Immortal Hunter

by Kait Ballenger

  “There’s one thing that won’t stop bothering me about these photos.” David was sitting at the huge dining table as he thumbed through the pictures again, still looking for anything he could have missed that could point him in the demon’s direction. The only slight clue they’d been given was yet another symbol painted on the wall in blood, a slight variation from the first. He’d already sent the picture to Shane in hopes that it helped in his search.

  Allsún scooted to the edge of the bed and joined David at the table where the crime scene photos were sprawled out in front of him. “What’s that?”

  “When Damon told me about this, he said it was another family, but this was only a couple.”

  “Some people consider a married couple to be a family. Maybe it was just his word choice.”

  David shook his head as he continued to stare at the photos. “I think it’s something more than that, something I’m just missing.” He stared at the photos for a long moment without speaking. “This is making me question my theory about using the parents’ fear. If there are no children in this equation, it doesn’t fit the profile, even though the use of the symbol means the murders are clearly connected. Yet when Chris ran the samples to determine the type of demon and no true hits came up, the closest match was an Abyzu, and that means a child should be involved somehow.”

  Allsún leaned against the table and crossed her arms, eyeing the pictures once more. “Maybe it attacked a family with no children in order to throw us off.”

  David pushed the gruesome photos away from him, unable to stare any longer at all the unnecessary violence. “Somehow I doubt the demon cares whether we’re on its tail.”

  Allsún slid the pictures back toward him. “Don’t give up. Somebody needs to fight for these people, David. When we’re trying to diagnose an animal at the vet, we look at all the symptoms and then ask why. What could be causing everything we’re seeing? Maybe we should take a similar approach. Maybe we’re not digging deeply enough into why the demon does what it does. For example, why cut the man’s liver? Why choose such a slow method of death for him and a quicker one for his wife? It can’t be as random as it seems. And why choose to kill the wife in such a difficult way? I mean, it takes a lot to pull out someone’s insides. We need to start asking questions.”

  David leaned forward to pore over the pictures again. He held up the shot of the wife with her organs spread around her. “One of the things I’m wondering is how long he held them captive before he killed them. Look at her wounds. Even though her stomach is cut up, there’s no stomach acid. There are no stomach contents in evidence. Why is that? How long has it been since she’s eaten?”

  Allsún leaned over the photo, examining it closely. Her eyes widened. “Shite.” Her slight Irish accent thickened just a little, always a sign she was distressed.

  David pushed back his chair. “What?”

  “No wonder Damon said ‘family.’ That isn’t her stomach, David. That’s her uterus. She was pregnant.” Allsún covered her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she said, her voice muffled by her hand. She ran into the bathroom.

  He thought about following her in there straightaway, but he decided to give her a moment to collect herself.

  David looked at the photo again and realized Allsún was right. It was so obvious now that he couldn’t believe he’d missed it. No wonder the demon had chosen a slow death for the husband. It had wanted him to watch as he killed his wife and unborn child. Sickening. David’s phone buzzed against the hard wood of the table. A text message from Chris.

  Shane did amazing. Surveillance is up now.

  A sense of relief filled David, knowing at least some of the families were being monitored. Maybe he would be able to save someone after all. Though he needed to tell Shane ASAP to do another search, this time to locate and monitor pregnant women, as well. He texted Shane, and received a reply from his fellow hunter within seconds. With that taken care of, he pushed his chair out and went to the bathroom to check on Allsún.

  She was sitting on the edge of the tub with her head in her hands.

  “Allie, are you okay?”

  She wiped at her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. I know I’ve been crying a lot lately, but it’s not like there’s been a shortage of things to cry over.”

  He watched her reactions in her face as he spoke, trying to get a read on how she was feeling. “It’s okay. You’ve had to deal with all this demon shit, and you still haven’t had time to process everything that happened with Robert. I think a few tears are warranted. And if you ask me, you’re holding up extremely well, all things considered.”

  She bit her lower lip. “Thanks.”

  He had to stop himself from frowning. He knew that look. Allsún was holding something back from him. The way she’d raised her eyebrows when he mentioned Robert made him wonder if that was what she was really upset about. He knew her too well for her to hide something from him.

  Forcing the suspicions from his mind, he held up his cell phone to get her attention. “I just got a text from Chris. The surveillance is set up. I also texted Shane to let him know to add pregnant women to the monitor list, so now we just have to wait for a call if this actually works and he can find the demon.”

  Allsún wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was trying to hold herself together. He couldn’t blame her. She’d been through so much.

  A moment of silence passed between them. Allsún fiddled with the handle of the drain. David debated whether to bring up the question he’d been dying to ask and satisfy his burning curiosity about what she was holding back, because he could tell there was something.

  Despite everything that was going on, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the previous night. Their time together had been phenomenal, more than he ever could have hoped for. He’d been dreaming of being with her like that for ages. He knew now was an awful time to ask, but he had no way of knowing if Allsún was going to stick around, so he had to seize the opportunity while he could.

