Demon Hunter
by
Jacquie Underdown
Demon Hunter
Copyright © 2014, Jacquie Underdown
ISBN: 9781940744438
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Electronic Publication: October 2014
Editor: Pamela Tyner
Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs
eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Back Cover Copy
Sometimes finding love at the wrong time and in the wrong place can be exactly what is needed.
Sammy has dedicated her life to helping others. She doesn’t have an enemy in the world, so why is she suddenly on the Dark Walkers most-wanted list?
Jonty, a soldier from the future, has been sent back to the twenty-first century to eliminate the Dark Walkers. He hates this time period and wants nothing more than to get in, perform his duties, avoid all distractions, and get out. But that changes when he meets Sammy. There is something about her, beyond her beauty and courage, which he can’t resist.
When Sammy is saved by Jonty, it’s insta-boom-lust. There is nothing complicated about how this strong, sexy man makes her feel. And she knows Jonty feels the same way, so why does he resist her?
With humanity under threat, and both their lives in danger, there are greater things at stake than a little romance. Or is there? Destiny may have other plans. And their deep sexual attraction may just be the key to saving them all.
Content Warning: contains steamy sex, mature language, and some violence
Dedication
For Brad
Chapter 1
Sammy crushed her body against Adam’s chest and kissed him as though Earth and all contained within it was about to explode into infinitesimal shards. Adam had said no more than two words to her tonight and she had only known the man a week. So why was she kissing him?
His arms encircled her waist, drawing her closer. Each time he caressed her flesh, or his warm body pressed against hers, she trembled. These sensations were the most intense and yet the strangest she had ever experienced. Strange because Adam’s touch made her want to orgasm right there without any sense of self-restraint, and strange because before now, she was not in the slightest bit attracted to him.
A short time ago, Sammy stood alone on the balcony of the bar gazing out over the multitude of boxy buildings soaring toward the night sky, each glittering with a myriad of lights, enjoying the crisp air stroking her cheeks.
Adam had joined her, standing beside her with his hands resting on the ornate balustrade.
“Hello, Sammy,” he said with a deep, throaty voice.
She looked across at him, recognized his tall, broad body, cocoa colored hair and eyes to match. He was somewhat older than her twenty-six years, but she was drawn to his chiseled jaw and cheekbones, powerful arms and chest. There was something primal about him, an erotic energy that pulsed within and around him, reaching her and caressing her body with a tantalizing tingle. Weird, she didn’t recall him having this kind of effect on her at work.
Sammy smiled. “Adam, right?”
A breathtaking grin and a nod.
No more words spoken, he brushed his long fingers across Sammy’s bare shoulders. The gentle flutter of fingertips across her flesh made Sammy’s legs grow heavy and her nipples tighten against her dress. Pleasure pulsed between her thighs, causing one resounding thought to permeate her mind: she wanted Adam right there on the balcony, right now, and who cared who saw?
Sammy pressed her eager lips to his. His smug grin, just before her mouth found his, told Sammy that her response was exactly as he predicted. But why? Why would he ever expect me to react this way?
As their lips crushed against each other’s, and her tongue tasted and probed his sweet mouth, he found the zipper on the back of her black, strapless dress and pulled on it. She didn’t care, silently urged him to, told him to with her kiss. As the zipper slid down her back, her dress drifted to her waist, exposing her bare, full breasts. Sammy’s nipples blossomed against the cool air and tingled with anticipation of Adam’s deft hands upon them.
People inside the bar, any one of her work colleagues, could walk out and see exactly what was taking place and see her half-naked. But she didn’t care one bit. All she cared about was the pleasure this man could give her. She kissed him harder, and her heart thundered.
A nebulous thought formed, despite the thick fog of arousal: I never act this way. I’m not the type of girl to have sex with a man in a public place, let alone with a man I barely know. But then the thought fluttered away.
Adam’s kiss crept down her throat. His warm, wet lips found her right breast and distracted her from such thoughts. His teeth greedily tugged on her taut nipple; his tongue flickered over its sensitive surface. Each suck, each nibble, pierced her body and fanned bolts of pleasure lower. She would have screamed from the fantastic feeling if she hadn’t bitten on her own lip to stifle the sound. Why does this feel so utterly irresistible?
Scorching heat spread, unfurled in the pit of her stomach, edged its way further down, deep inside. Her aching sex—yearning for relief of the most indulgent kind—clenched, throbbed, grew wetter until her entire body thrummed with such pleasurable intensity her legs could scarcely hold her.
Gasping, Sammy fell against Adam’s strong arms until he bore her full weight. She could no longer bite back a long moan as this tremendous heat pulsed gratifyingly over and over. She was orgasming, sweat misting over her skin, on a balcony where hundreds of people stood behind a wall barely three meters away. And she didn’t care. It felt too incredible to care. But most of all, she wanted more. She wanted Adam’s rigid cock, which pressed against her belly, inside her. And she wanted it now.
