Ian growled and lunged at the weredemon with his sword.
Ben surged to his feet and readied his stance to fight, his eyes hot with anger. “Fuck me! That hurt, Hessler. You’re going to pay.”
Ian flicked the power switch on his sword and took a swing. He sliced Tyler’s shoulder and the contact sent a surging shock through the weredemon as it cut his flesh. Tyler gasped and his body trembled as a crackling noise filled the air. Tyler’s hair stood on end, his eyes wide as if he was surprised they’d retaliated this way.
Tyler collapsed in a heap on the floor, out cold. The wound on his shoulder closed up immediately.
“Dumb son of a bitch.” Ian’s chest heaved as he stood over the unconscious creature.
“Nothing says every weredemon is smart. Much as I hate to say it, I don’t think he meant to hurt me that much. He could have knocked my head off my shoulders. Literally. Weredemons are immensely strong,” Ben said as he rubbed his jaw and winced.
“You okay?”
“I’m great.”
“Then let’s tie him up and find Synna.”
* * * * *
Ian’s heart pounded in his chest, his breath heaving as he ran full blast toward the outbuildings. For all the assignments he’d been on abroad as an Alpha Unit soldier, he’d never felt like this. Torn up. His guts churned with a terror he couldn’t reason with or force back. Oh God, it might be too late. Why did I let her out of my sight?
Ian slid to a stop near the bushes by the storage building where Tyler thought Heidi might be holding Synna. Ian crouched low, his eyes accustomed to the dark, but grateful for the moonlight silvering the night.
Ben’s voice came over the I-Doc. “We’re coming up on the other side of the buildings. We’ll check the back rooms first.”
Ian spoke into the device, wanting to leave caution behind and do whatever it took to bring his woman back into his arms. “Heidi isn’t going to take her, Ben. I’ll kill Heidi first.”
“I know,” Ben said his voice filled with quiet understanding.
Tyler lay trussed up in the suite. He wouldn’t come to for hours, giving the SIA enough time to carry his carcass to the reintroduction chamber within the bowels of the SIA. No one would ever have to worry about him prowling SIA and maybe harassing another woman or trying to possess her for his own.
Ian’s heart ached. What would he do if Heidi had already taken Synna’s body? What would he do? Rage surged inside him. Nothing mattered but this mission to get her back.
Moonlight bathed the outbuildings in a ghostly glow. Hell, a weredemon didn’t need light to see. Ian staked out the front of the building. Sparks suddenly flew from the rooftop.
“Damn it!” He hissed his next words into the I-Doc. “Ben, we’ve got to get Synna out of there. That weird light around the rooftop is demon glow.”
“Demon what?”
“Demon glow. It’s used by the weredemons to take a human’s soul!”
Pain burned in Ian’s chest as furiously as the light dancing off the roof of the outbuilding like St. Elmo’s Fire.
“We won’t be able to break down the doors if Heidi’s locked them,” Ben said.
“Then we’ll just have to use our weapons.” Without hesitation, Ian ran toward the building.
Ian didn’t wait. With a surge of strength, he jammed his shoulder against the front door. Wood cracked and the lock came free from the door partway. With a deep growl, he lifted his sword and brought it down on the lock with all his force. Metal clanged and fire danced off the lock as the door flew open. He heard Ben and his team battering the back door. Above him the roof pulsated with a weird rainbow light. He plunged into the room.
Only a couch, two chairs, coffee table and lamps occupied the small bungalow living room. He worked from room to room, into the kitchen, the dining room, and finally the large master bedroom. Nothing.
The back door slammed against the kitchen wall, and he heard Ben cry out his name.
Ian called out acknowledgement and moved into the kitchen at the same time. “She’s not in here.”
Two of Ben’s team members, a young female agent and an older man, followed behind with their swords drawn.
Ian saw the light streaming in great waves from under the basement doorway. Heat radiated from the area. “Oh my God.”
“Shit,” Ben said, his voice agonized. “No one can survive that.”
Ian headed for the basement door. “Synna isn’t dead. I’d feel it in my heart. She isn’t dead.”
“Wait.” Ben reached for Ian’s arm and missed. “Damn it, you can’t go down there.”
Ian glared at the Scotsman. “If it was someone you loved, what would you do?”
Ben didn’t hesitate, resignation on his face. “Break down the fuckin’ door.”
“Let’s do it,” Ian said.
All agents headed for the door.
“Ready?” Ian aimed his sword at the door, hoping the combined electrical heat would work.
Ben’s weapon went off at the same time, and intense light melted the doorknob and made a huge hole.
Instantly, the unholy heat emanating from the room ceased and the light diminished.
Ian charged through with Ben and the others close behind. What Ian saw sent pure fury through his blood.
Heidi stood over Synna’s body. Synna lay on the floor by a dingy cot, her costume torn, the bottom singed, her hair matted and blood coming from one ear.
At least she wasn’t burned.
