Desiring A Demon (Archangels) by Missy Jane Read Free Book Online

entered. She’d grown even paler , and her demon taint permeated the room. He ignored it and went to her side. She was spread out on the bed, lying on her back with her eyes closed. Her robe had been replaced by a shirt now drenched in sweat and a pair of faded denim shorts. The soles of her feet were bright red and looked painful. Her chest moved rapidly up and down as she panted for breath. He sat beside her and placed a palm on her forehead, then gasped and jerked it back. Her skin was boiling hot to the touch.
    “Damn it, Asta. What’s going on? If you know what’s happening to you, you need to tell me.”
    “Too many cookies?”
    “It’s not funny.”
    “I know… I’m fine.”
    He closed his eyes a moment and prayed for patience. She would tell him she was fine even while hanging from a noose. “There’s obviously something wrong. You’ve never had glowing red feet and boiling hot skin before.”
    She sighed and shook her head. “You don’t know that. Barely know me at all.”
    Frustration and anger filled him in equal measure. “Is that so, demon? How long have you been in my home?”
    The pain in her eyes cooled his anger in a heartbeat, but it was too late to take back his hasty words.
    “Too long? Want me out now?”
    “No,” he answered immediately. He ran a hand over her bare leg. “You don’t have to leave unless you want to.”
    It was a lie. He knew he wouldn’t let her leave unless he was confident she had somewhere safe to go.
    “Whatever. You’re back early.”
    “Yeah. Mike just wanted to show me something downtown. I’m in for the night unless he calls again, but it’s not likely.”
    She rolled over , facing away from him and pulling her leg from his reach. “I’m tired. Go away.”
    The last thing he wanted to do was leave her alone in her condition. “Asta—”
    “Get. Out. Now.”
    Though he was tempted to ignore her demand, he knew better than to push his luck. He needed her to trust him with her secrets. Now wasn’t the time to test her. “Fine. Holler if you need me. I’ll hear you.”
    She didn’t bother replying, but he took her silence as assent. After one final look at her, he rose and walked out the door. He closed it silently behind him but remained standing outside. Now what?
    The right thing to do would be alerting Mike to the situation. A part of Rafe knew it was his job to do so. Unfortunately, a bigger part of him was ignoring that fact. His concern for Asta outweighed his sense of duty, something that had never happened before. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. There was only one other thing to do. He headed for his bookshelves.
    …
    Asta felt him leave the shadow of her bedroom door and sighed in relief even as another pain shot through her. How much longer could she hold him off before he simply kicked her out? Tears clogged her throat at the thought of trying to make her way on the streets again. As soon as Rafe had offered her room and board she’d quit the shithole bar job and never looked back. Now she realized what a fool she’d been. Sure he wanted her here now, while she was still acting and appearing mostly human. But what would he do if he realized her demon half was taking over?
    She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling as she gave her emotions free reign. Silent tears stained her cheeks and she didn’t bother trying to wipe them away. Her arms hurt too much to lift anyway. The pain was everywhere, though not nearly as bad as it had been before Rafe got home. Thank goodness. There had to be an explanation for why this was happening to her now.
    The last time she’d suffered weird changes like this had been when she’d hit puberty. No way could she be going through that again, right? She frowned to herself at the thought. What if demons aged differently and she was going through a form of puberty again, but for her demon half?
    “Oh, fuck no,” she whimpered.
    The last thing she needed was the emotional