Sammy hastily grasped at Adam’s pants button, twisted it between her fingers. “What are we doing?” she breathed, looking into his deep brown eyes.
That same smug grin tugged at his lips. “You’re the one in charge here.”
His gaze darted behind her head. His entire body stiffened. He shoved her aside.
“What?” she asked, gripping the balustrade so she didn’t lose her balance. But he didn’t answer.
Sammy quickly spun and watched Adam run for the doors further up the balcony. He nearly made it, but as his hand brushed the handle, another man, from out of nowhere, lunged at him. The man was tall and powerful looking, his body rippling with lean muscle. He landed a crushing elbow to Adam’s face and smashed him to the ground. Sammy threw her hands over her mouth and screamed.
Adam struggled with the stranger. The attacker thrust his fist at Adam’s face. Adam kneed him in the groin before the fist connected and the attacker groaned, overtaken with pain. Adam rolled out from under him, got to his feet, and raced toward the door opposite where Sammy stood. She stared, motionless, so much adrenaline soaring through her veins every muscle pinged.
Take me with you. Don’t leave me out here alone.
She silently beseeched Adam, but as he looked at her, a scream roared from her throat. His features were horrifying: sharp, jutting angles, snarling mouth, and those eyes, once soft and brown, looked black, evil. Adam sprinted at her, the attacker only a few steps behind him. Adam thrust his palm out and shoved Sammy in her chest. She gasped and was sent soaring backward over the balustrade. She gripped and flapped at thin air as she eyed the hard, dark street eight stories below.
Chapter 2
Damn
it! I may not get another chance like this.
But the girl...
Jonty eyed the defective as he fled through the door. He was only half a step, one lunge behind him.
But the girl...
Jonty changed directions and rushed toward the balcony. He dived and hoisted half of his body over the edge. Gripping the balustrade hard with one hand, he thrust the other one down and snatched the girl by the wrist.
The girl jolted as her plummet was cut short. The momentum she had already gained made her swing like a wrecking ball in toward the intricate cement fencing, and she smashed the side of her face and shoulder. She didn’t cry out in pain. Perhaps too shocked or maybe relieved it wasn’t the ground, eight stories below, she was crashing into. She looked up at Jonty, her blue eyes wide and fearful.
“I’m going to pull you up,” he said over the rail.
She nodded, small jerking movements.
He tugged and pulled her one-handed up over the balustrade. When both of her feet were back on the solid balcony, Jonty held her waist to steady her.
She looked up at him, eyes still as wide as spatial orbs.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Again the quick, jerking nod.
He reached for her cheek, which was already turning a deep shade of purple and showing signs of swelling. She flinched away.
He withdrew the gesture. “How’s the pain?” he asked.
She pushed fingers against her face. “It hurts badly.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you hit that wall hard.”
The girl bit down on her bottom lip and blinked rapidly. “It could have been so much worse, though. It could’ve been the g—ground. Thank you. Thank you so much. I—I don’t know what happened here. Why Adam would… Oh God, his face, it was grotesque…demonic.”
Jonty stepped forward one quick pace, leant closer. “What? You saw his…”
She squeezed her eyes shut, shook her head. “I must be crazy. It must be the shock.” She ruffled trembling hands through her long, black strands.
“What exactly did you see?” Surely she couldn’t have witnessed the defective’s true form. That was an ability held by people only after this time period. An ability she had no chance of possessing. But what if she did see, what would that mean?
He started to ask, but he was cut short by her frantic state. She had opened her eyes, hastily covered one arm over her bare breasts, and was trying to pull up her dress to a modest level with the other hand, but she was trembling so much she kept dropping the material.
Jonty watched her for a brief moment and felt a pang of sympathy for this strange girl. He didn’t think it would be possible to feel like this; he detested all people from this time period. He hated the defects for choosing this era, filled with its unintelligent, immoral excuses for human beings, stinking, polluted air, and aesthetically displeasing attempts at architecture and design. It made him nauseous. If what the defects were doing now didn’t affect people in his own time, he wouldn’t have even stepped foot into it.
But something about this woman was unlike the others he had encountered here. She had this ability to draw him in and alter his perceptions. The very essence of her—her spirit—vibrated on an inexplicably familiar frequency. Her spirit, from the moment he stepped onto that balcony, seemed to intangibly entangle with his own in a way that reminded him of home and filled him with recognizable warmth. He felt…protective of her, in a way he would never have conceived possible.
He grimaced. What the hell am I thinking?
“Here,” he said, quickly turning her around so her back was facing him. “Let me help.” He lifted her dress and allowed her to adjust it over her breasts and then zipped it up.
She turned to face him, peering with those frightened, striking, blue eyes, and whispered, “Thank you.”
“It’s perfectly fine.”
She shook her head, swallowed hard. “Can you tell me what happened here? Why did he push me? Why were you fighting him?”
This was Jonty’s moment to leave. He had no business sticking around, and she had no right to know the truth. The girl was safe now. Her wounds would heal. He should try and trail the defective. But this girl, this protective feeling, this curiosity to know more about her... Damn it!
