Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb (33 page)

“I adore your hair.” Grim swallowed. His voice was husky. “I adore everything about you.”

“And times when I'm cranky and times when I'm sad.” Sassy rushed on. “And I'm looking forward to it, because that's something I've been denied.”

She went to him then, blinking back tears, and cupped his beloved face in her hands.

“Don't you see? I've been bubble-wrapped and vacuum-sealed my whole life. I've spent the past twenty-five years trying to please others, denying my own feelings to keep the peace. It's a kind of cowardice, I've come to realize.”

“You are not a coward,” Grim protested. “You are brave and kind and good.”

“Mother-of-pearl, I'm a paragon. How can you resist me?”

“I cannot. You know I cannot.”

“Then don't,” Sassy said. “Make Gryff's death count for something. Be happy. If he loved you, I think he'd want that.” She gave him a misty smile. “Be happy, Grim. With me.”

He pulled her into his arms with a groan. “Ah, Sassy, I am lost without you. Without you, I am—”

She placed her finger to his lips, stilling the flow of words.

“I'm naked here, mister. Too much talk and not enough action.”

Laughter chased the shadows from Grim's eyes. “Grievance noted.”

He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

 

Evan jogged away from the house and plunged into the forest in search of the witch. His blood was up and he needed to run. Ora's vittles had juiced him plenty, and the change seemed to be permanent. He slept in snatches now and found it hard to keep still for any length of time.

Especially when he was angry.

Something was up between Sassy and Grim. The sexual tension between them was off the charts. The way they looked at one another made his insides twist. It wouldn't be the first time he'd lost someone he cared about to a demon hunter. His twin sister Beck and now Sassy. Damn Dalvahni. Bunch of slack-jawed numb nut troglodytes, but the dames loved 'em.

Sassy, apparently, was no exception. Unless he did something and fast, he was going to lose her. His plans for world Sassination would be screwed.

He'd show Sassy who was the Man. Find the witch and kill her, haul her bony carcass back, and toss it at Sassy's dainty little feet.

Booyah. Evan dunks Grim's slow ass and wins the girl.
The thought of besting Grim made Evan grin.

He ran off the worst of his irritation and changed to his favorite shifter form, a rangy bluetick coonhound. Maybe not the sexiest go-to wereanimal but damn useful. His hound could smell a flea fart. If the witch was around, his nose would find her. She couldn't go home, not with the sheriff on to her. Couldn't show her ugly mug in public without causing a stampede. Logic told him the witch would hide out in the woods.

He loped along, his sense receptors twitching at the smorgasbord of smells in the forest. Chemical signals shot to his olfactory bulb, creating odor images in his mind sharper than a photograph. He smelled mulch and pine needles, rotted wood, the dry dusty smell of fallen leaves, the pungent scent of new growth, and a variety of intriguing animal scents—squirrel, vole, bird, rabbit, possum, and raccoon, to name a few. He was nose drunk, but there was no sign of the witch.

Miles into the woods his senses lit up. Magic on the breeze; the tangy, peppery smell was unmistakable. He bayed and took off. That damn witch had cast her last spell. She was dead meat.

Nose up to catch the scent particles on the wind, he ran. God, he loved the chase. His lean hound body could keep this ground-eating pace for miles. He'd seldom gotten to run during the long years with the 'rents. They'd kept him close and on the leash.

He could run now. Forever, if he wanted to. When he was running, he could forget.

Silent now, so the witch wouldn't sense his presence, he padded across the leafy carpet. His nose tingled at the odor of spell craft. He paused, sniffing in quick jerks. He didn't smell witch.

He smelled Dalvahni and—what the hell?—roses, a shit ton of them.

He crept closer, lifting one paw and then another so as not to make a sound. Easing through the underbrush, he spotted a small glade. In the glade was an open pavilion with a glass roof and graceful, fluted columns. And flowers out the wazoo and a bed big as a Cadillac and twice as wide, and a sparkling stair winding to some kind of fancy-schmancy couch parked next to a bookcase full of books.

Standing in the middle of this Disney mind fuck was Sassy, dolled up in a gauzy princess dress.

And Grim, dressed as the Beast.

