by Sharon Kay
He smiled again, and—oh my god—he had dimples, on top of all his gorgeousness. He moved with her, boldly placing his big hands on her hips. Her lids grew heavy, wanting to slide shut so she could luxuriate in the sudden warmth flowing from those hands into her body. But she couldn’t look away from those eyes. She smiled again, allowing his touch. Tracing her fingers lightly along his shoulders, she wound her arms around his neck. She couldn’t remember the last time she flirted like this.
A tiny voice in the back of her mind needled her. You don’t know anything about him. Maybe she should think twice about being so forward. But she never doubted her strength. Tonight, daring and power were her wingmen.
The tempo of the music picked up and she turned away from him, only to raise one arm up and back to wrap around his neck. She leaned back into him, until she felt their bodies press together, her back to his chest. For an instant, she thought she heard him groan. His hands found her hips again and locked her against his pelvis as they began a slow, dirty grind. One of his hands left her hip to travel up to her waist, then farther up to caress her ribs, stopping maddening short of her breast before moving all the way down her thigh and finally back to her hip. He did it again on her other side, turning her entire body into a live wire.
Then a tiny spark of reason emerged in her lust-fogged brain. She paused. God, she was so into him, she almost forgot they were in public. In a packed night club, in front of her friends. Nicole turned around to face him, touched his arm, and nodded toward the front door. He kept one hand at the small of her back as they made their way through the gyrating crowd.
He took her hand in his as they stepped through the entrance and out onto the sidewalk. They walked several feet away from the front door before Nicole stopped to lean against the brick wall of the building. The cool night air felt good against her skin as she looked up at him. “I’m Nicole.”
“Gunnar,” he murmured, his hand brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. “I like dancing with you, Nicole.”
She loved the way her name sounded on his lips. “Me, too. I just needed some fresh air.”
“I’m glad you decided to take me along,”
“Of course. Maybe I’m not done dancing with you.” She wasn’t usually this bold. Where had that come from?
“Is that so?” He placed his hands against the wall on either side of her head. His body blocked everything else on the street as he slowly lowered his head toward hers. She knew he was giving her the chance to back out, but every nerve ending in her body screamed for his kiss. He smelled like leather and smoke and woods on a rainy night. She inhaled his scent, her body responding to the heat rolling off of his, the intensity making her feel like they were right back on the dance floor.
“Yes,” was all she could manage to whisper before his mouth closed over hers.
Her lips were soft, sweet, and giving under his demands. Right now Gunnar didn’t feel any need for teasing, gentle kisses. Oh, they had their time and place, but not following the round of hot dirty dancing that had just gone down inside. Her lips parted further, welcoming him as his tongue swept inside her mouth. She tasted delicious, a sweet mix of mint and Jack Daniels. Chest to chest, he felt her heart speed up, and damn, but he couldn’t resist touching her. He took one hand off the brick wall behind her and slid his fingers into her soft blond hair. Her arms wrapped around his neck once more, keeping him close as she sighed into him. Every inch of her skin that he had touched was silky smooth, belying the strength of the sinewy muscles beneath.
He stifled a groan as she moved one hand down to his waistband, teased her fingers along the edge, and then found one front belt loop. She hooked a finger into it and tugged hard, pulling him flush against her lean curves. He couldn’t resist pressing against her just a little more, making sure she felt the evidence of his arousal. He’d been hard for her ever since she first touched him on the dance floor, and when she rocked her perfect ass up against him, he nearly lost it. He broke away from her lush mouth to trail a line of kisses along her jaw and down her throat, reveling in the way she sighed his name.
He lifted his head to study her face. The bright emerald of her eyes darkened with desire as they flicked down to his mouth and back up. Her lips were slightly parted and swollen from his kiss. Still keeping one hand in her hair, he moved his other down her back to settle at her waist. His body roared for another taste of her. He bent to kiss her mouth again, then froze.
Nicole stiffened, too. They both looked toward the street corner, where a man was trying to snatch a woman’s purse. Unfortunately, she tried to fight him off.
“You are not taking my Hermes, you freak!” she shrieked. He cuffed her head and she started to fall, but because she was wearing the purse across her body, he lost his balance as well.
Gunnar advanced on the pair as a zing of energy surged around his body. A sudden forceful gust of wind shot past him, lifting the hair at the back of his neck. The man lost his grip on the purse strap and crashed to the ground. Gunnar planted his knee in the man’s back and looked for the woman, who was already being helped by Nicole.
“Are you okay? Do have someone you want to call?” Nicole asked her.
“I’m fine. I just live a block away, right over there.” The woman clutched her over-priced purse with a white-knuckled grip. “Thanks for helping me.”
Nicole leveled a stare at her. “I’m glad we were here. But be careful, okay? That bag is beautiful, but it’s not worth you getting hurt.”
After more assurances from the woman, they watched her walk across the street and into her building.
Only then did Gunnar let the man up, snarling, “I don’t want to see your ugly fucking face around here again.” The man ran down the dark sidewalk until he disappeared.
