Demon's Hunger Read Online Free PDF

smiled.
    "So what brings you all this way, Mr. Hawkins?" she asked, her tone professional, impersonal, a little breathless. Sexy.
    He studied her for a minute, judging her sincerity, and he realized that she honestly didn't recall speaking with him last night, setting up this meeting. Weird.
    "Dain," he corrected.
    She nodded, offered her hand. "Vivien."
    He took her hand, a brief touch, and he felt her tremble. Stepping back, he let his hand drop in direct opposition to what his instinct encouraged. He wanted to draw her close, to touch her, to taste her. Nothing gentle.
    An image crashed through him of backing her up against the wall and pressing his weight down on her, his mouth open on hers.
    Demon magic, enticing and forbidden, swirled up in sultry temptation, rising from the scorched bone he carried with him, combining with the quieter thrum of the hybrids' weaker power that he had sensed when standing on her porch. He was surprised that their aura had penetrated the dark cloud cast by the demon bone.
    Maybe he'd just picked up his comrades' tension, because Ciarran and Darqun had sensed the hybrids, too, and they'd gone off to investigate.
    Leaving him with Vivien Cairn.
    Alone with her.
    Temptation, temptation.
    But there was something more here, more powerful than mere hybrids, something Dain couldn't identify.
    A full-blooded demon in the vicinity?
    He couldn't be sure. The damned demon bone with its malevolent aura obscured his senses, and its power had only grown stronger since he'd started carrying around the charm bag he'd picked up in New Orleans.
    Like they were linked somehow. Or was that just his suspicion?
    He needed answers.
    Why were the hybrids after these little bags of bones? He needed to know what the hell was going on, what he was up against, and Vivien Cairn just might be able to help him out with that. She was a bone specialist, after all.
    His gaze slid to hers. She was watching him, studying him, casting surreptitious glances at his mouth, his chest, his legs. Wanting him, but making an effort to hide it.
    Nice to know he wasn't the only one affected.
    "I have a bone that I'd like you to look at." He winced as he realized the dual implication of his words. Smooth, very smooth.
    Her eyes widened. Beautiful eyes, almond tipped, intelligent. A sheen of translucent gold over dark moss green, blending to an alluring hazel. There was a whisper of shadow there, a hint of worry and fear.
    Damn. He was a sucker for a damsel in distress.
    And she was that. He'd checked her out before approaching her, not just her credentials in forensic anthropology—though those were impressive enough—but everything he could find. The pieces fit together to create a very interesting whole.
    Vivien Cairn was brilliant. Tough. Independent. And she'd known her share of losses: Her dad had left when she was small. Her high school boyfriend had been killed in a horrific car crash.
    He knew those things about her, and they made him wonder who the woman was underneath the cool, professional mien. He'd been able to watch a couple of interviews with her on the Internet, and she'd come across as very focused, very reserved.
    Definitely different than she was in person. The heat she put off made a pulsing coil of lust settle in his groin.
    The silence spun out, taut, nerve-racking.
    She reached up, caught a wispy strand of hair by her right ear, and tugged on it, like she expected it to be longer.
    "I like your hair," he said, giving up on finesse. He did. It was a short, dusky cap, coffee brown-black, with a faint touch of red. Mahogany. The spikes and wisps accentuated the curve of her cheekbones. He wanted to shove his fingers through her hair, muss it up even more as he kissed her.
    He blinked. What the hell was wrong with him? It was as if she were a magnet and he a metal rod.
    "Oh!" Her hand dropped, and she smiled just a little. "I just had it cut. It used to be a boring bob. I needed a change." She shook her head, pressed