Harlow's Demons Complete Series

by Jen Pretty

  "Then we would have a broken dragon," I pointed out helpfully.

  "So, we get some quick dry cement and patch it back together. It just has to look convincing enough that your demon will give back momma, and we can plan to take him down before he suspects anything."

  "This is the worst plan ever," I moaned.

  Rory nodded, but Nick looked thoughtful. I hoped we could pull this off. The world would not thank me for setting free the biggest baddest demon in history. My mother probably wouldn't thank me for saving her either way, but I could deal with that.

  "Okay, when are we doing this smash the demon thing?" I asked.

  "I think your man and the bimbo are setting it up right now," Rory replied.

  "Oh God," Nick said. "Chelsea shouldn't be helping anyone with anything. She can barely help herself."

  I laughed. "Julian can take care of himself. He's like a million years old." Plus, I didn't want to go back out there if Chelsea was hanging around. I was probably being childish. Chelsea could have good qualities in her somewhere, but I might strangle her before finding them.

  I got up and raided Nick's fridge. He had some beer, good enough. I popped the top off one and took a long drink before remembering my manners and asking if anyone else wanted one.

  "If you haven't drunk them all," Rory snickered, "I'll take one."

  "None for me. I think I'll take a shower and change," Nick said, rising on legs that looked steadier. Pizza cured everything. Even wrongful imprisonment in a demon jail cell.

  I took Rory his beer, and we drank in silence. Well, he drank in silence. I drank in that tiny gulpy sound the bottle made as the liquid poured down my throat. We were about to break open a gargoyle. What could possibly go wrong?

  Julian breezed in with his business face on just as I finished my second beer and was considering raiding the cupboards to find something a little stronger. Beer-then-liquor-never-sicker, be damned.

  He crossed the room and stepped in really close to me. "Did your lieutenant fill you in on the plan?" His hand cupped my cheek and his eyes burned into mine with too much intensity.

  "Yeah, sounds like a super plan. Really looking forward to it." I made sure there was enough sarcasm in my voice; he knew I really didn't want to do this. I could run. Grab a flight to Mexico and let these people deal with the problem, but Julian's warm hand reminded me I kind of liked him, a lot. Maybe too much. Shit.

  "It will be fine." His words are soft, meant only for my ears, but, of course, Rory had to be part of the conversation.

  "I'm sure your man is right, Harlow. Let's get on with this so we can go back to your hotel. I want to spend some time in the hot tub before bed."

  I rolled my eyes, and Julian's lip ticked up in a crooked grin.

  "Fine, let go smash some stuff." God, I sounded like a teenage boy.

  Nick came out of the shower then, a towel wrapped low around his hips and water dripping from his hair. He had shaved his face and looked more like himself except for his hair being longer than usual. His chest was bare, and I couldn't help but stare at his broad muscles and tight abs. The water ran down, disappearing into the towel.

  He leaned against the counter as the guys filled him in on the master plan.

  "Wait for me. I can help if anything goes wrong," Nick said before slipping into his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

  Julian lifted a hand, cupping my chin and turning my face back to his. He raised an eyebrow at my blatant display of interest. It wasn't my fault that Nick was delicious. We were solid friends, but I was still a red-blooded woman. No one could blame me.

  I pulled away from Julian and checked the cupboards until I found a bottle of tequila. I slapped it down on the counter and promised it I would be back just as soon as I finished transferring an ancient demon from one gargoyle to another.

  When Nick walked back out of his room, he was wearing leather pants that left little to the imagination and a t-shirt that pulled tight across his chest. The image of his bare chest was still burned into my mind despite my actual boyfriend being right next to me, but I had bigger problems.

  Demon problems.

  And demons trumped boyfriends.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The sculptors were all lined up against the far wall of the warehouse. They had drinks and popcorn and were obviously waiting for a show. Great.

  The dragon gargoyle was in the centre of the room, and they had selected a thick lion gargoyle to do the smashing. The dragon was thinner and long, so in theory, it should be able to break the dragon without breaking itself. As long as it went according to plan.