Gunnar turned to face Nicole, who stood with her arms wrapped around herself. “Wow,” she said to him. “That was really something.”
He quirked an eyebrow.
“How you helped that woman. That was incredible.”
Gunnar shrugged it off, but wondered why she pretended that she had nothing to do with the outcome of the situation. She’d used her power again. Hadn’t tried to mask it. She had to know what she was capable of. Why play coy now? And what the hell was she?
One thing he knew for sure was that he needed to talk to her somewhere else. He didn’t want her to run back to her friends if she didn’t like his questions. “Let’s walk a bit.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
As if on cue, her cell phone chimed with a text message. “They saw me leave with you and now they’re freaking out,” she murmured. “Let me just tell them we’re right out here and I’m fine.”
Message sent, she walked beside him. “Have you ever done that before?”
“Grind with a hot woman in a club? Make out with said hot woman outside on the sidewalk? Or stop a thief?”
She grinned at him. “The last one.”
“Wasn’t I good at the first two?”
She huffed out a breath of air. “Yeah,” she said softly as she looked up at him. “Real good.” Her green eyes regarded him expectantly.
He considered his response. He had stopped thieves before, but at this minute she didn’t need to know they were dangerous demons who nabbed powerful artifacts that didn’t belong in their evil hands. She also didn’t need to know that he had been a thief himself. “May have broken up a few fights,” he finally said.
She nodded. They walked in silence for a minute until they reached the end of the block. Crossing the street, they entered a small park. “How about you?” he continued. “Have you done that before?”
She flashed a mischievous smile and tilted her head to the side. “Which thing?” she whispered, reaching for his hand.
“How you helped that woman back there.”
She froze. Surprise, then fear, flickered across her eyes before she managed to school her expression into one of simple confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t do muc
h to help her. You did.”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who tackled that guy.”
“After you had already done something to knock him down.”
“How could I have knocked him down?”
“That’s what I want to know. I felt your power, Nicole. What did you do?”
“P-power?” she squeaked.
“Yes, power. Yours. What. Is. It?”
She stared at him, her expression wide-eyed terror. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice hovered between a breath and a whisper. “I have to go.”
“No, you don’t.” He gripped her hand tightly. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what you are.”
CHAPTER 3
OH, GOD. HE knew. An arctic windstorm splintered Nicole’s lungs. How could he connect a little gust to her? She had to protect her family’s secrets. Had to get away from him. Unfortunately, they were alone in the small park, observed only by trees, manicured shrubs, and a few wooden benches. She mentally kicked herself for letting him lead her away from the club.
Adrenaline surged through her body as she debated her two options: fight or flight. Her eyes calculated. Her mind focused, her body readied to shift into familiar fight patterns. This man was muscle-on-muscle, but she had to try.
She shoved her free hand against his chest while hooking a leg behind his knees. He only gripped her hand tighter, and they both went down. As they fell, she broke his hold and rolled away from him. She spotted a large stick on the ground, scooped it up with a breeze and sent it flying toward his chest. He leapt up faster than she thought possible, and he caught it. Had been ready for it. Heck, he’d probably goaded her on purpose.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Nicole.” He dropped the stick and stepped closer, his expression neutral. “I just want to know what you are.”
“I’m an attorney.” She moved back.
“We both know that’s not what I mean.”
She stared at him. The warm night air stuck to her skin, pressing in on her, making it hard to breathe. All their lives, she and her sisters had kept their gifts to themselves, feeling like they were freaks of nature. Were there others like them in the world? Could she trust Gunnar? She had met him barely an hour ago. He could be a lunatic. Regret and shame slammed into her. Why did I act like that in the club? Had he put some kind of spell on her? She certainly didn’t make a habit of public make-out sessions. She swallowed hard. “What are you?”
“Ah-ah, ladies first, Nicole. But I’ll give you a small hint.”
He lifted his hand. A tiny orange light popped into the air, dancing in the center of his upturned palm. The light grew bigger, until it was the size of an apple. It glowed and bobbed slightly, then went out as quickly as it had appeared.
She didn’t even care that her mouth was hanging open. “What was that?”
“Demonfire.”
“D-demon…fire?”
“It’s a useful weapon.”
“For who?”
“Well, it’s particularly effective on the lesser demons, but–”
“What are you talking about?” she yelled. “You just made fire appear in your hand! And you’re not hurt!”
“I created it. It won’t hurt me.”
“Okaaay. That was a very cool magic trick.” She edged backward.
He was at her side in a flash. “Uh-uh.”
“Gunnar, you’re scaring me.”
“I told you I won’t hurt you. And from what I’ve seen, you’re not entirely defenseless.”
Completely unnerved, Nicole’s legs shook. She felt like she had just fallen down the rabbit hole, and there was no climbing back up. Ever. She didn’t know if it was real or not, but Gunnar made fire appear in his hand. She instinctively knew that if he wanted to, he could truly hurt her. The rip-her-to pieces kind of hurt. She had already tried to fight him, with no success—now it was time for flight.