  “So...” he said.

  She glanced toward him and waited for him to go on. When nothing came, she replied, “So?”

  David leaned against the wall of the bathroom and crossed his arms. “I was just...uh...wondering how you were feeling about last night?”

  She shot him a look of disbelief before storming out of the bathroom. He fought not to curse. Damn, that was exactly what he’d been hoping she wouldn’t do. Couldn’t just this one thing go right? Double damn. If Allsún’s reaction was any indication as to how the rest of the night was going to go, he might as well throw in the towel now.

  * * *

  ALLSÚN FLOPPED DOWN on the bed. Sometimes she was certain men existed just to cause her misery. She’d been hoping David wouldn’t ask about last night’s lovemaking, because honestly, she didn’t want to think about it. At face value, it had been a fun night reliving some once-romantic times with an old flame.

  When she dug deeper though, her heart told her it was more than that, and that thought alone made her sick with anxiety. No matter how great things with David felt, there had been a reason why they’d broken up. He wasn’t willing to give her the family she so desperately wanted, and though she knew she shouldn’t, a part of her still blamed him for the loss of the child she had carried. She couldn’t even think about the photos of that poor woman. She supposed she should consider herself lucky for not having suffered a similar fate. The thought sent another wave of anxiety-fueled nausea rolling through her stomach.

  David followed her into the bedroom. “I know the timing sucks, but I wanted to ask you, just in case I don’t get the chance later...did I say something wrong?”

  She lifted a hand to stop him from continuing. “I’m not in the mood to talk right now, David.”

  He walked to the bedside, standing only a few feet away from her. “
We’re only ignoring the elephant in the room if we don’t talk about what happened last night.”

  She moved over to the far side of the bed to distance herself from him. “Well, we were doing better when we were ignoring it.”

  “I haven’t been ignoring it. I just didn’t have a chance to bring it up earlier.”

  She lay down and turned her back to him. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, he would leave her be. “I’m just not ready to talk about it yet, David. And if I did, you probably wouldn’t like what I had to say.”

  “How can you say that and then expect me to just leave it alone?”

  She could hear the frustration in his voice and let out a long sigh. Why did he have to do this? “David, please don’t push the issue.”

  He shifted closer to her on the bed. “I have to, especially since I have to wonder why you’re so dead set on not talking about it. You’re hiding something from me, Allsún, and I deserve to know what it is.”

  Her head snapped toward him, and she couldn’t keep the bite out of her voice. “Don’t you dare accuse me of hiding something from you. You don’t have a right to every single thought I have, and I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He stood, and for a moment, relief rushed over her as she thought he was finally giving up and going back to work. A frown crossed her face when he suddenly rounded the bed and sat down only inches away from her.

  “How can you expect to waltz back into my life, sleep with me and then not expect me to talk about it?” She tried to force herself to ignore the pain in his voice. “You avoided me with absolutely no contact for five years,” he continued. “Then you show up, nearly get yourself killed, and within twenty-four hours of you getting out of the hospital we’re in bed, and we can’t discuss it? Now I say I feel like you’re keeping something else from me, and you’re not even bothering to answer me.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “I’m not hiding anything,” she snapped.

  Damn him. How did he know? What had she done to give him any indication she was holding back? The problem was, she was holding back, but how couldn’t she? Guilt was eating away at her heart. Sure, there had been plenty of reasons why she’d slept with David: for pleasure, for fun. Because, if she was honest with herself, she still cared about him. There was also the fact that she wanted her light back. What a liar she would be if she couldn’t even admit to herself that, while not her main motivation, that had been a factor.

  “Why are you doing this, Allie? What is there to hide? You know I don’t have any sort of ulterior motive. You can tell me anything, because all I want is you.” Before she could stop him, he kissed her, and their tongues collided together in a sensual swirl.

  When he pulled away he drew her hands into his.

  “This is so wrong.”

  He shook his head, leaning in close, so he could whisper against her cheek. “If this is so wrong, then tell me to stop.”

  She opened her mouth to tell him again it was wrong, that she shouldn’t be with him, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter the words, and she knew why. It wasn’t true. “You know I can’t do that.” She couldn’t say no to him. She didn’t have the willpower.

  “You can. If you really wanted me to stop, you could say it, but you won’t, because you don’t want me to stop. I know you want this, Allsún, so show me.” He paused. His next words came out as a sexy rumble. “If you want me, kiss me first.”

  As much as she wanted to resist, as much as she wanted to tell him he was a jerk for thinking he knew her so well, he did know her that well. She couldn’t stop herself. She leaned in and kissed his lips. When she pulled away, her breath caught, and she saw a fire ignite behind David’s dark eyes. She lingered there, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. The moment only lasted long enough for her chest to ache with the hope that he would kiss her back.

  He did.