Evan was so startled he shifted to human form without thinking. Son of a bitch. Grim had whisked Sassy into the woods and dazzled her with this lame-o fairy-tale bullshit.

And the Lollipop was eating it up.

Evan clenched his hands at his sides. If anyone was the Beast, it was him, not Grim. For reals.

Who morphed into a monster when he got pissed?

Evan Beck; that's frigging who.

Who had a tortured past?

The Evster.

Who'd been misjudged, mistreated, and misunderstood? Crapped on by the universe since day one?

Same answer.

Who was for damn sure way past due for a break?

He was. He was.
He was.

Who got the girl?

Grim.

Oh,
hell
, no.

Evan lunged forward and smacked into a wall.
Zzzt
, the barrier crackled. Stung, Evan landed on his ass, slapping at his burning skin. Grim, the sneaky bastard, had put up a magical shield. Evan couldn't do a damn thing to stop what was going on.

And something was going on, all right. Big-time.

Sassy dropped her dress. Evan caught a tantalizing glimpse of her luscious backside and the shield went opaque.

“What the—” Evan sprang to his feet. “Who turned off the lights?”

Grim no doubt sensed our presence and darkened the shield for privacy.
A forlorn voice spoke inside Evan's head.
Just as well. I gave Sassy my word I would not peek.
There was a heavy sigh.
I have a keen curiosity regarding the emotional component of intercourse. I confess I might well have been tempted to break my promise. Strictly on scientific grounds, you understand.

“Who the—” Evan spun around. “Who's there? Out of the bushes, asshole.”

“The what?”

“Oh, yeah?” Evan edged away from the glade, his gaze darting this way and that, senses sharp. “Where are you? Show yourself.”

“Then how come I can hear you?”

“No shit? You talk to everyone like this—uh, Dell, was it?”

No. I interact with Grim and Sassy and, upon the rare occasion, Kehvahn, the god of the Dalvahni. And now you, of course. No one else. In truth, I should not be speaking to you.
Dell sounded glum
. Grim would not approve.

“Nah, it's cool. Don't sweat it.”

“You and the Big Guy close?”

“And now Sassy and Grim are a thing, and the bromance is dead.” Evan's agile mind began to whir, weighing this option and that. “I know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. It sucks dirty ass.”

There was a pause, as though Dell were digesting his remark.

“That's me—a regular Boy Scout. Listen, Dell, a connected guy like you should be careful. There are a lot of jerks out there. Somebody could take advantage.”

Somebody like me.
Evan smirked. Grim could have Sassy. She was too high maintenance. Look at the trouble she'd gotten into in a matter of days.

He had something better. He had a freaking all-knowing invisible computer. With Dell's help, he'd
own
Vegas.

No, New York. Why think chickenshit? He'd own the
world
.

Truly?
Dell sounded uncertain.
I confess I do not see how.

“That's 'cause you ain't street smart like me.” Evan smiled. “Not to worry. Old Ev's gotcha back. Now about this data bank of yours . . .”

Evan jumped as Taryn materialized in front of him.

“Jeez,” Evan said. “You should ring a bell or something. You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Grim and Sassy,” Taryn said. “I know from experience that Grim favors this part of the wood. I thought I might find them here. What are you about?”

Evan shifted his feet. “I was hunting the witch. The sheriff said her place is deserted. Thought she might be hiding out here.”

“Did you find her?”

“No.”

“Then who were you speaking to?”

“Myself, Miss Nosy Britches,” Evan said. “I talk to myself sometimes, okay?”

Taryn cocked a brow at his tone. “You sound more churlish than usual. Is something amiss?”

“Nah. I'm fine as frog hair. You can forget about finding Grim and Sassy, though. They're busy.”

“I have come to say good-bye. 'Twill take but a moment of their time.”

“You aren't listening, Red. They're
together
.” He rocked his pelvis back and forth to illustrate. “Get the picture?”

Taryn flushed. “Oh. I see. In that case, I will not disturb them.”

Ha! That had cracked her Ice Bitch façade.

Evan grinned. “Good idea. So, where you headed?”

Taryn hesitated. “I suppose it matters not if I tell you.” She drew herself up to her full height. “After much contemplation, Conall has wisely decided to charge one who is not Dalvahni with the business of tracking down and disposing of the rogue demon hunter. I have been tasked with this duty.”

