He made a left turn, making those tats undulate on ropy muscle. If he were human, she’d run her tongue along every one of them . . .
Focus, Tay, focus. Well, the tats were the focus, but not like that. “So, um, you were born with the markings?”
“Yes, though my individual symbol didn’t appear until I reached my first stage of sexual maturity.”
“First stage?”
He studied her with a cool, measuring gaze, probably trying to decide how much to reveal. “There are two,” he said finally. “The first hits around the age of twenty. The second, s’genesis, occurs during our hundredth year.”
It’s the s’genesis, isn’t it? Messing you up, affecting your judgment.
So that was what Shade had been talking about. Which made Hellboy three-quarters of a century older than her.
“What’s your true form?”
“This is it.”
She gaped. “Your species looks like Playgirl models? It’s not fair.”
“What’s not?”
“You. You’re a demon. Evil should look . . . evil. Ugly. Wouldn’t hurt if you smelled bad, either.” Heck, she’d be happy if he just didn’t smell good. The air around him smelled faintly of spiced dark chocolate and man, making her mouth water and her libido kick into high gear.
“I’m not exactly evil.”
She snorted. “All demons are pure evil.”
“What about half-breeds? Are they evil, too?”
“They’re abominations that deserve to die the same as any other demon.”
He turned and looked at her, wearing a grin that was about as evil as any she’d seen. “This is going to be fun.”
Doctor Gemella Endri was up to her elbows in condoms.
Which was what made hearing the man of her dreams’ voice so incredibly mortifying.
“Gem!”
She extracted herself from a thirty-gallon tub of prophylactics in the back of the ambulance and smiled. Shakily.
Kynan Morgan was crossing the street, his easy, powerful stride ratcheting her pulse up a notch. Tall and lean, with thick, muscular arms and a broad chest made to crush a woman beneath him, he invited wicked fantasies that didn’t stop between the sheets. Gem pictured being with him on the floor. On counters. In pools and hot sulfur baths.
He halted on the sidewalk behind the ambulance and peeled off his sunglasses. He was dressed like always; worn jeans, a brown leather bomber jacket, and combat boots. Another human male, ten years younger than Ky at twenty, maybe, stood next to him.
“Hey.” She gestured to the little yellow baggies filled with condoms and safe-sex pamphlets, hoping her nerves didn’t show too much in the way her voice wavered. “Obviously, it’s my day to run the ‘come prepared’ campaign with Judy.”
Judy, the woman in charge of the public service, waved over her shoulder but didn’t miss a beat as she finished stuffing a bag. “Gem is always happy to give up a day off to make sure people on the streets can have protected sex.”
“A noble cause,” Kynan said, and graced her with one of his heart-stopping grins.
God, he was fine. At least six-two, with spiky dark hair and eyes the color of new denim. He filled out his clothes as if they were custom-made for his athletic build, which she’d seen nearly unclothed. He was a regular at the hospital where she interned, Mercy General, where his best friend, Dennis, a man who’d saved his life during his military days, headed the emergency department. Usually, when Kynan came in, it was to have one of his halfway house residents treated, but sometimes he needed a little patch-up work himself.
He was such a good guy to take in street kids, clean them up, and give them a chance in the world. Kynan even smelled good . . . not just the natural, earthy male scent that clung to him, but the pure, fresh rain aroma of someone who was truly . . . decent. She never encountered that in the demon world, and rarely in the human one. Such purity should have repelled her, but instead, it drew her, fascinated her . . . and sometimes, it made her demon half long to corrupt it.
Her demon half could be a real bitch.
“Did you notice that Gem changed her hair?” Judy gave Gem an exasperated look and handed a passerby a baggie of condoms. “Again.”
Kynan nodded. “The black and blue is much better than the red.”
“Well, people kept saying I looked like a Goth Raggedy Ann doll.”
He laughed, a rich, deep sound that hit her in every one of her erogenous zones, and Judy sniffed. “Don’t encourage her. Now she looks like a Goth bruise. It’s not seemly for a doctor.”
“I think she looks great,” Kynan said, and then winked at Gem. “Don’t let this old biddy talk you out of being who you are.” He shot the old biddy a mischievous look. “You should take some pointers from Gem. I’ll bet you’d look hot in chains and leather.”