable scent of wolf pup. His whelp. It had to be. His heart clenched, he was going to be a father. It left him with mixed feelings.

  “Are you done?” her voice was shaky.

  Phoenix stood. This Gaby was much taller than the Macy version of Gaby, the bottom of her head came up to his chin.

  Her tongue darted over her lips. “I know that you don’t want to be a father. Don’t worry I’ve got this covered.” She put her hand over her belly. “We’ll be okay without you. I don’t know who told you about this, but they shouldn’t have.”

  “Are you serious Gaby? You’re right, I didn’t want to be a father but I am going to be one, that changes things a little don’t you think?” He continued before she could answer, so angry he felt like erupting and running in his wolf skin in order to blow off some steam. Since that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, he put a leash on his demon and continued, “We’ll be okay without you is that is what you said? Don’t I have a say in any of this? What if I want to be a part of the child’s life?”

  “You left. I probably could have tried to find you, but...” She left the sentence hanging then thought better of it. “You didn’t want to be a father so I left it.”

  “You promised me you’d take something to prevent this from happening and you didn’t. The least you could’ve done was contacted me when you found out.”

  “I did take something. “

  Just then another one of the ladies from the office walked in eyebrows raised. “Oops didn’t mean to interrupt. Um...” She hesitated. “Is everything okay here Gaby?”

  “Yeah, Sue thanks. I’ll be right out, my…friend was just leaving.”

  “You sure?” The lady ignored Phoenix completely.

  “Yes, thank-you.”

  The woman raised her eyebrows looking at Phoenix and then back at Gaby before nodding once, she left.

  Phoenix waited till the woman was far enough away. “Get your stuff, we’re going.”

  “I have work to do I can’t just up and go.”

  “Take a sick day. I don’t care. You’re coming with me and that’s the end of it.”

  Her face flushed and her eyes narrowed. “Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t tell me what to do.” She tried to bend, gave up and went down at her knees instead, intent on picking up the dropped files.

  “Don’t do that you’ll hurt yourself.” He pulled her upright, going down himself to retrieve the documents.

  ****

  The demon wolf was just as attractive as she remembered. Phoenix was wearing a suit that looked like it had been made for him. It showcased his chiselled body to absolute perfection. No tie, the top button on his shirt was undone. Clean shaven with the same styled haircut. His eyes were just as dark, they flared with anger right now instead of the desire she remembered. What else had she expected since she was back to being plain old Gaby and on top of that was about the size of an overgrown whale. What did it matter? Phoenix had found out about her pregnancy and was here to stake a claim on what he felt was his. It had nothing to do with her.

  When she’d first found out about the pregnancy, it had left her depressed for days. She’d never once considered having an abortion, but the pregnancy was definitely unwanted. After her own dubious childhood growing up in foster care and at the various orphanages, Gaby would never consider adoption as an option either.

  Devlin had called it and had called it correctly; she was pregnant with twins, one baby in each uterus. She wondered if Phoenix already knew.

  The big wolf stood in one easy motion and held out the stack of files to her. “You need to start taking it easy or you could hurt yourself or the baby.” He’d at least calmed down a bit. “Look, Gaby, please come with me. We really need to talk. It can’t wait.”

  He was right. There was still a big part of her that would rather avoid dealing with this but since he was here she had to face up to it. “Okay,” she nodded her head. “Give me a few minutes to take care of these.” She held up the files. “I also need to let my boss know.”

  “Thank you. I’ll wait in the main office.”

  ****

  They entered his apartment. It was on the
upmarket side of town, just up the road from where Macy’s place had been. Spacious, with great views of the park, designer furniture, it must have cost a small fortune. Gaby was not surprised. Phoenix looked the part, with his stylish exterior and fancy car. She still had no idea what he did for a living. The man in question removed his suit jacket, slinging it over the back of one of the leather chairs.

  “Sit.” Phoenix gestured to a sofa that looked far too perfect to actually sit on. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No thanks, let’s just get this over and done with.”

  “I would prefer it if you sat down...drank something. Please at least sit, your back looks like it might be giving you a bit of trouble.”

  Shit, she realized that she had one of her hands pushed into her lower back which was aching. Gaby nodded and sat down on the surprisingly comfortable sofa. Phoenix disappeared for a minute and returned with two big glasses of orange juice. He sat down across from her and set the drinks down on the nearby coffee table.

  “Before you say anything,” she held up her hand. “We need to be very clear on one thing, I went to medical the next morning. The doctor confirmed that I was not ovulating, but I insisted that he give me the shot anyway. I was sick for three days and yet still managed to fall pregnant,” she paused. Chances were good he wasn’t going to believe a word she said. “You’re welcome to go and discuss this with Doctor Devlin at DCA.”

  He ignored her last statement. “I thought that demon skins only go into heat after they are mated and even then it’s rare. You told me this yourself. Although the scent is weak, I can smell that your demon is back.”

  The way he said it made her feel like he hadn’t trusted her before and that he trusted her even less now.

  “My demon is mostly dormant and will remain that way until I give birth,” she paused. “I don’t know much about my people.” It felt weird even calling skins her people. “I was left on the steps of a church when I was just three days old. I only found out that something was different about me when I reached puberty. It was only at the age of twenty one that I found out about demons and exactly what I was.”