Evan whistled. “Grim will shit a kitten when he hears.”

“I doubt he will be happy,” Taryn said, “which is why I came in person to deliver the news. You will inform him in my stead?”

“Oh, yeah,” Evan said. “Tickled pink to do it when—and if—he and Sassy come up for air.”

Taryn inclined her head. “You have my thanks. I bid you farewell, Evan Beck, and wish you good hunting.”

“Thanks, Red. You ain't half bad for a pain in the ass.”

His words were wasted. Taryn was gone.

G
rim carried Sassy to the bed and laid her on the white coverlet. He stepped back, drinking in the sight of her. Her long blond hair swirled about her head in curly abandon. She was every inch a woman and made for carnal pleasure, with round, pink-tipped breasts, a tiny waist, and firmly muscled thighs and calves. Dainty and feminine, his Sassy, but no weakling. She kept her body fit, her slender arms sleek and taut, shoulders firm with muscle, and stomach tight.

Heat coiled in his belly, and his cock threatened to burst the fastening on his jeans. He had been long absent from the House of Thralls, but his raging desire had nothing to do with abstinence and everything to do with this woman. His hunger for Sassy was more than physical. It went soul deep. He yearned to touch her, to give his bruised and battered heart, his weary spirit into her care.

He longed to care for her in return.

She arched her back and flung her arms wide in invitation, a luscious treat that was his for the taking. The necklace between her pale breasts gleamed with dragon fire.

The blood pounded in Grim's head and loins. He wanted her. A knowing smile played about the corners of Sassy's rosy mouth. He was on fire and she knew it, the minx.

She arched a delicate brow. “Like what you see?”

“Aye. Too much.” His voice was a growling rasp. “'Twas mine intent to take things slowly, but I fear my need for you is too great.”

She lifted her leg and stroked the bulge in his pants with her bare foot. “Don't go slow on my account.”

Her wanton touch demolished the thin tatters of his resolve. With a growl of relief, Grim jerked open his jeans and shoved them to his thighs, along with the clinging braies humans called boxer briefs. Grabbing her ankles, he yanked her to the edge of the mattress and slid his hands up her inner thighs.

“So soft. So warm.” He stroked her velvet skin. “And I have been cold for so long.”

He pushed her knees to her chest so that she was open to him, vulnerable. She was a sumptuous treat, the porcelain outer folds of her sex parted to reveal the lovely pink deliciousness within.

She looked up at him without inhibition, his wild and wonderful love, her violet eyes drowsy with desire. Hand trembling, he stroked her sex. She shivered in response. The fine hair at the top of her mons was soft and pale, like her tresses. She was hot and silky to the touch, ready for him. His body thrummed in anticipation and a primitive need to mark her as his own. Completely. Forever. She was so small, so slight, and he was a warrior, built and designed for violence and combat.

What if he hurt her?

Sassy decided the matter. Grabbing his shirt, she pulled. Answering her insistent tug, he put one knee on the bed and lowered his big body between her welcoming thighs. She pulsed with light. The warm, womanly scent of her arousal and the smell of the roses made him light-headed. She put her slim arms around his neck and kissed him, and Grim's worries burned to ash. There was only Sassy, the intoxicating feel and taste of her, the sensuous brush of her tongue and lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, pouring his longing and desire into the caress.

She tore her mouth from his. Her lips were red and swollen.

“Shirt,” she panted. “Off.” She gave the offending garment an impatient yank. “I want to see you.”

Bracing his weight on one forearm so as not to crush her, Grim ripped the shirt off one-handed and tossed it aside.

Sassy inhaled. “Mother-of-pearl, Grim. I'll never get over how beautiful you are.”

“I am not—”

Sassy placed the pad of her thumb against his mouth and stroked his bottom lip. “Shh. You. Are. Beautiful.”

Lifting her head, she replaced her thumb with her tongue, tracing his lips as though to memorize the shape of them.

“Beautiful here.” Her voice was a husky drawl. Her hands moved from his face to his shoulders and upper arms. “And here.”

She stroked his chest and combed her fingers through the hair on it. “And here.”

“If my form pleases you, then I am—”

Grim's thoughts scattered as Sassy's hand drifted down his abdomen and closed around his rigid flesh.