A glimmer of hope entered Ian’s heart.
“Back away from her,” Ian said.
Ben and his team aimed their weapons at the weredemon.
Heidi laughed as she turned toward them, the throat sound harsh and manic.
“Step away from her, Heidi,” Ben said in echo.
“Why should I?” Her voice sounded guttural, almost mannish. “She’s dead and now I’ll possess her.” Her eyes, a harsh coals-on-fire red, glittered at him with strange intensity and assurance, as if she had all the time in the world. “She’s not the same person and soon I’ll be her.”
Ian brought up his weapon, the pain of knowing his beloved lay dead cleaving his heart so deep he knew he’d never recover. “Take this then, bitch!”
He aimed the weapon at her heart. With lightning speed, her hands lashed out and blue light arched into him with paralyzing punch, catching his breath and holding it prisoner. The force lifted him up and slammed him back into the wall. His weapon sailed across the room out of reach. Ben’s weapon went off. Heidi dodged the energy bolt with amazing speed.
“She’s dead, you idiot!” Heidi charged Ian. “You belong to me now!”
Ben and his team laid down another stream of blistering heat rounds, but no matter what they did, she moved away effortlessly.
Ian ached from head to toe, but he pulled himself to his feet. Through his dimmed and dizzy vision he thought he saw Synna rise and climb to her feet.
It couldn’t be.
Synna rose from the dead and grabbed his weapon from the floor. She aimed at Heidi. Light streamed from the point of the sword and struck Heidi in the middle of the back. A sizzling sound pierced the air, and Heidi’s eyes widened as she gasped and shivered.
A thin scream left Heidi’s throat, and her skin turned darker brown before it collapsed inward. Ian watched in horrified fascination as she shriveled like a crushed paper bag. One second the weredemon’s desiccating form was there, the next, it popped out of view. Only a wisp of smoke remained.
Ian rushed for Synna and gathered her in his arms as her eyelids fluttered and closed. “Synna! Synna!”
The others rushed toward them.
“Come on. We’ve got to get her to the infirmary,” Ben said.
* * * * *
Synna’s dreams filled with hellfire and burning waves dancing along the ceiling.
Why is the ocean on fire? She opened her eyes to the most welcome vision in the world.
Ian’s head lay propped on his arms on t
he bed. With his shaggy hair tossed about, she couldn’t see his face. Seeing him so near filled her heart with warmth and joy.
With a gasp, he jerked awake and looked at her.
His eyes went sharp and intense. He reached for her hand lying on the pillow. “Thank God. You’re awake.” He stood and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“It’s what I do best, apparently.” She laughed softly.
He touched her forehead, and the look in his eyes held amazing tenderness. “How do you feel?”
She smiled. “I feel great. Like nothing happened.” She glanced around the cream-walled room and the hospital bed. “Where am I?”
“The local hospital. You were at the infirmary, but we decided you should be here for treatment. They’ve tested your system to make sure there was no permanent damage. You were out so long because your body was healing. You’re free and clear of any weredemon possession. Apparently, my semen actually acted as protection in more than one way. It kept the Demon Glow from destroying you.”
Added relief flowed through her in grateful waves. “Tell me what happened. I only remember little bits.”
“Rest now.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers reverently. “You need to take it easy.”
“I need to know. What happened to Heidi and Tyler?”
“You killed Heidi. Tyler was sent back to the Shadow Realm.”
Shock kept her quiet for a long minute. “I killed Heidi?”
After his explanation, she took a deep breath. She couldn’t speak, overwhelmed.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead again. “Are you all right?”
“It’s just a lot to take in right now.”
“You did a damn fine job defending yourself. Ben and I were struggling.”
She saw guilt in his face and squeezed his hand. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d be dead.”
She frowned and he squeezed her hand. The dark circles under his usually sparkling eyes and his overall rough appearance made her wonder. “How long have I been out?”
A heaving sigh left him. “Two days.”
“Oh my God. You’ve been here all that time, haven’t you?”
He nodded, his brow creased. “Of course.” His eyes shimmered, haunted. “Don’t you know by now?”
“Know what?”
His words came soft and reverent. “I love you, Synna.”
A gentle smile touched his mouth, and the kindness and love she saw brought tears to her eyes. “And I love you.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and drew her up into his arms. As he held her, he buried his face in her hair. “The moment you’re well, you and I are taking a long weekend.”
She pulled back to look into his handsome face. “Yeah?”
“Oh yeah,” he said in a husky whisper.
“Where?”
“Your bed or my bed. I don’t care which. But we’re locking ourselves in there for a couple of days with provisions.”
“Provisions, eh?”
He grinned. “Food. Water. Sex toys.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
Epilogue
Five days later
Synna sighed as Ian’s tongue bathed her nipple with a wide, even stroke. They’d spent the last four hours feasting on each other in every way imaginable. They hadn’t ventured into the sex toys they’d bought earlier in the week. They had bought condoms, though, and now that the weredemon danger was gone, they used them every time they made love.
