AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Afraid not,” he said, pulling onto Dauphine and backing into a spot behind his bike.
“Wait. Acheron actually bowed to you before he left. Do you know him? Like on friendly terms?”
Jude shifted sideways in the seat, one hand on the headrest behind me. “No one is on friendly terms with a soul collector, but let us say he and I have an understanding of sorts.”
“Of sorts? What sort of sorts?”
“The sort that helps me do my job.”
“As a demon hunter.”
“That is what I am.”
His aura of flame, though not visible, licked around the tight cabin of the car. I caught his eyes flickering to my lips, then up so quickly I might’ve thought I imagined it. But I didn’t.
“And how exactly does one become a demon hunter? You never told me. Do you just sign up to chase down evil for an eternity? Or did you do something naughty and get punished?”
His eyes sharpened, narrowed. Swirls of black glittered with gold. He moved closer, or perhaps I’d moved closer to him. Hard to tell. “Brazen words. You sure you want the answer?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t. I try not to say ordothings I’ll regret.”
Whether he got my meaning or not, I couldn’t tell. He held me in his gaze for a heartbeat, considering something, then opened his door.
“Kat is waiting,” he said gruffly, stepping quickly from the car.
I got out and sidled up beside him as we passed into the alcove leading to his courtyard. “You’re really good at avoiding questions you don’t want to answer.”
“Lots of practice.”
“Hmph, speaking of which, how old are you anyway?”
He held open the wrought-iron gate for me to pass through. A cool breeze blew over me, lifting my still-drying hair as I swept by him.
“Old enough to know when a woman is baiting me into an argument I don’t want to have.”
“Woman? It seems you treat me more like a child most of the time.”
Except for last night, of course.
He unlocked the door to his house and stepped aside in a courteous manner to let me go first, reminding me he certainly had lived in a bygone era and had maintained some of its chivalry. I wondered if he’d also maintained some of its brutality as I moved ahead of him up the stairs. He followed very close behind.
“Oh, Genevieve,” he rumbled, making something tighten low and deep. “I never mistook you for anything but a woman.”
I was then all too aware he had a full view of me from behind walking up the stairs, feeling his eyes on every part of my body, specifically the lower half. I hurried the last few steps and spun around to face him, not seeing Kat in the living room.
“Where is she?”
He stood there, grinning with a scintillating, close-mouthed smile on his lips. Those lips. I thought of where they’d touched me last night. Where else I’d wanted them to touch me before he stopped too soon.
A flush of heat crawled up my neck. He blinked heavily, then pointed down the hall to his studio. Pivoting at once, I tried to get away from him before he read all my thoughts. Too late, of course, for he knew exactly the kind of effect he had on me.
What I wanted to know was why the hell he’d shut everything off all of a sudden. In the midst of my inner turmoil, I tried to figure out whether I should even pursue anything beyond the protector/protectee relationship. Jude followed me into the studio and closed the door.
“Hi, Genevieve!” called Kat, wearing all-black workout clothes that revealed a well-toned yet curvy figure. Her sleek blonde hair, tied in a high ponytail, glistened down her back. If it weren’t for the twelve-inch daggers strapped to her thighs, I’d say she was a beautiful, charming young woman. Knowing what she was had given her innocent beauty a lethal edge. She gave a swift wink and a smile to Jude behind me.
Then it hit me. The green-eyed monster inside me spat and hissed, shaking the bars of the cage I tried to keep her in. Jude knew we’d be working with Kat today and didn’t want me showing any signs of attraction or that we’d been in any way intimate, which would forewarn hisgirlfriendthat he’d cheated on her. Kat must be his girlfriend!
I mean, look at her. Why wouldn’t she be? Damn, I felt stupid. What killed me was that he could flirt with me like he did coming up the stairs right before we entered the room with her.
