Clutch of the Demon (13 page)

She got to her feet and shrugged. "I'm fine."

Let's get you away from here.

Aodhan walked away from the pool. She frowned as she stared after him, unsure how to take his strange mood before she followed. She didn't look around for the demon. She didn't need to know what Aodhan did to him.
 

When they reached the edge of the cliffs, Aodhan gently wrapped his talons around her and flew them back to her hobbit hole. She could feel Aodhan's rage beating at her as they flew. When he set her down, his scales began to glow. She raised a hand over her eyes and knew she'd get a tan in a few seconds if he didn't calm down. She reached out an instinctive hand and patted him on the belly.
 

What are you doing?

She licked suddenly dry lips. "I'm trying to calm you down."

Aodhan roared. She covered her ears and staggered at the overwhelming sound of his ire.
 

"Stop, Aodhan!"
 

He didn't hear because he flapped his wings and she went flying. She looked up as he jetted into the air and left.

"Great! Just leave me here alone
again
, jackass!" she shouted.
 

She got attacked and
he
threw a tantrum? She stalked into her hobbit hole and stripped out of her clothes, which were now stiff with blood. She slipped into the water and placed a hand over her heart, which beat like a war drum. Luc wasn't happy that she exorcised that demon from Aodhan. Luc was getting desperate, so he sent someone to take her from Aodhan. What would Luc's next move be?
 

Dragon

Aodhan was furious with himself. If Cara hadn't called him... The roar he released echoed through the cavern. She shouldn't have been hurt while under his protection. It wouldn't happen again. He'd been arrogant,
again
. It was the same trait that got him into this mess in the first place. He wouldn't make any more mistakes.
 

He hovered over her cave, raptor eyes moving over every inch of bare stone and snarled. How dare Luc challenge him? The Master Demon had grown too bold. Did Luc suspect Cara could break the curse? Something bothered him, though. Why hadn't the demon killed her? Why kidnap her? It was more risky and unnecessary.

Cara wanted to know what it would cost for her to free him, but that would ruin everything. If he told her, would she laugh in his face or stare at him in disgust? He wasn't sure if she was capable of breaking the curse. Only one in a million would be able to break it and he was beginning to believe she was capable. Cara wasn't a wilting flower. She could have left with the puppet and taken her chances in the outside world. Instead, she had called for him and fought to stay imprisoned here with him. If she hadn't suspected that he was possessed, he would have been doomed to live the same cycle because the demon wouldn't allow him to walk the straight and narrow. When his hunger and greed escalated, why hadn't he suspected something was wrong? Because he was too arrogant to think that he could be possessed.
 

If Cara was capable of breaking this curse, he owed her everything. Luc must feel it too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to send one of his own into his caves. Aodhan wouldn't let anything happen to the woman he was beginning to consider his own.
 

Cara

Cara heard Aodhan return and take up his post in front of the hobbit hole. She didn't acknowledge his presence. She stayed behind the wall, out of sight with her back against the wall. Although she was alert from Aodhan's blood, her body needed rest, but how could she sleep when Aodhan kept taking off? She couldn't get the image of that puppet out of her mind. Who had he been before he was possessed?
 

Are you hungry?

Cara ignored Aodhan's question and tried to make a nest out of the clothes he'd gotten for her. Time passed. The silence was broken only by the sound of her quiet sighs and the occasional sound of talons scraping over stone. She had thought she was safe from Luc here and now demons were infiltrating her haven. They were running out of time. If Aodhan knew how to break the curse it didn't make sense for him to keep it to himself. Did Aodhan and Luc believe she'd just stumble over the cure? If it was that easy, why hadn't Aodhan broken the curse centuries ago?
 

What do you want to eat?

Still, she didn't answer. She wasn't done being pissed at him. He really did have a bad temper. He should be damn pleased she'd called out to him or else she'd be breathing fresh air right now- or not. She'd probably be in a torture chamber with Luc. She shuddered and burrowed into her pile of clothes.
 

Cara stood beside the lake with the castle behind her. She was all alone with just the sky to keep her company. She didn't know if she should flee or stay. Before she could make up her mind, two hands wrapped around her middle and drew her back against a hard body. She didn't need to look to know who it was. She didn't resist when he pulled her backwards and down on a blanket.
 

The warrior lay beside her, eyes intense and molten. One of his hands slid up her dress and stroked her upper thigh, gripping and then releasing. She said nothing, just watched him. Her thighs quivered as his hand rose higher.
 

"Spread," he said.
 

She didn't hesitate. She did as he asked, spreading her thighs wide. His thumb pressed against her clitoris and she couldn't control her moan or the way her body jerked in reaction. She looked down her body and saw the subtle movements beneath the material of her dress as his arm shifted. He slid his fingers inside of her. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes against the bright sunlight.
 

There was no sound aside from her occasional gasps and moans. He didn't make a sound, but she knew his eyes were on her. When she was close, she tried to turn towards him, but he kept her in place. She lifted her hips and gripped his forearm, urging him to go faster. He didn't. He kept the slow, torturous pace that kept her right on the edge.
 

"Finish me," she hissed.
 

He chuckled and nuzzled the side of her face. "Tell me you want me."

She grit her teeth. "You know I do."

"But you don't like it, do you?"

His thumb pressed on her clitoris and she convulsed. "No!"

"Tell me why," he whispered in her ear.
 

She tried to slide away from his hand. He growled and moved quickly so he was crouched over her. She saw his hand on his pants and breathed a sigh of relief as he positioned himself between her legs. He raised her skirts only high enough to fit himself to her opening and had no trouble sliding in to the hilt. She urged him to lay on top of her, desperate to feel his weight, but he braced himself on his fists and watched her with predator's eyes.
 

