Most Wanted - A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Shadow Blade Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

silent curse of regret that he had blown it for her. She
looked seriously pissed. Maybe she needed the money. ‘Sorry,’ he said and when
she continued to shoot him daggers he added, ‘I’ll make it up to you.’

 
 
    Instantly images
of Jax Sayer making it up to her filled Ariel’s mind. She could think of
several ways he could make it up to her. None of them involved clothes. It had
been a while since she had been intimate with anyone, at least anyone worth
remembering, and she had a feeling that sex with Jax would be memorable.
    It was ironic
that he thought of her as a demon because, though Blades looked like humans,
acted like humans and smelled like humans, there was something preternaturally
non-human about them. They might not have saw tails or fangs, they couldn’t
turn invisible or see the future, and they didn’t come from another dimension
like demons did, but they weren’t fully human either. They healed quicker, were
much stronger, way faster and far more resilient than other humans.
    ‘Listen,’ Jax
said, interrupting her thoughts. He leaned forwards again, his fingers brushing
hers. That low level current that she’d felt when his leg was pressed against
her thigh returned. ‘Come with me tomorrow night, out hunting.’
    The invitation
in his eyes was clear. Out hunting? Her eyebrow rose of its own accord. She
drew back, crossing her arms over her chest. ‘I don’t hunt my own kind for fun.
I only go after bounties, demons who are wanted for crimes.’ She thought it was
important to make it clear she felt more demon than human, always had, always
would. The statement was a line drawn in the sand. Jax killed her kind, hunted
them down and slayed them. Why would she trust him or even partner up with him?
    ‘Crimes against
your kind,’ Jax sneered. ‘I hunt down the kind that prey on innocents.’
    ‘Well, Batman,’
Ariel told him, making to get up. ‘I don’t need to be anyone’s Robin.’
    He grabbed her
wrist and yanked her back into her seat. She hissed at him through her teeth
and wrenched her arm free. ‘I help you, you help me,’ he whispered in a low
voice. It was a statement, not a question.
    ‘Help you with
what?’ Ariel asked, her interest annoyingly piqued.
    ‘There’s a group
of Suckers.’ He broke off and paused for a beat before beginning again.
‘They’re targeting the homeless under the piers. I figure maybe you could help
me with that.’
    She tipped her
head to the side and studied him. He needed help with that? What kind of Blade
was he?
    Seeing the
cynical expression on her face Jax continued. ‘There are over twenty of them.
And these aren’t your usual kind of Sucker apparently.’
    Ariel frowned.
She hadn’t heard of any new Sucker nests. Usually Suckers banded in small
groups. She was fairly sure he was spinning her a story so he could get to see
her again.
    ‘And if I do
help?’ she asked.
    ‘Then I’ll help
you with whatever job you need help with,’ Jax answered.
    ‘Who says I need
help?’ Ariel shot back, straightening her shoulders. But the truth was her
heart had started to beat faster and she had started to see that there might be
something in the partnership after all. Jax smiled at her. He took hold of her wrist
again, his thumb caressing the red mark he had left as though trying to rub it
away. Ariel’s pulse jerked violently beneath his thumb, her blood becoming
electrified.
    ‘We all need
help sometimes,’ Jax said.

Chapter 4

 
    Less than
twenty-four hours later, Ariel stood waiting on Venice Beach pier avoiding the
stares of a group of guys who were sitting on a bench drinking Tequila from a brown
paper bag. She’d agreed to Jax Sayer’s offer for one reason and one reason
alone. Or so she told herself.
    As much as she
hated to admit it she did need help. For eight years she’d been working as a
bounty hunter, barely making ends meet, and she didn’t do it out of a love for
the job, no matter how enjoyable it was to put