  * * *

  THE TASTE OF Allsún’s lips against his was sweet bliss. David cradled the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair. His mouth captured hers, and he expertly parted her lips with his tongue. The ache in him intensified as she wrapped her arms around him. With his free hand he pressed against her lower back, pulling her body against him. Finally he lifted her and laid her out across the bed. A small grin spread across his face. There wouldn’t be much sleeping going on there tonight.

  Before she could protest, he slipped her shirt over her head. Slowly he peeled off her clothes, allowing her to do the same to him. When they were both naked, he pulled her into his arms. She lay with her head nestled against his chest, and they stayed there together, savoring each other’s touch for what seemed like an eternity.

  Suddenly, with a coy smile, Allsún rolled onto her side, turning away from him. David grinned; he knew what she was doing. She was playing hard to get. He grabbed her by the waist and gently pulled her against him until their bodies were spooned against each other. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. The feel of her smooth bare skin against his sent shivers of excitement tingling down his back. He leaned into her neck and allowed the warmth of his breath to tickle over her skin as he kissed along her collarbone.

  With a grin, she tried to wiggle away from his touch, but he moved closer.

  “You aren’t getting away from me that easy,” he whispered.

  He trailed kisses higher up her neck until he captured the edge of her ear between his lips, nibbling on the sensitive skin. Allsún moaned and arched her back against him in pleasure. He ran his hand over the curve of her side before he gently cupped her bottom. She had the sweetest, roundest little ass he’d ever seen. He rubbed his hand over her thigh, massaging her soft skin until slowly he slipped his hand in between her legs.

  She gasped as his fingers found her clit. He massaged her sensitive flesh with slow, rhythmic movements until she writhed against him, moving with the motion of his touch. David continued to massage between her legs. She slickened against him, her sweetness dripping on to his hand.

  He leaned forward and spoke softly in her ear. “Does that mean you’re ready for me?”

  Circling her hips in rhythm with the motions of his hand, Allsún smiled over her shoulder at him. “You tell me.”

  A devious grin crossed David’s face as he nipped at her ear again. “I think you’re more than ready for me.” He positioned his fingers just outside her entrance, savoring the feel of her sweet juices, then eased his fingers inside her, flexing his hand in slow movements as he massaged her core. She pushed her hips back against him, rocking into his thrusts. He touched her for long minutes, working at a gentle pace to prepare her for him.

  Her lower lip stuck out in a pout as he pulled his hand away from her. “Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

  He grinned. “I’m not stopping. I’m giving you more.” Using both hands, he parted her thighs, opening her up so he could slide into her from behind. He slid his cock between her legs, rocking himself back and forth over her sweet spot.

  She moaned.

  “Do you want it?” he asked.

  She responded with a coy smile.

  He let out a low, playful growl and whispered in her ear, “I said, do you want it?”

  A small moan escaped her lips at the feel of his mouth at her ear again. “Yes.”

  Without another word, he eased himself inside her, pushing deep into her core. He let out a pleasured groan. She was so tight. He rocked against her, slipping in and out of her velvet embrace. His cock hardened at the feel of her soft walls tightening around him.

  “David.” His name slipped out of her mouth on a sigh. Her pleasure made him enjoy the moment even more.

  He snaked his hands over Allsún’s sides, running his fingertips over her until he palmed both her breasts. Her nipples had already hardened into taught peaks, and he rolled them
gently between his thumb and index finger until finally he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to see her beautiful face staring up into his. He slipped out of her, easing her from her side on to her back.

  Within seconds he was poised above her. He dropped his head and kissed her deeply, their tongues dancing together in a slow, sensual tango. It took everything he had in him not to plunge inside her. Tonight was made for a gentle touch, so he held himself back, easing into her as he rocked his hips against hers.

  She cried out as he pushed all the way inside her. She wrapped her legs around him, holding him close. He focused on her pleasure and brought her closer to the brink of ecstasy with slow movements, but still deep enough to satisfy her and fulfill his hunger to be inside her.

  He slipped his hand underneath her hair and cradled her head, holding her in an intimate embrace. He stared into her emerald eyes. The sweet scent of her sex filled his nose. She was beautiful, perfect, divine.

  Everything he wanted. How could he ever have let her go?

  He was hardly deserving of her, but he wanted her—and only her—anyway. If he could have her like this every night, he would die the happiest man in history. He rocked against her, bringing her closer to her climax. Her tightness enveloped him, their bodies growing more intimate with every thrust. He could feel her teetering on the brink of ecstasy, until the warmth of her center pulsed over him as she came.

  She was divine.

  He wanted to continue, but knew that the words sitting on the tip of his tongue would stop him from enjoying his own finish to its fullest extent. Slowly, he pulled out of her. She gave a contented satisfied sigh as he drew her into his arms. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but the words refused to emerge.

  Finally Allsún reached up, cupping his cheek. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You didn’t finish. You could have continued if you needed time. I wouldn’t have minded. Just because I was done didn’t meant you had to stop.”