  Nick had his sculptor stone on full display around his neck, so I pulled my stones and amulets out from under my shirt and began the arduous task of untangling them. The chains had become wrapped around each other like they had gone through the clothes dryer and I struggled with them until I got one amulet caught in my hair and tears sprung to my eyes as it pulled.

  "Help me," I whispered to Julian, who was standing closest while Rory explained the process again.

  Julian smiled and my heart melted. His fingers unwound my hair from the tangle then he twisted and pulled at the chains, careful not to touch the amulets themselves until they all lay straight and smooth against my neck.

  I left my sculptor stone out and tucked the rest beneath my shirt again. Then I ran my finger over the Opal Julian had given me and I was ready.

  "Julian and I will do the smashing," Rory said with a wicked grin. "You two stand by in case we need you, but I'm sure we will be fine. This gargoyle is a solid stone." He patted the stone lion's head.

  "Those are famous last words," I said with a cringe.

  Julian squeezed my hand, then stood beside Rory. Nick moved into position beside me as we prepared ourselves for the potential super demon.

  Time slowed down as the guys lifted the heavy solid rock gargoyle. Their muscles bunched, and Rory's wings popped out. Must be nice to have half-demon super strength.

  Nick's shoulder brushed mine, and I let out the breath I had been holding in. Then took one more breath before the guys raised the lion over their heads and brought it down hard against the tail of the dragon statue.

  The sound of screaming filled the warehouse and echoed through the space, bouncing off the walls and burning into my ears.

  I forced my eyes to stay open against the pain of my eardrums rupturing. The piercing screams dulled as blood oozed down my cheeks, but the flames that shot up from the dragon forced my eyes closed against the heat.

  The lion had appeared to be intact, so I prayed that the demon was transferring to the new gargoyle and not consuming someone in the warehouse. I couldn't hear or see anything, so when a hand clamped around my forearm, I lashed out with my fist like I was a fighter in a cage match. My knuckled crunched against bone, and I screamed, drawing my hand in to cradle it against my chest.

  I pried my eyes open, but couldn't see through the tears that had pricked in my eyes. My sculptor stone clutched in my good hand, I jabbed it out towards my opponent but met nothing but air.

  I wiped at my eyes and got a blurry vision of Julian rubbing his jaw with a weird smile on his face. It was shock and humour.

  "Shit. Did I hit you?" I asked him.

  His mouth moved, but I didn't hear him.

  "What?" I yelled.

  Julian laughed and put a finger to his lips in the universal sign for quiet. I glanced around and realized everyone was fine. Well. Nick's ears were bleeding, too, but nobody looked demon possessed or otherwise damaged.

  "Did it work?"

  Julian put his finger to his lips again. Was I yelling? I couldn't hear anything.

  Rory popped up beside Julian and gave me two thumbs up with a goofy grin. I guess that meant it was all good.

  Turning on my heel, I marched back to Nick's apartment, bursting in like I owned the place, and grabbed my bottle of Tequila. I couldn't get the cap off fast enough. The burn of the liquid sliding over my tongue and dow
n my throat choking me. Some of the alcohol spilled out, but I didn't care. I had just played chicken with a big bad demon. Bigger and badder than any other I had ever met, and I lived to talk about it. It was party time.

  I called dibs on Nick's bathroom and locked myself away in it to clean up my face and puke a bit. The alcohol burned just as much on the way back up, but I chased it down with more Tequila. Once I was sure I wouldn't puke again, I abandoned the now dirty bathroom and found my way to the couch where I collapsed, pulling the throw blanket off the back to cover myself and my new friend Don Julio Tequila. I would call him Donny.

  That's how Julian found me a few minutes later. He lifted my legs and sat down with my feet in his lap. He pulled my boots off and I couldn't care if I had smelly feet when his strong hands kneaded the fleshy middle of my foot. I took another swig of the alcohol before Rory snuck up on me like a ninja and unceremoniously swiped it. He would have never been able to steal my new friend if it weren't for the fact that my ears were still ringing.

