Vowed in Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page A

seen her touch herself in her sleep? Her face burned under his palm.
    â€œA demon came to you then,” he said. “You let it into your soul. I know you didn’t understand, but your penance trigger—a weakness in your soul—made you uniquely vulnerable to one particular demon. It has anchored itself within you, and it is rising to take its place. Now, if you come out the other side alive, you will take your place with us. With me.” His voice deepened another notch, the insistence throbbing in her with an irresistible allure.
    â€œWho?” she gasped. She meant to ask “Who are you?” but the question sputtered out. Come out alive?
    â€œYour demon called to mine, and now you will be one of the talyan—a possessed warrior, like me—with a teshuva demon lodged in your soul.” His words sank into her brain, relentless as a strip-club bass line, but twisted with strangeness. “Strength, speed, deadly fighting skills, and immortality will be given to you. And the life you knew before will be stripped away.” A wry note crept into his voice, and once again he sounded more human. “Although that won’t be a problem for you, will it?”
    She rallied against the brutal chill that sucked the breath from her lungs. “I like my life. It’s mine.”
    â€œIt belongs to the league now. And in return, you will fight against evil and earn what measure of grace you may.” Again, he gave her that doubtful look, which would have raised her hackles if she had any.
    The cold seemed to press around her heart and close down her vision. “Do I have to give up an arm too?”
    The cruelty rocked him; she felt it through his body. But he did not let her go.
    Instead he kissed her back.
    Well, she couldn’t blame him. It was a great way to shut someone up and turn the tides. Plus, he had such a wonderful mouth. The hard, tight set of his mouth was just an illusion—no, a lie to distract from the curve of his full bottom lip, the delicious reddened peach tone.
    A wave of pleasure overpowered the chill, and she sagged against him. The scrape of denim and cotton, the brush of the metal hook and the rough wooden chair under her shins all tingled on her naked skin with distracting intensity. But mostly she felt his mouth. Softening, slanting under hers. This time, he parted his lips, but tentatively, as if the concept had just occurred to him. The tip of his tongue traced the front edge of her teeth and retreated.
    Good God, he was as shy as a virgin. How could that be, with his wedding ring?
    Maybe that was why he’d come.
    The warm glow centered in her chest vanquished the cold entirely. “Is this your first time?”
    His blue eyes glazed. “Yes.”
    How sweet. How sad. And she’d dragged him in here like a lamb to slaughter. Probably ruined him forever. “I’ll make it all right,” she murmured.
    When she eased off him, his desire-clouded eyes cleared. He clutched at her awkwardly, the hook skidding over her spine. He winced. “Don’t go.”
    â€œI’m not going anywhere.”
    â€œThe demon realm is all around us. I smell it.”
    What the hell with the demon thing? Damn, his wife had obviously done a number on him if he thought sex was demonic. How could that unknown woman have denied this sexy man? “You’re smelling the Power Slug we spilled. It’s probably eating through the carpet.” She touched her fingertip to the swollen center of his lower lip. “Sex isn’t always evil, you know.”
    Under her finger, his lips twitched in a reluctant smile. “Not always?”
    â€œNot this time.” Who would’ve guessed? She did have a merciful side after all. She wondered where she’d kept it hidden; certainly not under her clothes.
    Straddling his hips, she leaned back and let her hair down. The blunt ends of the dreads tickled her skin, and she