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Where do you live?”
She snatched her hand away. “Don’t.”
He narrowed his eyes, took a step back.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes darting over his face. “I just don’t know who to trust. Adam...when he touched me it was as though he could control my body. He could make me feel more sharply.” A red hue colored her cheeks and she lowered her eyes to the ground. “Are you like him? Will you…”
Jonty shook his head, his fists clenched. So that’s the trick he was playing—exerting his ability to seduce by touch alone. Aside from her obvious beauty, why her?
“Definitely not. I detest him and those like him,” he said, his words clipped and loud. “It’s my job to destroy people like him!”
Her bottom lip trembled and she took two paces back.
He sighed. “I only want to get you to safety,” he said, forcing his voice to sound gentler. “I can’t guarantee he won’t come back for you.”
“What? He’ll come back for me?” she shrieked, the trembling in her hands intensifying.
“He won’t harm you as long as I’m here. I can promise you that. But I don’t know why he wanted you or why he tried to eliminate you.”
She peered up at him as though she were trying to read his soul, find some deeper understanding of him. She was fascinating, the intensity of her stare. Jonty used the silent moment to take in the soft features of her face. Her full, pink lips were curved into a solemn frown. Her long, black hair fell in waves down her shoulders and back. She had fair skin and a cute spattering of freckles across her nose. But her eyes, they were what captured him—vividly blue, penetrating, and pure.
His attention strayed to her body. He couldn’t help himself. She was tall, with long legs, yet still possessed a womanly fleshiness that spoke to him on a physical, primal level. He lingered, for a heartbeat too long, on her full breasts, his gaze straying further to take in her hips and belly, both of which were curved voluptuously.
She’s beautiful. Bizarre. They’re not usually a beautiful people in this time. But she is absolutely breathtaking. And if she does see, like we see…
She took his hand in hers. “I believe you can keep me safe. I can see you’re not like Adam. I need to believe that.”
Jonty could only nod as a sensation he had barely felt before shot from his fingertips, up his arm and across his chest to his heart. Hot warmth, tingling pleasure, erotic sensations this girl conjured in him; this girl from the twenty-first century.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
He shook away his daze and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “It’s Jonty.”
“I’m Sammy.”
A smile curled his lips. “Come on, Sammy. We’ll get you home, cleaned up, and then we’ve got some talking to do.”
Chapter 3
Sammy and Jonty made it to her apartment. She hadn’t expected guests and cringed when she opened her door and eyed the books, pens, mugs, and remote controls sitting untidily on her coffee table in the lounge, the colorful couch pillows left lazily on the carpet, and her running shoes and gym backpack slumped against the wall.
Jonty led her to the kitchen and lifted her onto the bench-top so she was at eye level with him. She tried to ignore the breakfast dishes still in the sink, the coffee and sugar left on the counter, and the few red slops of last night’s spaghetti sauce she didn’t think to wipe off the kitchen floor tiles.
He didn’t appear to take notice of any of the mess, his sole focus was her. Jonty’s eyes softened as he ran his finger gently over her cheek. Sammy held stiff and tried not to flinch. He was on her side. Unlike Adam with his demonic features, she was certain she saw something s
o intrinsically angelic in Jonty’s. Only fleeting, but behind his distracting, almost mesmerizing, good looks, she saw something else—an impression of someone who was kind, honest…saintly. She couldn’t explain it exactly, or even how she received the impression, because it transcended Earthly vocabulary and perception. All she could rely on was her intuition to trust what she sensed.
She watched him, his intense focus. Jonty was tall with broad shoulders, muscled chest and arms, which his tight blue t-shirt molded snugly to. The disparity in stature between them excited and intimidated her all at once. His immense size implied a physical dominance and strength she craved.
Jonty’s hair was sandy brown, sun-bleached, and hung in loose curls around his forehead, ears, and neck. His jaw was square, his cheekbones and nose defined. Oh, and his lips—full, delicious lips. But most enticing were his blue eyes. They burned into her, the color of ancient ice, and seemed to possess a breadth of wisdom.
He caught her stare, her subtly parted lips, and his brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”
She winced as he gently touched her cheek. “I think I’m seeing things.”
He nodded. “So you said.” He took a small cylindrical object from his pants pocket. “What exactly do you think you’re seeing?” He clicked a button on the object and held it over her cheek. It began to draw all the heat, all the pain that had throbbed with every heartbeat.
Sammy shook her head. “I don’t really know. Demons? Saints? I’m not sure I can explain it.”
Jonty nodded, but a thick vein pulsed in his neck—he was restraining his natural reaction. “You said Adam looked demonic?”
Sammy shuddered as the memory of Adam’s face, black and grotesque, reappeared in her mind’s eye. “Yes, it was horrifying.”
“And the saint?”
She lowered her eyes, feeling heat spreading across her cheeks. They would surely be glowing pink. “You.”
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