What the hell had happened to keeping his hands off her?
Though it wasn’t his hands that were the problem. He hadn’t been able to resist that one fleeting kiss, and she tasted as good as he’d expected. A delicious combination of bitter and sweet he’d never encountered before. If he had put his hands on her he probably would have dragged her back in here and not let her out again until sunrise.
But she didn’t want that. She wanted “normal,” and he was about as far from normal as it was possible to get.
Perhaps he should have kept the information about Kathy Collins to himself. He had considered that option, but was worried. Tara was obviously human—it came off her in waves—so why would she have an undead guardian? And why had the undead guardian up and died? Presumably, the spell giving her life had run out of power. But who had brought Kathryn Collins back to life in the first place and why?
There had to be a good reason, because magic like that never came cheap. Someone had paid a high price to protect Tara. And if she didn’t find out why she needed safeguarding, her chances of a normal life were remote.
Part of him liked the idea of protecting her, but he knew nothing good could come of bringing her into his world however much he might crave it. A wave of bitterness washed over him. It had been more than five hundred years since his wife and two daughters had been slaughtered in a demon attack. Christian had nearly died himself. The Order had offered him a chance to get his revenge. Since that night, he’d embraced the darkness wholeheartedly. For centuries, he’d fought demons, slaughtered demons, feasted on their immortal blood.
Until one sunset, he’d risen from his sleep to realize he no longer wanted that life. Or rather death.
He’d turned his back on the Order and tried to make a place for himself in the world of humans. But now he was bored, and he wanted more. He wanted Tara Collins. Maybe just one small taste and afterward, he would sort out whatever mess she was in, and send her on her way unaware how close she had come to the darkness.
His cell phone rang. It was Piers. “What?” Christian growled.
Piers chuckled. “Bad moment? Is your balance sheet not adding up?”
“What do you want?”
“Are you aware that there’s a lot of demon activity going on tonight?”
“So, send someone after them.”
“Aren’t you interested where?”
Christian sighed. “Get to the point, Piers.”
“They’re right outside your building. Again.”
“What?”
“I thought that might wake you up. I can send out agents, but I thought you might want to take a look.”
Demons shouldn’t even be able to pick up the fact that he was here. He’d paid a very expensive warlock a whole load of money to have the place warded, to make himself invisible.
“I’m on to it,” he said.
“Let me know what you find.”
Christian slipped the phone into his pants pocket, a flame of excitement burning in his belly. If he couldn’t have sex with the delectable Tara Collins, fighting demons had to be the next best thing.
He went to the cupboard at the back of his office and pulled on a shoulder holster. After selecting a semi-automatic pistol, he made sure it was loaded and shoved it into the holster. He strapped a knife sheath at his waist, tied it down to his thigh, and slotted in the eight inch serrated blade. He covered the whole lot with a long, black leather coat.
Avoiding reception, he slipped out the back way. The door opened into an alley that ran along the rear of the building, and he stood in the dim light and scented the air.
There it was, the faint tang of sulfur. He inhaled deeply to determine which direction it was strongest. He set off down the alley, emerged onto the main street, and he glanced around. Another alley cut across the street opposite. Some instinct made him the peer into the darkness.
Far up ahead he could make out a figure hurrying in the opposite direction: Black coat, small and a bright head of blond hair. Christian recognized her immediately.
Had she no common sense? Even if she didn’t believe in “ghosties and ghoulies,” there were plenty of human scavengers who loitered in dark alleys, just waiting for people naive enough to venture down them.
He hustled after her, keeping to the shadows. He would make sure she reached her train station, and then he would go demon hunting. But as the darkness crowded around him, the strong odor of sulfur filled his nostrils.