Demon's Embrace by V. J. Devereaux Read Free Book Online Page A

to look at her.
    She’d laid her head against his back. All he could see of her in the mirrors was her pretty hair swirling in the breeze.
    Somehow, he’d manage despite the pain. It would hardly be the first time. He was too tired to consider food at the moment. Besides, it would only help a little, some fuel came from the world around him, food gave him little. His true mate…she would provide all the sustenance he would need.
    In the distance, he spotted the sign for a small picnic area ahead. Beneath the trees it was heavily shadowed. Behind the picnic table there was enough space for the bike and that was all that was necessary. There was a clear view of the highway in both directions. It would do.
    He dared not take them to a conventional hotel, motel or some such. It was far too easy for someone with Templeton’s money and power to track them to such a place.
    “We’ll have to sleep rough,” he called over his shoulder.
    Against his back, Miri nodded.
    He drove the bike beneath the trees and turned it off, glancing each way to be sure he still had a clear line of sight along the highway.
    Miri was almost too tired to care but she was grateful for Ash’s hand in getting off the bike. She was even more thankful for the port-a-potty tucked discreetly beneath the trees. When she exited from it she was almost ridiculously relieved to see a sleeping bag laid out beside the motorcycle, only barely visible by the light of the single streetlight illuminating the entrance to the little parking area.
    Filtered through the trees and leaves blowing in the light breeze the light was uncertain but it was enough to see Ash crouched to check over the motorcycle.
    She walked toward him, looking at the sleeping bag. “Where did that come from?”
    Looking up, Ash saw the direction of her eyes. Although he knew that Miri accepted the idea of magic, and had seen him conjure his clothing, he knew she hadn’t had much time to process the reality of it all. He didn’t want to push her.
    “Saddle bags.”
    “Only one?” she asked.
    He nodded.
    “You sleep,” he said, “you need it more than I do. Daemonae require it less.” Which was true. It didn’t make him any less tired. “I’ll stand guard. I think we lost them but I’d rather be sure. It’ll be dawn soon, anyway, there isn’t enough time to share guard duties, only an hour or two.”
    Miri was too exhausted to argue. Her life had taken too much of a sudden and strange turn. Everything that had happened that night just seemed to wash over her in a tidal wave of emotion and sensation. It was almost too much to handle. Hargrove’s persistence, the revelation of Gordon Templeton’s possible involvement, the fight in the parking lot. Although they hadn’t been trying to kill her as they had been Ash, she’d still taken her share of bumps and bruises.
    She hadn’t missed the fact that she was their target but was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea. She was just a physics professor. Yes, she had this weird talent, it just seemed so bizarre.
    Her gaze was drawn to Ash. Warmth rushed through her just at the sight of him.
    The uncertain light from the old streetlight played over his features, emphasizing the sharp obdurate angles, the harsh beauty of them.
    His shoulder was against the tree, his powerful arms crossed, his posture attentive and alert.
    Daemonae.
    She remembered the sight of him when he’d…shifted. Wings expanding, his body powerful, his expression fierce and furious. And her visions in that brief, intense moment when they’d first touched. A surge of need and lust lanced through her. In an instant, her pussy dampened at the memory, at the thought of that magnificent body poised above hers in the moment before penetration. Her belly fluttered, almost in anticipation.
    Whatever else she knew, she knew her visions were true.
    It was as if some part of her knew him, as if she’d been waiting her whole life for him. All her life