“And most definitely here,” she whispered, stroking him.

“Sassy.” Grim pushed his swollen shaft against her hand. “Ah, gods,
Sassy
.”

She lifted her hips in invitation and rubbed the head of his cock against her sex. Sweat broke out on Grim's brow. She was slick with desire. One push and he would be in heaven. His testicles tightened and he fought the urge to plunge inside her. Gritting his teeth, he nudged the head of his shaft into the small opening of her sex. She was tight, oh, so tight.

Sassy rocked her hips, taking him a little deeper inside. “More,” she sighed. “Give me more.”

Perspiration trickled down Grim's back. The urge to move made him want to howl. He must breach her tender flesh slowly. Allow her time to adjust to the invasion and size of him.

Sassy made a sound of impatience and grabbed his buttocks. With a muttered curse, Grim sheathed himself to the hilt. She was warm, wet, and snug. Sensation scorched him, from the soles of his feet, up his spine, through his stiff shaft to the base of his brain; burning desire and fierce elation. He and Sassy were one, connected, flesh to flesh. A rush of possessiveness swept over him; gratitude and relief as well.

He was home from the hunt at last.

He looked down at his beloved and felt a stab of alarm. Her eyes were wide, her expression startled.

“Are you—ah, gods, Sassy, did I—Are you hurt?”

“No, it's just that . . .” She wiggled her hips and clenched her sex around him, a combination that made Grim's eyes roll back in his head. “There. I think that's—”

“Sweet blessed Kehv,” Grim groaned, losing the fight.

He began to move, thrusting inside her, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Sassy moaned with pleasure. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she met him stroke for stroke, as greedy for him as he was for her. She was flushed and glowing with radiant light. Sparkles of light flitted from her tumbled tresses and danced around their joined bodies. The heat of her core, the pull of her flesh around him added fuel to the fire.

“Sassy, my heart, my love.” He bucked his hips faster. He could not stop. “I want this moment to last, but I—”

Sassy tilted her pelvis, taking him deeper.

“Grim,” she panted. “That feels so . . .”

Her eyes widened. She clenched around him, climaxing with a soft cry. Her sex throbbed. With a shout, Grim let go and poured himself into her.

 

Grim rolled over on his back, taking Sassy with him. Cradled in his arms, she rested her cheek on his broad hard chest. He smelled wonderful, hot male mixed with the clean, soapy scent that was uniquely Grim. A light film of sweat coated his big, muscular body. His heart pounded like a drum.

She'd done this to him, made him lose control, her magnificent warrior. It was a heady feeling. She'd lost control, too. Let go and given in to her feelings. Taken what
she
wanted for a change without guilt, anxiety, or reserve.

It was like that with Grim. Effortless. Safe. With him, she was at rest. No frenetic need to please or placate others to the point of exhaustion. No tiptoeing around on eggshells, afraid to upset his apple cart. With him, she could simply . . . be.

He was her calm, her center, the one place she was truly herself. For a perpetual pleaser like her, it was a gift beyond price.

She pressed her lips to his ribs. “So that's what the fuss is about.” “What?” His deep voice rumbled against her ear.

“Sex. Passion.”

Grim stiffened. “Sassy, you were not—”

“A virgin? No, but I may as well have been. It's never been like this. It's really quite splendid, isn't it?”

“If it were any more splendid, I would not survive.”

Grim kissed her and stood up. His cinnamon hair brushed his broad shoulders. Pulling his jeans and boxers to his hips, he left the zipper unfastened. The sharp jut of his lower abs framed his taut waist. He was all muscle, power and strength encased in smooth golden skin. The dusting of reddish brown hair on his chest trailed in a faint line past his navel to his groin. He was aroused again, his erection a hard ridge against his belly.

“Where are you going?” Sassy asked, pushing to her elbows.

“
We
are going to take a bath.”

Ignoring her shriek of protest, he scooped her up and carried her to the sunken tub. The marble basin was large. More of a small pool than a tub, with smooth, curved sides carved from the same rose and silver stone as the fluted columns. A fountain carved in the shape of the exotic bird on the banister flowed at one end of the stone pond. Water cascaded in a steady stream from the bird's open beak.