Right now all Synna wanted with Ian was raw, hot sex in the most basic man-on-top-of-woman way. They’d fucked in every position they could think of, their lovemaking frenzied. She’d never felt this out of control, and he’d confessed earlier that he’d never made love for this long in his life. They kissed, they hugged, they’d washed up in the shower. Moments later Ian had spread her half-naked out on the kitchen table, his cock hammering between her legs until she screamed out in tortured orgasm.
Now, as he paid homage to her tender breasts and hardening nipples, she thought she couldn’t possibly be aroused again.
Boy was she wrong.
Hot shivers rippled over her skin as delight left her mouth in a sigh. “That’s wonderful.” She smiled up into his eyes, her grin mischievous. “You have to be the world’s greatest lover. I’ve never had that many orgasms in a row in my life.”
He reached for another condom and slipped it on, then slowly levered himself over her. “Really?”
“I’m not kidding you. It’s—”
His cock plunged, spearing her wet, slick pussy. She gasped, then groaned as he withdrew and thrust. “You were saying?”
Synna could barely form a thought as his cock massaged her walls and set off wild tingles of enjoyment deep inside her.
“My time at SIA ends next week,” she managed to say.
“And?”
“Now that I’m leaving the SIA, and everyone on the green earth seems to know about us, what do we do next?”
His hips stirred into gentle motion, so slow and methodical she felt the pleasure building by stages. “I was hoping you’d want to move in with me.”
A thrill sent a stirring straight down to her stomach and added to the arousal driving her higher with each stroke.
She felt bolder than she’d ever been in her life. “You want me to move in with you?”
He tilted one eyebrow and his hips ground against hers. His pupils dilated, his breathing coming faster. “There’s more room here at my place for both of us. Besides, I’ve got a state-of-the-art security system.”
She frowned. “You think Tyler might try to come back from the Shadow Realm?”
“Not anytime soon, but it something we’ll have to keep on guard for. Does that worry you?”
She tilted her hips up to meet another slow, hot thrust, her thoughts fogging with desire. “Yes. But there’s nowhere I’d rather start my new career in art than in this lovely home with you.”
He smiled, the curving of his lips tender and reassuring. The pace of his thrusts increased, heating her from the inside out. “Have I told you how much I love you lately?”
“I think a few times just today.”
“I’m telling you again,” he whispered against her lips, “because I want more.”
Pleasure heated along her nerves. Her breathing came faster and her fingers clutched at his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his hips.
He groaned as the motion brought him deeper. “I know it might seem too soon, but I want you to marry me, Synna.”
His question broke her motion. “What?”
Ian peppered her face with kisses and ended with a soul-searching taste. “I don’t want just a live-in arrangement. I want you in my life forever. I want you with me through day and night, thick and thin. I love you too much to have anything else.”
With a little sob of joy, she kissed him deeply.
He grinned. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes, yes!”
Joy entered his eyes, and he kissed her with a passion she knew would last forever.
Ecstasy speared her entire body as Ian’s cock moved between the slick, swollen folds of her pussy and deep inside. Nothing mattered but being with him, taking him with her for this time and for always.
He rode her hard. “God yes!”
Orgasm slammed her. Hot pleasure contracted her muscles over his thrusting cock. As she arched up against him and her entire body shook, she let out a wail.
Ian lay full on her and gathered her closer, his hips pumping furiously. A low, harsh growl left his throat. He buried his face in her throat and shuddered as he climaxed long and hard.
As he settled into her arms, she sighed and held him close. She knew deep within her heart that it would always be like this for them.
“I love you,” she whispered. “Now and for always.”
About the author
Suspenseful, erotic, edgy, thrilling, roma
ntic, adventurous. All these words are used to describe award-winning, best-selling novelist Denise A. Agnew’s novels. Romantic Times Magazine called her romantic suspense novels DANGEROUS INTENTIONS and TREACHEROUS WISHES “top-notch romantic suspense.” With paranormal, time travel, romantic comedy, contemporary, historical, erotica, and romantic suspense novels under her belt, she proves her gift for writing about a diverse range of subjects. (Writing tales that scare the reader is her ultimate thrill.)
Denise’s inspiration for her novels comes from innumerable sources, but the fact she has lived in Colorado, Hawaii, and the United Kingdom has given her a lifetime of ideas. Her experiences with archaeology have crept into her work, as well as numerous travels throughout England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Denise currently lives in Arizona with her real life hero, her husband.
Denise welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337 Commerce Drive, #13, Stow, OH 44224.
Also by Denise A. Agnew
By Honor Bound anthology
The Dare
Deep is the Night: Dark Fire
Deep is the Night: Haunted Souls
Deep is the Night: Night Watch
Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales From the Temple IV anthology
Special Investigations Agency: Over the Line
Special Investigations Agency: Primordial
Winter Warriors anthology
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com
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