Demon's Hunger Read Online Free PDF Page B

her lips together, clearly bemused by her rambling answer.
    He liked that, too.
    Rubbing his hand along the back of his neck, Dain tried to figure out why this conversation was not going at all as he had planned, why this woman's presence muddled his thoughts.
    It had seemed a simple matter to find Dr. Cairn, ask her expert opinion, and leave. Wipe her memory if she suspected he was anything other than he claimed, though he'd take that course only if necessary. Some humans didn't do too well when sorcerers messed with their minds, and he had an aversion to stealing memories. Perhaps because his own were so precious to him.
    Problem was, from the second he'd arrived, nothing had been simple. Something about this place—or perhaps Vivien herself—made the damned bone in his pocket come to life with a surge of demonic power. Made him come to life in a way he hadn't in a very long time. From the instant she'd opened her door and muttered something about flying fish, Vivien Cairn had intrigued him. Something about her drew him, snared him.
    The realization made the bitter brine of guilt surge in his gut, tinged by time-tempered grief.
    His wife, Moria, dead by demon hand, and Ciel, his baby daughter, with her.
    Centuries had passed, and the pain had dimmed, but not his terrible, burning hatred of demon-kind. And not his guilt. Because he hadn't been there, hadn't saved them. Hadn't died alongside them.
    Moria and Ciel had been human. He'd had no right to love them, no right to drag them into his world, his war.
    And he had no business being intrigued by Vivien Cairn. He'd long ago decided that a relationship with a mortal was off-limits.
    He wasn't a monk, but when he chose to spend a night with a woman, it was always just that. One night. He picked his partners with care to ensure that there were no strings. No expectations.
    But from what he'd found out about intelligent, reserved, analytical Vivien, he figured she wasn't the one-night type. Which meant she wouldn't be any night, because he had nothing more than that to offer, especially not to a mortal woman who would age and die or, like Moria, be slaughtered by demons before her time.
    Demons or hybrids , like the ones hovering about Vivien's property. Had they been here already, or had they followed his SUV? The possibility that he'd brought them to her definitely did not sit well with him.
    "May I take your coat?" she asked, her gaze sliding over him.
    "No, thanks." He figured that the demon bone in his pocket best stay as close to him as possible.
    His gaze met hers, and he saw shadows there. Shadows and worry.
    For centuries, he had battled and bled, known both honor and betrayal. He had sealed any breach in the wall between dimensions, held back the demon threat. He was charged with the protection of all mankind.
    He was sorcerer, protector, mage of illusion.
    He would not allow himself to be drawn to this woman, to forfeit his control, no matter how great the temptation to save her from whatever caused the shadows he read in her eyes.
    No matter that the color of them reminded him of the cool, dark forest.
    No matter that he was so very tired of being alone.
    For a heartbeat, Vivien just stood there staring at Dain, wondering what to do next. His expression had turned cold, aloof. In that instant, he looked like a completely different man than the one who had stood on her front porch and smiled at her.
    So which was the real guy? The smiling, relaxed charmer or the detached observer?
    On a sharp inhalation, she forced herself to move, to turn toward the living room. Recalling the spilled soup and shattered mug, she froze, hesitated.
    "We can go downstairs." She turned away from the living room and led him to her basement work area. After all, he was here for her professional services, not a social visit.
    A glance cast over her shoulder assured her that he was real, here, in her home. He caught her gaze, and she saw shrewd intelligence there, measuring her, studying