  The joke was on him though because I didn't rinse my mouth after I vomited and before I drank from the bottle. I watched him drink from it and cursed when he didn't seem to notice. His mouth moved as he spoke to Julian, but the words weren't clear enough for me to hear. I reached out a grabby hand, and Rory returned my bottle before collapsing on the chair across from us.

  "Where is Nick?" I asked.

  Julian pointed his finger, and I found Nick leaning against the kitchen counter a bottle in his hand, too. I gave him a thumbs up, and he returned it. We had all survived step one of this crazy plan to save my idiot mother and the rest of the world.

  I took another sip of the Tequila enjoying the burn this time.

  We were fine. My eyes slid shut, and I enjoyed Julian's smart hands on my feet.

  The next thing I knew, I was being carried through the beautiful foyer of Harlow Hotel and Suites in Julian's strong arms.

  I tucked my head into his chest and pulled in the smoky smell lingering on his clothes from our demon transfer. It was acrid and sharp, not like a wood fire, but beneath that smell was the clean, fresh scent of Julian. It was comforting and made me feel safe. I peeked up at his stern face as he watched the elevator numbers rise on our way to the penthouse.

  He glanced down at me and winked. He had done that back when I first met him, and it was weird then.

  It was still weird now, but it was nice to see his personality come through every now and then. I made a vow to make sure he had less time with that stern work face on and more time with a relaxed face. He needed the boss-man face, but when he was with me, I didn't want him to have to be the half-demon responsible for the whole city. I wanted him to be the guy who rode his motorcycle and winked at me for weird reasons I didn't understand.

  I didn't like the idea of leaving my mother to the demon's tender mercies for the night, but I was too wiped out to do much of anything and I couldn't exactly hear. So, when Julian slipped me between the sheets of the soft bed in the penthouse suite, I didn't object. I didn't object when he took off his clothes where I could watch, and I definitely didn't object when he slid in behind me, pulled the blankets over our heads, and wrapped around me, so my back was tight to his chest. I was the small spoon in a blanket fort for two. My stiff muscles relaxed as Julian's hands meandered over me.

  Knowing he was there was reassuring. I didn't want demons sneaking up on me while I slept.

  "Stay with me," I whispered.

  He squeezed me tight, and I knew that was a promise.

  He was a man of his word; a good man.

  So, I wasn't surprised when I woke some time later in a pitch-black room with Julian's arm still holding me tight. I wiggled and turned to face him, running my fingers over his face blindly until I found his soft lips. I pressed in closer and licked across them. He reacted immediately and devoured my lips with his. The kiss turned from sweet to something more in a moment, and both of us let our hands roam and explore. The well-defined muscles on his chest led down to abs that would make a bodybuilder cry. My hand kept travelling lower, and he gasped. I wasn't going to face my demon tomorrow without making sure Julian knew how much he meant to me.

  I showed him several times that night exactly how I felt, and he returned the favour.

  ✽✽✽

  "Harlow," some idiot said.

  "No," I moaned, rolling over so I could bury my face in the warm chest behind me. Yes. I wanted to sleep all day like that. Warm and cozy in the blanket fort with a hot muscular body that had done wicked things all night. Perfect.

  "We should get up." The voice came from the warm chest I was drooling on. Damn.

  "I don't want to," I whined.

  Julian's chuckle sent shivers down my spine.

  "We have to save the world." His arms circled me and pulled me tighter to him. I guess he didn't care about the drool.

  I wiped my face on the back of my hand anyway and peeked one eye open. The sun was up, and it was filtering through the blanket just enough I could make out his face.

  "Hi," he said.

  "Hey, I can hear you," I said, opening the other eye.

  "I figured as much when you swore at me the first time I tried to wake you."

  I wiggled until I was face to face with Julian and threw my leg over his so I was wrapped around him. His hair was all disheveled. I bit my lip as I ran my fingers through his messy dark locks.

  "See what you do to me?" he said in a husky whisper.

  I grinned. All messed up and hiding in this blanket, he was like a different person. He was relaxed and genuine.