"You like what we have," he murmured as he slowly rotated his hips, making her writhe beneath him. "You crave it."

She turned her head and bit his forearm. She didn't appreciate his chuckle when she was so needy and frustrated.
 

"What do you want from me?" she snapped.
 

He finally lowered himself over her and she shuddered in relief. He gripped her hair, forcing her head back. He wasn't a handsome man, not by a long shot. His hair was nearly blinding in the sunlight and his eyes promised ecstasy and pain.
 

"Promise me," he said as he slowly withdrew.
 

She lurched up and grasped his hips. "Promise you what?"

"Promise me," he commanded, withholding himself from her.
 

"Please, I need..."

She let out a tortured sound and tried to roll out from under him. He slammed into her, pinning her in place by impaling her and she sobbed and raked her nails over him. His hand collared her throat and applied pressure.
 

"Promise me," he hissed.
 

She looked up at him and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, jerking his head down to hers. She latched her mouth onto his and gave him a pissed off kiss. He tried to pull away, but she used all of her strength and kept their mouth fused together. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and rolled her hips. The warrior cursed and began to thrust. She held him to her with her grip in his hair and held her thighs wide as he pounded her into the earth.

"This isn't over," the warrior growled against her mouth.
 

Cara woke with her mouth open on a cry of need. Her mouth snapped shut so hard, her teeth ached. She curled into a miserable ball and screamed into a sweater as her body pulsed.
 

What is it?

She wanted to shout, "Kiss my ass." Instead, she stripped out of her clothes and jumped into the pool. The water soothed some of her need, but she couldn't stop her hand from drifting between her legs.
 

Come here and eat.

Cara bared her teeth in a silent, feral snarl. How could she finish herself off with Aodhan talking in her head? The warrior with the turquoise eyes haunted her dreams while the dragon was the bane of her waking existence. She didn't understand either of them. She'd seen the warrior bump uglies with legions of women. What the hell did he want her to promise? Did he ever have sex with the same woman or were the dreams she was having the memories of two different women? The first dream was hot. They'd been silent for the most part and now the warrior was trying to extract promises by using sexual blackmail. The bastard! Way to ruin a good sex dream.
 

She slipped out of the pool and separated her hair into three pieces so she could braid it. She dressed in the most sexless thing she could find and resumed her position against the wall.
 

You haven't eaten for a whole day.
 

That wasn't new. She'd never had regular meals until she met Aodhan, the nurse dragon. She wasn't prepared for the talon that reached around the wall. She tried to scramble away, but it caught onto the material of her pants and dragged her out of hiding. She dangled inelegantly from one talon before Aodhan plopped her in front of the rock table. She glared at him defiantly.
 

Eat before I force you.
 

She wanted to refuse, but her stomach rumbled and she knew he
would
force her. She sniffed the bowl of soup and kept her expression bland though she approved of his choice. It calmed her jittery stomach and she wondered if he'd known she couldn't eat anything heavy right now. She chewed on a fresh slice of bread and drank tea.
 

You're angry with me.
 

She didn't bother to answer 'Lunkhead.' A growl rumbled in his chest and her body vibrated, but she didn't react to the menacing sound.

I apologize.

"For what?" she asked loftily.
 

A sharp silence and then,
Whatever you're mad about.

Cara threw the bread roll as hard as she could, but it was impossible to reach his head. It bounced off his stomach. She climbed onto the rock so she could get that much closer to his face.
   

"I call for you when there's an intruder. You arrive in time and take care of that asshole. Everything's dandy, right? No! You have a bitch fit and after bringing me back here,
you leave me alone again
! You didn't think I'd have a hard time sleeping since I woke up last time with Crouching Tiger standing over me with a knife?"

Who is...?

"I'm trying to get you out of here and you're not making that easy! I'm not at my best because your horny ass demon left a raging hard on inside of me and I can barely sleep. You won't tell me how to reverse the curse and you keep disappearing on me. If you want to kill me, put me out of my misery because this is stressful!" she shouted.

What do you want from me?

"I want you here," she said and stomped her foot.

Right there?

"We need to stick together. We're a team, right?"
 

A long silence and then,
I won't go anywhere without you.

That solemn vow made her weak with relief. "No more temper tantrums."

Turquoise eyes narrowed to slits.
You were hurt while under my protection.
 

"You got there in time. I've had worse."

The dragon snorted and the gust toppled her on her ass. She glared at him and hopped off the rock.
 

That's unacceptable.

"I'm tougher than I look," she said.

You sound like a warrior. Have you met other demon hunters?
 

"No. People don't want to believe in evil. It's easier for them to think I'm crazy."

So you hunt demons by yourself.

She heard the disapproval in his voice and ignored it. "I use the guise of a traveling nurse to get close to puppets. Usually a loved one will call for help because they think the possessed is on drugs or something. I come in and I exorcise the demon if I can."

How long have you been doing this?

"Since I was sixteen."

Too young.

"I had no choice. Demons were taking over my town. Luc's planning World War Three. He's manipulating the politics in different countries and murdering leaders to jumpstart the war. Whole cities are being run by demons. No matter what I do, it's never enough."
 

You said your mom is a witch?

"Yes, she and Sky are healers. Their magic is connected to the earth," she said.
 

And you didn't inherit this magic?

She ignored the knots in her stomach and kept her voice light. "I did, but I don't have the healing ability that they do."

Do you know who your father is?

"No, but Sky's father was Chief of Police in our town. He was a good man. He protected us as much as he could."

What happened to him?