Whirling, she ran in the direction of the club. She managed to get all of ten feet from him when he grabbed her around the waist and twisted them both in mid-air. They hit the ground. He absorbed most of the impact himself, then rolled and pinned her beneath him.
Seconds stretched out as he studied her. He relaxed his hold on her a fraction, but she still couldn’t move under his massive bulk. “Nicole,” he said softly. “There are many things I want to do to you, but hurting you is not on the list.”
She sucked in a breath at his bold statement. I don’t want to die here, like this, with a fire-conjuring madman. Fighting hadn’t worked. Flight hadn’t worked. She didn’t want to end up dead in the park, so that left her with two options—distract him or start talking.
She gazed up at him with wary eyes. He was so handsome. A lock of dark hair fell over his forehead, and his lips looked way too kissable. Dangerous. She clenched her teeth and shoved the jumble of thoughts from her mind, disgusted with herself. He had her trapped, pinned on the ground, for heaven’s sake. She had to figure out a way to get away from him, not closer to him, like her traitorous body wanted.
His blue eyes took on a soft turquoise luster, like in the club. Back then she thought she had imagined it. But now? “Why do your eyes look like they’re glowing?”
“Certain situations cause it, like when I’m fighting someone. Or heightened emotions can cause it. Like anger.” He paused, pinning her with blue heat. “Or lust.”
She drew in a breath, feeling the lengths of their bodies pressed together on the ground. She had the sinking feeling that distraction wouldn’t work. Yeah, maybe he was attracted to her, but he also seemed extremely determined. She may be able to briefly take his mind off of her power, but then she’d end up right back where she was.
“I intend to keep you here until you answer my question,” he murmured, the sensual timbre of his voice sending little shivers down her arms. “I have all night. And I’m pretty comfortable right where I am.”
Nicole let out a shaky breath. She swallowed hard. She was really going to do this. After years of hiding her gift, years of being so careful, she was about to spill her secret to someone she barely knew. Dammit, she was trapped. Maybe she could get away with just telling him a few details. Maybe then she could get away. “I…,” she began. “I don’t know what I am.”
If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. His face revealed no reaction. Blue flames danced in his eyes, waiting, watching her.
Another shaky breath. “I just always thought I was a regular person who had a really weird talent.” The words came a bit easier. “I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. I don’t know anything about demons or supernatural beings. I just thought I was a freak. A human freak.”
More silence as he gazed down at her. Shifting, he stretched his long body next to hers, head propped on an elbow, one big hand resting solidly on her hip. “What exactly can you do?”
“This,” she said, summoning a breeze to gently lift his hair. “Or I call a stronger gust, like with the purse-snatcher tonight. I can manipulate air currents, make them stronger, change their direction, and cause them to move objects. I can affect air temperature a little bit, too.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Just a little–I’m still working on that part.”
Blue eyes blinked and he gave a shake of his head, dark locks swishing across his forehead. “Nicole, those skills are powerful. Potentially lethal.”
“I know. That’s another reason why I always kept it secret. I was afraid I’d hurt someone. Or get myself locked up in the loony bin.”
“Did your parents ever help you figure it out?”
She shook her head. “They were killed in a car accident when I was small. I don’t know if they even knew. And my adoptive parents don’t know about this.”
“Who else knows about you?”
“Just my sisters.” She would share her secret–and only hers, at least right now. She saw no reason to put her sisters in danger, in case Gunnar turned out to be a nut job.
“So, these skills of yours–you’ve just figured them out on your own?”
She nodded. No reason to spill that she and Brooke had worked long hours together, honing their gifts.
“Nicole,” he began, and damn it, but she liked hearing him say her name. “You need to be very careful. If another being had seen you tonight, had felt your power like I did, you could be in danger.”
“But you just said I’m not defenseless.”
“No, but there are creatures out there that are worse than any nightmare. You could be kidnapped or tortured, manipulated for your power–and your sisters could be used as leverage. Not all supernaturals are honorable. Not all are above meddling for the sole reason of making someone else miserable. And some are just greedy for power.”
“What kinds of other creatures are there?” Her curiosity was piqued. If he was making all this up, he was doing a good job. She wanted to see how far he would take it.
“Lots of them. You have the ones from pop culture stories, like vampires, werewolves, and fairies. Then there are imps, nymphs, sprites, shape shifters, and demons. Many different species of demons.”
“And what are you?” she whispered. Part of her wanted to know what he was, and part of her didn’t, but the words tumbled from her lips before she could think twice.
“I’m a Lash demon.”
“You? A demon?” she sputtered, sitting up fast. She knew he let her. “But you’re not–”
“Not what?”
“Not…hideous. Deformed. Scaly.”
“My, you have a way with compliments,” he said dryly. “That’ll keep me going all week, knowing I’m not hideous.”
“Sorry.” She looked down. “I guess I had some pre-conceived notions.”
“S’okay. There are some truly hideous, deformed, and scaly creatures out there.”
“Do you have horns?”
“No.”
“Do you bite people?”