  "You fix me," he said a moment before his lips found mine. He tasted minty fresh, and I knew he had been up already. Him being here meant everything to me. I had never had someone to wake up to besides grumpy Lincoln banging on my door. This was different. It was like floating to the surface as I woke instead of being dumped in cold water. His warm lips trailing down my neck scrambled my brain.

  A niggling of a thought came to my mind as his teeth nibbled my shoulder.

  "Did you heal me?" I asked. Darla said he could heal people once he was old enough. I had never healed faster than a human. Something must have sped up my eardrums healing.

  "Maybe," he said before returning his lips to my neck. He pushed me onto my back and slid over me like a prowling lion stalking his prey.

  I giggled as his hand slid up my side, hitting the ticklish spot he had found last night and used to torture me.

  He set his forehead down on my collar bone and sighed. "We have to go."

  "I know. Just one more minute," I whispered, lifting his head so I could look him in the eye. "I want to remember this, Julian. Let me just etch you into my mind."

  He frowned for a moment then shook his head. "I can do better. I can't show weakness to anyone else, but for you, I will be a better man."

  "You are an excellent man. I only love these moments because they are mine. For me. I know you have to show a big bad demon face to the world, but this," I reached up and ran my fingers down his stubble. "This Julian is just for me."

  "Forever," he said and pulled me with him as he rolled, so I was straddling his hips and pressed against the length of him.

  Forever? Yes. I wanted that for the rest of my life. The thought scared me as soon as it entered my mind, but I told myself to get a grip and sunk into his warmth for the last few moments. I knock at the door put an end to our quiet peace.

  "What?" I asked with a grumpy voice.

  "Time to go," Rory's voice called through the door.

  "Ugh," I said. Julian's lips met mine once more before I climbed off him and elected to have a quick shower before the demon drama began. Best to be fresh as a daisy and wearing clean underwear in case I got another free ride in an ambulance to the hospital.

  I heard the bedroom door open and close as Julian left and I flicked on the shower to really hot. The heat and fresh soap smells woke me the rest, bringing me back to the problem at hand. There was a demon who
was holding my idiot mother hostage and probably planning some murderous demon stuff.

  I dried myself off and pulled my wet hair into a ponytail on the top of my head. My standard bad-ass style. I pulled on some heavy leather pants and a tank top that would be perfect under the leather jacket I had packed in my bag and forgot about. My heavy boots on, I was ready.

  Out in the main part of the suite, a crowd had gathered.

  A few other local hunters joined Rory and Nick, but there was no sign of Chelsea. She wouldn't be helpful in this mission. One person I hadn't expected was sitting beside Nick. He was turned away from me, but I would know his dirty bandanna and voice anywhere.

  "Lincoln! What are you doing here?"

  He turned and grinned at me. "You are hunting one of my demons, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

  He rose and wrapped me up in a hug. He wasn't usually a hug type. In fact, I couldn't remember him ever hugging me, but it was nice to have a piece of home here with me. A frown etched his face as he pulled away, but he smoothed it into a grin and handed me an envelope. "This is for after we catch this bastard."

  "Shit-face," I reminded him.

  He nodded and grinned. "Put this somewhere safe for now."

  "Okay," I said. I took the envelope back into the bedroom. It had my name on the front in a handwriting I didn't recognize, but I did as Linc asked and tucked it into my suitcase.

  "Get your amulets, Harlow," Linc's voice called from the living room, and I cursed. I always seemed to forget them when he was around. I grabbed them off the bedside table where I had flung them last night, so I didn't burn Julian in my sleep. I grabbed his opal, too. I was on the fence about wearing it now. It protected me from him, but I trusted him and didn't want to wear it. But it was a gift from him. Argh. I slid my thumb over it a few more times.

  "Put it on," Julian said from behind me. I spun and looked at him.

  "I don't need it."

  "It protects you from all demons." He took it from my hands and turned me around. His arms came over my shoulders, and he secured the clasp at the back of my neck. His fingers slid across my skin, and I shivered. "Let's go."