Hell's Geek Read Online Free PDF Page A

grogs.
    Her geeky companion’s eyes widened behind his lenses as her knife left its sheath. He opened his mouth. Determined to silence him, she plastered her lips over his while, at the same time, striking at the snake dangling overhead.
    Thing was, while the ploy to keep him quiet worked, it had an unintended side effect. Her libido fired up.
    His lips, while soft appearing, weren’t so compliant when it came to kissing. Her repressed geek knew how to make the most of a kiss.
    Sensual slides. A tug of a lower lip. Hot, panting breath.
    Completely wrong time, wrong place, wrong guy. Valaska pulled away from him and saw his eyes blink at her owlishly from behind his glasses.
    “What was that?” he asked.
    “Me saving your life. And this,” she said as she snuck the bite of pie hanging precariously from his spoon, “is my reward.” Not exactly the reward a certain throbbing spot between her legs would have liked, but it would have to do.
    Odd how the stolen bit didn’t taste as good as the taste she’d gotten from his lips.
    Leaning away from him, she pulled out a rag and wiped the gore from her knife. It was then Adexios noted the severed snakehead on the log beside him.
    To his credit, he didn’t flinch or scream. To her surprise, he leaned closer for a look.
    “This is interesting,” he noted, using his spoon to turn the head so he could peek at the eyes. “I don’t believe this species is native to Hell.”
    “I’m glad you find that interesting,” she snapped, only a little miffed he showed more interest in the dead reptile than the kiss they’d shared.
    The least he could do is act in awe for a little while longer.
    And now she was whining like the younger girls in her tribe who’d just discovered boys.
    Ugh. She was a mature warrior who didn’t place much stock in kisses. Apparently, neither did he.
    “It is interesting because, if I’m not mistaken, this bad boy is from the mortal plane.”
    “From Earth?” She frowned. “But how?”
    “There are a few possibilities. One, someone smuggled one back in and either lost it or set it free.”
    “The Hell-Eco Preservation Society won’t like that.” Those nutjobs were all about keeping Hell the most awful place to live. Any measures to stem the flow of ash by installing filters or introducing outside species to control the hellroaches and other pests were soundly met with opposition. Hell was hell. If you didn’t like it, then don’t fucking sin. “What’s the other possibility?”
    “An unauthorized rift between our world and the mortal plane.”
    “Wouldn’t Lucifer know about it?”
    “Not if someone created it out here in the wilds.”
    “But the amount of power needed to do that—”
    “Would be stupendous. I know. Other than Lucifer, Gaia, and God, there aren’t many beings that could summon the kind of power to create something permanent like a portal between planes.”
    “Maybe it was a quickie rip and something slipped through.”
    “Maybe,” he mused aloud, but he didn’t sound convinced, and she noted he took even more note than before of their surroundings.
    What did he see that had him looking so pensive?
    With their meal finished—hers leaving her stomach less than happy, the jerk. How dare he make her scrounging pale in comparison—they set off again. But this time, she didn’t lead the way. It seemed her geeky companion, with the discovery of the Earth snake, had found an enthusiasm for their mission that he lacked before.
    With him ahead of her, she found herself not only paying attention to their surroundings but his butt.
    As butts went, it wasn’t big, and his khakis weren’t tight. Yet, his tall, lanky frame, and the way his waist tapered to it, drew attention, especially since he strode with confidence.
    How strange. Whereas before he’d regarded their surroundings with suspicion, expecting monsters to jump out from every pocket of shadow, now he strutted, pausing only long enough to peruse more closely