Grim walked down the steps and into the pool, jeans and all. The water was maybe five feet at its deepest, and warm.

Grim lowered Sassy onto a submerged bench near the fountain and stepped back. The liquid caress of the water made Sassy's nipples pucker. Or maybe it was the possessive, heated way Grim looked at her.

“Stay,” he ordered, without taking his gaze from her.

He stripped off his jeans and underwear. The ripple and play of his heavy muscles as he went about the business of removing his clothes was mesmerizing. Grim-o-vision: Sassy's new favorite channel.

He tossed his wet garments aside. They landed with a wet plop on the side of the pool.

“Mother-of-pearl,” Sassy breathed, staring hungrily at him.

He was gorgeous, the perfect specimen of masculine splendor. Wide shoulders. Arms and chest bulging with muscle. Flat stomach and ripped abs, powerful thighs and calves. One look at her demon hunter and Michelangelo would take a hammer to the
David
and smash it to smithereens.

The skin tightened across Grim's cheekbones. Heat flared in his eyes.

“Sassy, I would make amends for taking you with such haste earlier, but I am only flesh and blood. When you look at me with such wanton delight, you make me forget my good intentions.”

“I like looking at you. And I liked every second of what happened between us. Best sex ever.”

Grim's sexy mouth kicked up at one corner. “It is my desire to please you. However, repetition is the key to improving one's skills. Would you not agree?”

“Oh, yes.” Sassy's heart skipped a beat. “Practice makes perfect, or so I've heard.”

He closed the space between them. Lifting Sassy off the wide marble ledge in one smooth motion, he sat down and settled her across his lap. Beneath her naked thighs, his strong legs were unyielding as stone. The water swirled around them in slow waves. The hard length of his erection pressed against her side. She was intensely aware of everything in that moment: the soft trill of the bird on the rail; the heave and sigh of the wind through the trees; the intense sweet fragrance of the roses that grew along the marble supports.

Most of all, she was aware of Grim, of the sheer size of him, the hard jut of his jaw and the sculpted beauty of his features, the gleam of the afternoon light on his cinnamon hair.

Tiny lines were etched at the corners of his golden eyes. Sorrow had left its mark on him. Regret and hate had separated him from his kind. His resulting loneliness had brought Dell to life. That spoke volumes about the heart that beat beneath his tough exterior. Sassy ached to soothe him, to take away his pain and give him ease. Not out of obligation or anxiety or compulsion, but because she loved him.

Grim wrapped his hands in her hair and kissed her, taking her mouth in slow nibbles, applying the meticulous attention to detail Sassy had noticed about him earlier and admired. Stroking, licking, tasting, nibbling, he explored her mouth, dipping his tongue inside for a taste, sucking gently on her bottom lip before delving inside once more.

Hooray for OCD! Butterflies of delight fluttered in Sassy's belly and brushed the sweet spot between her legs.

“Grim?”

“Hmm?” Turning his attention to the column of her neck, Grim dragged his hot mouth across her sensitive skin.

Bunny rabbits, that felt good. Sassy relaxed in his arms. Bracing her shoulders with one arm, he blazed a tingling trail of kisses down her throat. His mouth lingered on the tops of her breasts. Nibbling the tender skin there, he soothed the injured spot with his tongue.

Sassy's concentration scattered. What had she been saying? Oh, yes.

“T-There's something I need to ask you.”

“Can it not wait? As you can see, I am most pleasantly occupied.”

“It's important.”

He raised his head at once and looked at her, really looked at her. It was one of the many things she loved about him, the way he stayed tuned into her, to her moods and feelings, like she was the most important thing in the world.

“Do you know when I fell in love with you?”

Grim raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, one by one. Slowly.

“No.”

“When I punched you in the nose.”

He blinked. “I see.”

“It was the first time I lost my temper,” Sassy explained, “or hit anyone in anger.”

“I confess I am somewhat alarmed. Will I be called upon to render this service with great regularity?”

Sassy chuckled. “Of course not.”

“My nose rejoices at the news.”

“The point is, I can be a real person with you. I don't have to be sassy every moment of the day.” She played with a lock of his long russet hair. It was cool and silky to the touch, and it smelled clean, like him. “I can be mad or bad or sad, and that is
such
a relief.”